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Modern Argentines believe that they have incorporated the values associated with the gaucho into their own system. At the same time, Argentines can express their concern for others with gauchadas, gaucho-like acts of generosity, such as going out of ones way to help someone else solve a problem. ... The Gaucho represented a backward element of a primitive hybrid of European and Indian. ... Not only was the Indian population subdued, the gaucho population was severely restricted so that, over time, they no longer remained a distinct social group. Disparaged for being barbarian, the image of the rugged gaucho rose from the ashes and became the symbol of Argentine nationalism. Nationalist writers like Rojas pointed to Martin Fierro, “the classic poem about the gaucho as an authentic source of inspiration for the national consciousness.” The history of the gauchos and the resurgence of popular imagery is important in studying the marginalization and eventual assimilation of indigenous values, and unlike the Afro-Argentines whose history was swept under the rug, the non-European Gaucho became a celebration of things uniquely Argentine. ... The Argentine Gaucho is a unique historical character. In Comparing Cowboys and Frontiers, Richard Slatta writes, “the word gaucho … most frequently referred to vagabond horsemen who chased, killed and skinned wild livestock and traded the hides illicitly.” From fertile Argentine Pampas with its wild cattle and migrant outcasts emerged an independent community of cowboys with Indian, Spanish, and African influences. ... “The gaucho for example acquired his most formidable weapon, the bolas and his favorite beverage, mate from indigenous cultures. The vocabulary of the gaucho and the llanero is heavily peppered with indigenous terms. ... Eventually, the Gauchos would win their place in national myth. ... “Elite policy used the gaucho to fight against another “barbarian” threat: Indians of the pampas.” Without the open range and the frontier, the Gaucho could not exist. The momentum for Argentina to civilize the Pampas encroached on the Gaucho culture.
Approximate Word count = 1551
Approximate Pages = 6.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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