El Gaucho Huacho in the Age of Climate Change
El Gaucho Huacho
Francisco Letelier
“Estoy con los de mi lao cinchando tuitos parejos, pa hacer nuevo lo que es viejo y verlo al mundo cambiao”
I’m with those on my side all of us pulling the cinch together, to make the old new and see the world change.
Atahualpa Yupanqui
The culture of the Pampas, the great
grasslands that cover vast areas of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and
Brazil has many parallels with that of the North American Plains. The
lives of the original inhabitants underwent an enormous change with
the arrival of Europeans. Soon new ways of life arose that were
dependent on trade and uniquely on horses, cattle and livestock. The
Tehuenche people kept large herds replenished by escaped and feral
animals. Generally, native people naturally developed ties with the
Criollo population, those born to Spanish fathers and indigenous
mothers as well as children born to slaves and white masters. These
were called children of the earth or Mancebos and later Gauderios in
southern Brazil. Escaped slaves also found refuge in the pampas and
over time a new breed of individual inhabited the sea of grass, the
gaucho.
It was said that the vast
expanses created a new set of rules. In plains teeming with the
American Ostrich (Ñandu) and roaming herds of Guanacos, (deer
sized Camelids) hunters on horses wielded bolos to capture their
prey, and became dexterous in maneuvers with cattle and sheep.
Semi-nomadic, and out of reach from colonial authorities, a lifestyle
developed that allowed for autonomy and a degree of economic and
social independence living between exchanges with the Spanish, the
Portuguese and Native populations.
The Gaucho came to be known as a
great horseman subsisting entirely on beef and yerba máte, a tea
rich in nutrients with caffeine like properties; a habit acquired
from the Guarani natives. Developing a distinctive dress, the gaucho
carried boals or boleadoras(three leather-bound rocks tied together
with leather straps, in addition to the North American lariat or
riata. The outfit included a poncho, a facon, (knife) a rebenque
(leather whip) and loose-fitting trousers called bombaches, belted
with a woven cloth tirador or a chiripa.
Gauchos often represent
nationalistic sentiments, in the wars of the 19th century against the
Spanish Crown, the cavalries on all sides were composed almost
entirely of gauchos. In Argentina, gaucho armies slowed Spanish
advances and landowners relied on gaucho armies to control the
provinces. In the epic “Martin Fierro,” by Jose Hernandez, the
gaucho is a symbol of forces against corruption. Martin Fierro, the
gaucho hero of the poem, is drafted into the Argentine military for a
border war; he deserts and becomes an outlaw and fugitive.
On the pampa however 'order and
progress,' agriculture and exportations were established. Barbed
wire, train lines and the implementation of high yield livestock and
cultivation methods eroded the gaucho's domain. With new waves of
immigration and the establishment of new jobs and work cycles the
gaucho become a bandit or become a ranch or estancia hand. The gaucho
was transformed into a day worker dependent on an estanciero or rich
landowner.
In 1800 one third of the
population of Argentina was of African origin because of the slaves
brought there. The population was decimated in the 18670's as they
along with many gauchos were conscripted to fight against
Paraguay. Later a yellow fever epidemic ravaged those without access
to modern treatments. Successive waves of European immigrants
further changed the demographic of the country while throughout
the 20th century Argentina's ruling elite helped create a further
transformed gaucho; loyal patriotic and white. Fearful of Italian
immigrants and radical labor leaders, the ruling class invented the
gaucho to serve as a model of citizenship, bearing little resemblance
to gauchos of history.Despite the misconception and transformations
of Gaucho culture, it remains very alive and popular and may serve to
address the incalculable challenges that the Pampas suffer because of
climate change coupled to misguided economic and development
policies.
In Argentina there is no place
exempt from the effect of climate change, with floods in the central
region of the country, prolonged drought in other places, intense
rains and more frequent tornados in the North and the Coastal
regions, epidemics of Dengue and Zika virus in major urban centers,
retreat of icebergs in the Patagonia, rising sea levels with
increased acidity, and loss of habitable areas in the province of
Buenos Aires. Argentina is experiencing the legacy of brutal miltary
dictatorship and short sighted economic policies. Once considered the
breadbasket of the Americas relying on cattle and grain, in the
1990's Bio-tech giant Monsanto, turned the pampas into an experiment
in genetic modification. Ten million hectares of herbicide tolerant
genetically modified soya were sown in ten years, transforming the
country into the worlds largest exporter. The ever-expanding soya
plantations are blamed for the destruction of forests across South
America, posing an even graver threat than logging. In the
place where Criollos, Natives and free Africans created an
egalitarian way of life, 60% of cultivated land in the country is
dedicated to soya representing a devastating loss of ecosystems,
animal life and vegetation.
