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Chris Evans · 16th March 2018, 03:03 AM

Hi,

If I were restricted to a single book to understand the Pampean culture, it would be Richard W. Slata’s well researched and scholarly work, Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier.

To better understand the current portrayal of gaucho lore, here’s a quote from Slatta’s introduction to the 1992 edition:

Faced with rapid socioeconomic changes, Argentina’s intelligentsia experienced a sense of loss and fear. The flood tide of foreigners seemed to imperil Argentinidad, the essential Argentine national character. Nationalists resurrected and rehabilitated the once maligned gaucho. He became a symbol, and ideological weapon, used by the ruling elite against the threatening demands of immigrant workers.

As the historical gaucho receded into the endless pampa horizon, a new “sanitized”, romanticized version appeared in the nation’s culture and politics. The ruling elite that successfully subdued the gaucho now enshrined him in national mythology.

In the chapter titled Who was the Gaucho? Slatta writes:

It seems likely that gauchos first appeared along the Argentine bank of the Rio de la Plata as wild cattle hunters seeking livestock that spread along the river from Asuncion, Paraguay, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

And

In Argentina, the term first appeared in a complaint of 1774 by government officials of gauchos or cattle thieves operating in the Banda Oriental – a wild, largely ungoverned frontier region.

And:

During the nineteenth century, the term gaucho became generalized to refer to all native rural workers.

From the above we can see that the halcyon days of the gauchos preceded the 19th century, yet that century forms the focal point of nearly all the extant literature on the subject, a period of immense and rapid change that made this legendary wild horseman’s lifestyle untenable. Also, that the primary preoccupation of gauchos was hunting wild cattle and horses, and not the incidental fighting that receives so much attention nowadays.

The other sources that I listed in my earlier post enlarge on what Slatta wrote, and are essentially in agreement.

Cheers
Chris

16th March 2018, 03:03 AM	#24
Chris Evans Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 661	Hi, If I were restricted to a single book to understand the Pampean culture, it would be Richard W. Slata’s well researched and scholarly work, Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier. To better understand the current portrayal of gaucho lore, here’s a quote from Slatta’s introduction to the 1992 edition: Faced with rapid socioeconomic changes, Argentina’s intelligentsia experienced a sense of loss and fear. The flood tide of foreigners seemed to imperil Argentinidad, the essential Argentine national character. Nationalists resurrected and rehabilitated the once maligned gaucho. He became a symbol, and ideological weapon, used by the ruling elite against the threatening demands of immigrant workers. As the historical gaucho receded into the endless pampa horizon, a new “sanitized”, romanticized version appeared in the nation’s culture and politics. The ruling elite that successfully subdued the gaucho now enshrined him in national mythology. In the chapter titled Who was the Gaucho? Slatta writes: It seems likely that gauchos first appeared along the Argentine bank of the Rio de la Plata as wild cattle hunters seeking livestock that spread along the river from Asuncion, Paraguay, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. And In Argentina, the term first appeared in a complaint of 1774 by government officials of gauchos or cattle thieves operating in the Banda Oriental – a wild, largely ungoverned frontier region. And: During the nineteenth century, the term gaucho became generalized to refer to all native rural workers. From the above we can see that the halcyon days of the gauchos preceded the 19th century, yet that century forms the focal point of nearly all the extant literature on the subject, a period of immense and rapid change that made this legendary wild horseman’s lifestyle untenable. Also, that the primary preoccupation of gauchos was hunting wild cattle and horses, and not the incidental fighting that receives so much attention nowadays. The other sources that I listed in my earlier post enlarge on what Slatta wrote, and are essentially in agreement. Cheers Chris Last edited by Chris Evans; 16th March 2018 at 06:10 AM.