REPRESENTATIVE GAUCHO POETRY AND FICTION

OF ARGENTINA

APPROVED

Major g£6f££sor

Ml afor Professor

• Director of Languages

d 1V1.: % ;he epartm Foreign

v^Ly Dean of the Graduate School /

IDSPKBSSNTATIV2 GAUCHO ?OE'J?KX AMD FICTION

OF AEGi^XINA

THS3IS

Presented to the Graduate Council of tr.3.

North Texas Stnte 'J;iI\"or,slty in I-n

Fulfillment: oi -the Heauirevents

?cr the .Degree of

r f t r«T ^ a t> rnr* r tn, 4 i \ ul i \ f„ jt

By

:i.ltar Gava, B, i:

I>en tOi11 0" ax-i«?

*'• .L") f ' j 2 -1, -,"v O

3LB OF COiOC.- T*

Chapter Pace

I. THE GAUCHC ?RC!I A HISTORICAL ?SKSPEO?lVlS . . . . .1

II. TJJS GAUGED IM J-OZZrCS. Mffi 7ICTI0N . . . 22

III. SAMTOS VHGA Br KILARIO ASCASUBI. c"i

. IV. FAU3TG BX Sa'J&JJISIAO DSL CAHPO *K>

V, CL G-AUCflO KART1N FIERRu riX JOSS HERNAJJDSZ. . . . 49

VI, JUAJ IICHE IRA BY 3DMDO G U T I E R R E Z 6 4

VII. SL CAZAMIZLi'TO D3ri L^CCHA BX ROBERTO J. PAXRQ. * » ?6

VIII, DOJi SEGCIOO SOi''BRA BX RICARDO G'JIRALDISS, . . . „ 8,5

IX. EL ROKAI-!OS DE Ul4 GAUCHC BX BSlilTO I IICK. . . . » $>9

X, CONCLUSION . . . . , . . . . . . . 10*

r tr OH tc-pv ^ r, * * * , * i.J*/

CI i:'~v*R X

•IHS GAUCfcO FRCK A HISTORICAL PJHSPE'JS'.rjE

In ordsr to pursue &r». intelligent study of the gaucho,

as depicted ""la several literary contributions of Argentine

literature, one should first view him from a historical, per-

spective* U nfoi'tunately, too roanv of the works concerning

the gauche reflect personal end biased opinions, rather than

a trae account of his life* Sorse have portrayed the g a v. oho

as a legendary her a, whose rocsncic way of life they describe

in an idealistic manner* Still others believe that he was

nothing but a bandit, useless to society, deserving only to

'be civilized or exteriair.&'t&d* The hlstcrios'i g^ucho would

conform to neither of these two views, nor to the idyllic

gaacho o;s literature. An interesting fact about all the

caucho literature ie that none of It has portrayed the orig-

inal type—the. vagrant, generally qestlzo., cow hunter*

A 'popularly advanced idea of the gaucho's physical

-ics is that he dirty, bearded, and barefooted,

x.is would kill other people1 e cattle for food, and woo Id tvorlc

cn'ly to the tol^coc ho r.noked. This te;ae.nt is a

genera Liz&tior rather than, a true description of the- gauche*

J~ ••'on'Id be vs.7 v.n^ust to thln> of 8.11 the [..auchcs a3 brutal,

xvle, a..-.-! V*-"bana. F .r thv. tuost x&.f'z they were ii-m with

r ride *rtl dirpitv.

Emlllo R. Coal, a recognized authority cn the .Argentine

gauche, emphasizes in his works T-Iist the Plata region i-;a.s

not totally- populated by bandits or parat>ite3, but meetly by

individuals, who worked on the esfc&ncias, large cattle ranches.

These men had most of the /gauchc canjcsendable qualities, tvith-

out his defects. They are the real and authentic gaucho

V.B isgnps, the one is which history has not bothered to de scribe

nlong with the pioneers of Spanish colonization of the

Plata region casa the .cow and horse. Their- number gre:*

rapidly, and soon life in tne Plata region revolved around

these t-A*o animals• Bides ac-i^ired coocercial value, and con-

traband trade began to thrive dao to the restrictions placed

by the mother country. The illegal hunters, whose main con-

cern it becane to fill these orders, was the ^aucho»^

The t;auohofs dependence upon the horse and the cow was

~cunl and complete. They furnished transportation, clothing,

food, sI-alter, and even furniture. Beds, for example, were.