The extremes of climate change
have left vast areas of soya, flooded and rotting, the shallow root
systems unable to keep stability in a diverse expanse kept stable by
native plant and grasses for millennia, yet soya is now by far the
county's most valuable export as the country attempts to recover from
the blows of the 2001 economic crash.
The gaucho has again come riding
the Pampa into places devastated by drought, flood, deforestation and
soya. The Alliance for the Grasslands, Alianza del Pastizal,
and others are employing sustainable pasturing methods and the
rotation of herds with a sensitivity to the microclimatic conditions
occurring in each region, finding a middle way for the gaucho as
efforts are made for native plants trees and grasses to again
populate the pampa and for its diverse bird populations to return. As
environmentalists, gauchos and ranch owners collaborate to re-wild
and restore native species, biodiversity and natural processes,
innovative initiatives for ecotourism are being explored and
implemented.
Some disagree with the tactics
and vegan activists have targeted gaucho groups and rodeos for
perceived mistreatment of animals, yet soya cultivation, the crop
some once considered the answer to meat has shown that some crops
grown for profit can be even more devastating to ecosystems and
animal life.
In the complex biodiversity of
the pampas, Monsanto, big agriculture and Trans Pacific partnerships
have forgotten the flightless Ñandu, the rare Pampa Deer, as well as
the 4oo bird species of the region. These include the Tordo
Amarillo- Yellow and Brown Marshbird or Dragón, appearing on the red
list of threatened species. All is not lost, after all things
have been heading this way for decades. With great efforts the giant
anteater has been brought back from the brink of extinction while the
noble and essential Tapir, Collared Peccary, Red and Green
Macaw and Jaguar are finding protected habitats in newly established
national parks.
The gaucho is in the process of
being reinvented again, as a hero that can save the pampas and
perhaps finally remembered in a historically accurate manner; a
cowboy of color that represent the wisdom of the diverse cultures
that have found a home in the Pampas. There is a little gaucho in all
of us. The term gaucho is thought to be derived from several sources
but most agree that it may be from the word 'Huacho' derived from the
Mapuche word Huachu meaning illegitimate son, or the Quechua word
Huaccha meaning poor orphan. Often used to mean a motherless young
animal, the term guacho or huacho is used throughout the
Americas to mean a stray or wild animal, person or thing.
Francisco Letelier
“Estoy con los de mi lao cinchando tuitos parejos, pa hacer nuevo lo que es viejo y verlo al mundo cambiao”
I’m with those on my side all of us pulling the cinch together, to make the old new and see the world change.
Atahualpa Yupanqui
The culture of the Pampas, the great
grasslands that cover vast areas of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and
Brazil has many parallels with that of the North American Plains. The
lives of the original inhabitants underwent an enormous change with
the arrival of Europeans. Soon new ways of life arose that were
dependent on trade and uniquely on horses, cattle and livestock. The
Tehuenche people kept large herds replenished by escaped and feral
animals. Generally, native people naturally developed ties with the
Criollo population, those born to Spanish fathers and indigenous
mothers as well as children born to slaves and white masters. These
were called children of the earth or Mancebos and later Gauderios in
southern Brazil. Escaped slaves also found refuge in the pampas and
over time a new breed of individual inhabited the sea of grass, the
gaucho.
It was said that the vast
expanses created a new set of rules. In plains teeming with the
American Ostrich (Ñandu) and roaming herds of Guanacos, (deer
sized Camelids) hunters on horses wielded bolos to capture their
prey, and became dexterous in maneuvers with cattle and sheep.
Semi-nomadic, and out of reach from colonial authorities, a lifestyle
developed that allowed for autonomy and a degree of economic and
social independence living between exchanges with the Spanish, the
Portuguese and Native populations.
The Gaucho came to be known as a
great horseman subsisting entirely on beef and yerba máte, a tea
rich in nutrients with caffeine like properties; a habit acquired
from the Guarani natives. Developing a distinctive dress, the gaucho
carried boals or boleadoras(three leather-bound rocks tied together
with leather straps, in addition to the North American lariat or
riata. The outfit included a poncho, a facon, (knife) a rebenque
(leather whip) and loose-fitting trousers called bombaches, belted
with a woven cloth tirador or a chiripa.
Gauchos often represent
nationalistic sentiments, in the wars of the 19th century against the
Spanish Crown, the cavalries on all sides were composed almost
entirely of gauchos. In Argentina, gaucho armies slowed Spanish
advances and landowners relied on gaucho armies to control the
provinces. In the epic “Martin Fierro,” by Jose Hernandez, the
gaucho is a symbol of forces against corruption. Martin Fierro, the
gaucho hero of the poem, is drafted into the Argentine military for a
border war; he deserts and becomes an outlaw and fugitive.
