The Gaucho

The gaucho is a South American rider usually devoted to caring for the cattle.  He maintains similarities with the Mexican charro, the huaso Chilean, Colombian-venezonalo the plains, the American cowboy, the Chagra Ecuador, the Peruvian qorilazo and Morochucos.

Currently designated gauchos, gender, rural dwellers engaged in the tasks of farming in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chaco boliviano, the Chilean Patagonia and southern Brazil.   Gaucho women traditionally have been called “china” (in quechua: girl and by extension hembra), “Paisano”, “guaina” (North litoraleno), “RS”, “garment” (in southern Brazil ).

There are many ideas about the basis of the name “gaucho.”  The first documented use of the term dates from the years of Argentina’s independence, declared in 1816. But it has been used since 1770.
Original way of life

The genealogy of the gaucho is complex, there is no doubt that the gauchos, although not widespread, are required to manage the numerous herds of cattle that thrive on the Maroons Vaquerias pampered and “campaigns of the Sea “in S XVII.  These Protogauchos, Creoles and Mestizos were the majority (probably the same as Hernandarias were “man of the earth”).  However there is a legend that mentions the name and surname “first gaucho.”

According to this legend in 1586 in the village which is today the city of Buenos Aires, there was a private soldier named Alejo Godoy andaluz.  He complained of ill treatment and poor living conditions and sent a letter to the king of Spain to address their conditions and those who were in similar circumstances.

He obviously got no response and so it goes, tired of waiting he came to the wasteland that then was the Plaza Mayor, and after shouting “Die Felipe II!” fled at a gallop toward the field.  This story is almost certainly legendary, but like many legends provides certain information to understand the origin of the gaucho.
Historiography in Brazil sometimes supposed gauchos had Portuguese origins. The truth is that the contents of the Banda Oriental, the Rio Grande and East Mission saw gauchos prosper in herding cattle and practicing unknowingly smuggling cattle between the Spanish and Portuguese territories (cattle were going to Brazil “Feria de Sorocaba” following the route of livestock).

The Gauchos led the life of a nomad and lived freely in the grasslands or pampas, the plain that stretches from northern Patagonia Argentina to the north of Brazil, bordered by the Andes to the west and bordered north by the plains of the Chaco regions Chiquitania and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, arising in relation to the cattle introduced by the Europeans, forming a complex Creole horse. Arguably the gauchos crossed the Southern Cone region, where you can ride a horse.

As noted, most of the gauchos are Creoles or mestizos, although this is not definite. By 1875 the passenger Armaignac Henri Gascon gave a definition closer to reality as to who was considered gaucho.  In principle, gaucho as mentioned earlier have great skill as a horseman, but this is not enough. Armaignac said: “A foreigner, for example, can acquire a European, although it is very difficult, all the skills of the gaucho, they can dress like a gaucho, talk like a gaucho … but will never be considered gaucho, although all their children lineages are directly Europeans and natives or when it will be fully considered criollos gauchos.”