2.5* do of cowhides stretched between four upright rx>les„ The

equipment; with which he worked such as the saddle, reins,

'v.ii lasso, were of hide. The lv.i7.tg narrow cart, called ca-

Teta.. peculiar for its srery high wheels to facilitate the

of s&sli rivt-;rj, and pclled by several pairs &:C

""'•'."idttliiie l/allin ;;tchc-l3, El ££ueho, translated by Cr-isti ns C, Morales 6.e Ar-ario.io 1jyJt'n.oi'l) ires , 195^) 0^,

"Wa'3-slinc Willis i;-ichols., "Tlie Gaucho. * Hi sp"-.jyic r,ner-Hgview, WIT CNavtaber; 2937) ,^£"536. "

3

oxen was so bound with hide, chat not a single nail has lined

in its construction.- Fox- almost every type of work, r«o

matter -how- snail, thehorse vias. used. l?h'eth-3-r it was to

fight Indians iar aake lujtteiv, -the"horse K&? indispensable,

A man-without a horse was considered zo be without legs•

When the gaucho went to sleep, ±t was one of the few times

h

that he dismounted,,1

• In tracing the development and the Influence of the

gauehc, it r-sust be reaerubei'ed that a great transformation

has oecjred during the last three centuries, ajd the gaucho

had his share -i-n making thiu transformation. Socially he

has been the settler of the wilderness, the soldier defender

the conqueror .of the Indians, He was responsible for popu-

lating the vast Plata region, and thus began the westward

e psijsitxo.. - H© made the region safe to. live in by hunting

wild animals, end also by driving the savage Indians -co the

Patagonia •

The word gaucho itself has experienced a aguistic

change® At one time it was considered an Insult: today it

io a conpii^ent;. The gaucho of Argentina has attained a

heroic .national status. A vocabulary centered around the

'word gaucho is widely used a.Mong conce'.-,poi'«ry Argentinians.

-Francisco I. Castrof Vocabulario y rrases <3a Martin i'1 erro (Buenos /vires, 1957)/P« "9 *7" "

^Madeline V/allis iliohcls, "'.The Gn,.'Cho?!i '.?he Pacific

Historical Review, V (tfareh, 19~6), 61-70.

4

'/neri they say, nhaceae una gauohaca, a tha->; is, do ae a favor-,

it -:,'QU1CL- be alcost unthiiLcabl© TO refuse. It . IS asm>r>o&

that no"-g-au-chn. ever -refused - to do a favor, The -.vcrd gaucho

is &ls*o...used frequently ta .describe a parson of outstanding

virtues or qualitiesSeveral - factors have- -been attributed

to the transformation of the gauche * s .image, Two of the

aost widely accepted reasons for this favorable chan&e are

the faucho's success in war, and perhaps the raost important,

hid popular appeal in literature, 'while the goucho uf liter-

ature has not been.accurately portrayed, his portrayal such

-as it waSj has- caused the real gaucho - to be forgot ten. 5

- - • It is not known exactly - where the word gaucho origi-

nated,^ -The etymology of the word is very uncertain. It-

has been traced to Latin, English, and Arabic, aaong other?,

A widely-.accepted theory .traces its origin to the-Quechuaa I •*

word huajcho, which means orphan, errant, or abandoned one*

This v.crd was pronounced in Spanish £uacho, and then through

rac ta thos i s to rraucho. 'i

Gauchos did. not emerge as a distinctive society until

about 1775, although individual geuchos wero alr.jr-.dy in

"Ibid, p. k.

"'Pedro Inchauspe, La t radio ion y el traucho (.Buenos Aires, 1S5?S}. p. 51.

tre

t 'Carlos Alberto Louaann, La literatu-c-Q ^.-auchesca y la poos la ^aucha (3uerjvs L v s3,