On the pampa however 'order and
progress,' agriculture and exportations were established. Barbed
wire, train lines and the implementation of high yield livestock and
cultivation methods eroded the gaucho's domain. With new waves of
immigration and the establishment of new jobs and work cycles the
gaucho become a bandit or become a ranch or estancia hand. The gaucho
was transformed into a day worker dependent on an estanciero or rich
landowner.
In 1800 one third of the
population of Argentina was of African origin because of the slaves
brought there. The population was decimated in the 18670's as they
along with many gauchos were conscripted to fight against
Paraguay. Later a yellow fever epidemic ravaged those without access
to modern treatments. Successive waves of European immigrants
further changed the demographic of the country while throughout
the 20th century Argentina's ruling elite helped create a further
transformed gaucho; loyal patriotic and white. Fearful of Italian
immigrants and radical labor leaders, the ruling class invented the
gaucho to serve as a model of citizenship, bearing little resemblance
to gauchos of history.Despite the misconception and transformations
of Gaucho culture, it remains very alive and popular and may serve to
address the incalculable challenges that the Pampas suffer because of
climate change coupled to misguided economic and development
policies.
In Argentina there is no place
exempt from the effect of climate change, with floods in the central
region of the country, prolonged drought in other places, intense
rains and more frequent tornados in the North and the Coastal
regions, epidemics of Dengue and Zika virus in major urban centers,
retreat of icebergs in the Patagonia, rising sea levels with
increased acidity, and loss of habitable areas in the province of
Buenos Aires. Argentina is experiencing the legacy of brutal miltary
dictatorship and short sighted economic policies. Once considered the
breadbasket of the Americas relying on cattle and grain, in the
1990's Bio-tech giant Monsanto, turned the pampas into an experiment
in genetic modification. Ten million hectares of herbicide tolerant
genetically modified soya were sown in ten years, transforming the
country into the worlds largest exporter. The ever-expanding soya
plantations are blamed for the destruction of forests across South
America, posing an even graver threat than logging. In the
place where Criollos, Natives and free Africans created an
egalitarian way of life, 60% of cultivated land in the country is
dedicated to soya representing a devastating loss of ecosystems,
animal life and vegetation.
The extremes of climate change
have left vast areas of soya, flooded and rotting, the shallow root
systems unable to keep stability in a diverse expanse kept stable by
native plant and grasses for millennia, yet soya is now by far the
county's most valuable export as the country attempts to recover from
the blows of the 2001 economic crash.
The gaucho has again come riding
the Pampa into places devastated by drought, flood, deforestation and
soya. The Alliance for the Grasslands, Alianza del Pastizal,
and others are employing sustainable pasturing methods and the
rotation of herds with a sensitivity to the microclimatic conditions
occurring in each region, finding a middle way for the gaucho as
efforts are made for native plants trees and grasses to again
populate the pampa and for its diverse bird populations to return. As
environmentalists, gauchos and ranch owners collaborate to re-wild
and restore native species, biodiversity and natural processes,
innovative initiatives for ecotourism are being explored and
implemented.
Some disagree with the tactics
and vegan activists have targeted gaucho groups and rodeos for
perceived mistreatment of animals, yet soya cultivation, the crop
some once considered the answer to meat has shown that some crops
grown for profit can be even more devastating to ecosystems and
animal life.
In the complex biodiversity of
the pampas, Monsanto, big agriculture and Trans Pacific partnerships
have forgotten the flightless Ñandu, the rare Pampa Deer, as well as
the 4oo bird species of the region. These include the Tordo
Amarillo- Yellow and Brown Marshbird or Dragón, appearing on the red
list of threatened species. All is not lost, after all things
have been heading this way for decades. With great efforts the giant
anteater has been brought back from the brink of extinction while the
noble and essential Tapir, Collared Peccary, Red and Green
Macaw and Jaguar are finding protected habitats in newly established
national parks.
The gaucho is in the process of
being reinvented again, as a hero that can save the pampas and
perhaps finally remembered in a historically accurate manner; a
cowboy of color that represent the wisdom of the diverse cultures
that have found a home in the Pampas. There is a little gaucho in all
of us. The term gaucho is thought to be derived from several sources
but most agree that it may be from the word 'Huacho' derived from the
Mapuche word Huachu meaning illegitimate son, or the Quechua word
Huaccha meaning poor orphan. Often used to mean a motherless young
animal, the term guacho or huacho is used throughout the
Americas to mean a stray or wild animal, person or thing.
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