5

existence since the lata "l6C0f;?„ Their number grew along

with the increase of hide shipuents. By 1790, when the word

gaucho wa3 used for the first time in a document,, thoy were

definitely regarded as an unwanted and parasitic group. The

gaucho's uncleanliness, ignorance and. mixed blood, his wasteful

slaughtering of other people's livestock, and the callousness

with which tr* abducted a cirl or slit an enemy's throat com-

bined, in early days, to make j?j.ta s despised figured

The loen that came to the Plata region, usually did not

bring their vonen with thwsu Ac a result, they looked to the

Indian women to satisfy their sexual drives. They felt no

love for there, nor for the offspring which they fathered. It

did not take long before s consi&erabis number of such ttesjbijso

offsprings roane<3 the oanroa. Since they i-rere not accepted

into the Indian cona-.y.nity, nor into the white society, they

were forced to emerge as e distinctive group with their own

mores, culture, and ever lingua

The area in which the g&ucho lived is che plains region

called the pampas, a Quechuan word u?:ed by the SpanK-u-rtrt in

reference to the vast lands west of Bue.nob Aires. 'j?hla land,

which even today continues to be sparcely populated, 1b of

fertile black" soil, and it r?ac not used for agrtcultural

"Stephen Paullada, Rawhide and Son^ (New York., 1963) or. 63 - 9 ^ - r

9-

ISW-'h P« LJ Danero, Antclopla gauche. {Santa Fe, Argentina,

purposes until early in the 1900'e» The pampas Is a flat

barren -region with an occasional oclrjf. the gaucho'a favorite

tree, at-, the different estanclas. . The oi^ad served not only

as" a shelter against the sun In the hot suu^or caye,- out also

as a gathering place, to drink aste and play the guitar. Many

travellers vrho came to the -Plata, region and saw the paapasf

could not help but call it an ocean of land. The word perapa

was also used to designate the Indians of Arsueanian origin,

who lived Jn the area for 'which they were naijocu^®

•n&« 3£S£fc2 of a poor gauoho paisano was a house made

of adobe mixed with straw or horse manure, with a wooden

fraws that was usually made with logs tied with rawhide*

T h e rfonchc consisted of two rooas. The front room served as

3. kitchen and livii^: roost, while the adjoining rooio was tht>

family fcsdrocs. Host rg-nohos had a sort of open porch which

ran the length of the house, end which served for protection

against the sun, and the rain, This porch was used In good

weather as a.i extra bedroom, or living room, and there wer© a

few windows. The doorway to the house as well bs the windows

could be covered, when the weather required, v?ith a cowhide

that was hung over the opening* Although the g&ucho'e rarncho

ho~-i been described by some to be little more than an animal1®,

care, it actually proved to be very comfortable living

10- / uiot»auspe, La .tradlcloa £ si gauoho. p. 1$20

7

quarters * "i"L Incised, the rc ncho of the lEOO's was superior

to many of the- slues huts found todty in Vi 11a Mlserla - or

Yilla Tachlto in the outskirts "of Buenos Aires, vhere- walls

are"made flattened tin"cans, and doors are"'covered with

burlap.

Among the gaucho*s wearing apparel there are several

-itema -which are no longer in use; among them is the vincha

or head band, I'D used to be a very essential part of his

dress since it kept his long hair in place, -serving the

purpose of a hat which, soraetikies was very expensive and

difficult to obtain,The-early gaucho used lotas de jpotro,

a type of boots which he himself made out of the hide of a,

horse's leg. This hide was washed and left to soak in water.

Afterwards, the gaucho wrapped this .bide around his legs and

when it dried it stayed., as if glued. Since the primitive

stirrup consisted of small rings, the toes were not wrapped,

thus allowing the gaucho to stick his.toes through these

rings# He v.ore his botes de frotro until they fell off, usu-

ally after asoufc two weeks of use* Presently gauchos wear

regular boots although they are not so high as those used by

tfie American cowboy* The poorer gaucho of today wears alrjar-

f^atas, say? els Is sw&ds of nc:ap., 'Ihe primitive betas d& pot re

:3a'line 'Wallis Jchols, The Gaucho {North Carolina, 1-V42), 15?.,,

-''Paullada, Bawhile and Song:, p» 53<

usually ruined the gsuohc' s feet, oiaklng It; extremely diffi-

cult; to walic,^

They wore- shirts cjuc. at the throat with a .handksrohiof

knotted around their nezks, Strangely enough for such lusty

cattleuicn, they wore full, long, cot ten drawers with lace at

the bottoms cn gala oecasicas. Over* these, a large square of /

hand-loomed cloth, called chirlpa, xes pulled around the waist,,

and tied over the stomach "by its two upper corners. The rest

of it that hung down behind was drawn forward "between the

legs .and tucked under ths belt in front• It looked like an

oversized parti-colored diaper. It was originally brought

be the Plata region by the ccnqui s tsdorea who used it to cover

their nakedness when the seat of their pants wore through, / 1 k

The Q.ueoh'ua word chiripa. means against the cold. This

type of pants vias replaced later by the .ciora practical boa-

bachas which are still used, They are very comfortable for

horHe-'back riding since they are very full and gathered at

the ankles f.

The belt has experienced few changes in the gaucho's

wearJ ng fashion. The poor ones use a wide piece of colorful

cloth which they wrap around theaselves several fclmeR, The

richer faaeho can afford a <*ide leather belt which is almost;

3"* ''wicholSj .31 Faucho. p, 2J0,

"'"Sii'vard Larocquo I"! nker, Life ard Literature of the 91 oridat V-)C 1), p, &»

9

completely covered wi ch .5Ifferent coins end decora Hons. The

leather belt has three pockets, la wnioh the gaucho can carry

his vai atCes.- 5 I'he poncho has' been 'used' fox* several cen-

turies, both'Vs a' blanket at night," and 6? a garment "during

the day* It was also used as a shield wrapped around the

sr-ai during a knife duel *

Due to the surroundings in which the gaucho lived,- ha -

needed weapons, From the Indians he borrowed the use of th«

lance and the boleadoras. also called las trea Har.(ag, I'he

bqleaocr&# ware made of three lengths of plaited rawhide

Hljoyt't/o yards long,• joined together, and to each free end

a ball of stone or load encased in rawhide was attached.

Holding one tell in his band and. swinging the others around

hi<3 hesdj che gaucho would gallop after a horse, cow, or

ostrich, and alr#i the bo Isadoras at their legs, throwing the

snioal to the ground a8 rhe feet became entangled. Ke was

so skillful that it is said, he could bring down * duck oa 1

the wing.

The ii;ost useful of all the gaucho*s weapons was the

fa con, which he carried behind in his leather belt, i:le used

it as <%n atirig u1 /en!•->x 11 a *v orbing tool, and as hxs d. f ense /

weapon. Fencing with the facon required a very special skill

•L5?ij,eholl J?, El gaucho, p. 229,

x i-Ticholc.', Th<i Gaucho, r,p» 13-14

10

of its cncn« 'The v-rel h"; of cr-e body waa placed on the ri£ht

leg, and the Ivfz one v;ac kept nligjitly in front» Th© knife

v/as kept low, pointj.rjg oo the opponent's stomach. One of the

arms way usually wrapped l:u. his poncho, as has already besa

described.. Often the duelo v»as ended after one of the coi-"

sarios had managed to inf 1.1 c t a slight wound on his opponent1 s

face. However, If oris* of them -was killed, the killer- referred

to if as a desreraela. his fatal accident

The day-by-day activities of the gaucljo wers so closely

related to some task where blood wai observed, that he had

cone" to the point where he could nee no difference 'betvreea

the blood of a jaguar, a cow, or a human baiiig. Therefore,

he did not abhor the spilling of human blood in ,due log. Sid

society look upon the chivalry of the"members of the nobility

that defended their name ~cd their honor as killers? On the

contrary, it looked upon their courage as a virtue to be

desired,. Yet, bha gaucho has been called a killer for vindi-

cating his honor, or for executing justice in a land that 1 A

knew no Justice except that of a man's own hand*

'The pulperia vrar ths no old 2 center of the pampa. It

vas a eonbinafcion of country~store, saloon, and oocl&l hall®

Hers the r>alsano ea-ae to bay the few necessities that ha

did not raise or fashion oa his roncho» It was also here

""'Pculladii, t: v?hide qno y.on£, pp.

••'•'Incliac.apc, la. tradi^c?:, i ~%1 .ucho,, p* 93-,

11

UiJua v iJiu o old or barters! the peltB feathers, grease, and

tallow that he obtained through haatirv;, Kost of the divi-

sive activity took place at, or ;i«sr a pulueria, Gambling

afc cards and drinking xenfc hand in hand. Too often the

gauoho has been labeled as a drunkard. It is true that he

trier? to get drunk as often as he could, but this obviously

ivfis not very often, either because of the distance separating

Mm. fron the nearest pulner-f.a. or the lack of money. Even

when he did have some money he squandered It showing off hi a

generoaity by buying drinks fcr. everyone, and whatever he

1 Q ^

und left, he noon lost playing c a r d s . - p u l p e r l a a lacked

a guitar for tha enturtainaent of 'the p&lsanos. - uite often

the sirjil.ag turned into a competition between two g^uchos

tryi:ig- to out-do each other. Danci.ig was another very pop-

ular i'oru of entertainment. At the middle of the nineteenth

century, there were over fifty different dances that v?ere

well-kne wit in the Plata region,

One of the roughest ga.-aes chs I the gaucho played w» s

called Patof the duck,. The news travailed by grapevine that

a game was called, for a certain clay, and eerly in the aorning,

a large group of gauchos, on their swiftest pinkos , gathered t

at the appointed pulperla and began to shout, jPe tsi .Pa to I

x"'Gaort'.e* Iendle, "The Gaucho,3 Fort j.ightljr, CLXXIX {October, IS -S5), 23?~2in, "

7 ""'p&ullada, Ilajfhide and Song, p» 5^*

1 p

Tho proprietor *«:uld flrslly appear with a live duck sewn la

a rawhl6e cover, bo which, four a tout leather handles were

firmly attached. Four aoua&ed. cim'i -each--grasped, on© of th«»

handles, and, at the-v/ord, drove spurs Into the.tr horses to

begin a tug of war, until ono managed to wrest the pato a^ay

from the others. They swept across the •pampas like a desperate

cavalry charge, as sacJi Individual strove to snatch the duck.

Riders were Jellied when" horsea- atuobled, and passions ran so

high that facones were.drawn and differences settled with

cold steel. At last some man on the fleetest horse was able

to reach the pulper.{a designated as goal, with the duck under

his arra. Many partiel .41 v< v> vif 3 JL* e killed in this rough gaue,

and it v;as banished by Juan Manuel de Rosas, Only recently

has it been revived under acre humane rules.^

Although the yerra. branding of anlaials, is a part of

the gaucho's work, it can alec be con?;5derorI as a celebration*

Just as the Vendimla, grape festival, is an occasion for

festivity in many countries, similarly, the yerra called for

a large fiesta, lasting for several days. It was one of the

99 many opportunities the g^ucho had to shov. off his skill.

The diet of the palt-'sno consisted mostly of beef„ On®

of the favorite gaucho dishes is the puchero, a beef stew of

/ j , ^ """Jose' Hernandez, El </j&ucho Hart^n F'jerro (Buenos

Aires, PP» 121 -122, """

*>?

llteratura gauche a ca, pp. 2 00-103,

1

vegetables and' potatoes. The &ont popular of all ths gauoho.

food is the asado PXicllo. Large plcces- of-meat, quite "often'

b v4iole calf cut open in ths. aiddle, "ire pierced through with

reds in. the shape of crosses._ This spit is stuck in the

ground ana a charcoal fire io built around it, The meat is

cooked very slowly while it is sprinkled with a mixture of

viater, salt, garlic, and pepper, Many of the gauchos pre-

ferred a s ado con cuero, .name giver, to the as ado that was

O O

barbecued without cutting, off the. hide.*--' The gauchc*s diet

is end of the strongest evidence of his influence upon Argen-

tinians « Until recentlyj Argotiiina had the highest meat

consumption, per capita, in the world. In an effort tc curb

this trend the government hss decreed several meatless days.

Everything the ge.aoho ate was cashed down with mate,

fiSt&s like his horse, his poncho, and his fa con, accompanied

the JEfUsane ever/(There through life. Mats was usually dru>xic

"without sugar. Most of the social activities centered around

che drinking 01 j2.ate.c * Sate has become so widespread in

Argentina that presently everyone drink's It without regard

to class or social position. Although the gavcho preferred

his sate oinarrcn, without augar, today the majority drink-

it sweet, iicje prefer to add a little coffee or a lemon

? o f J •' _T /-> ci " -

pp. 221-223. ose Hernandez, Mar-tin Fierro (Buenos Aires, 1958),

ih Lsuuarn?., La lifcar?sur&' f.'auche£ca. p, l6l*

)L

Gllce., 4 few who t.ant no ov off -their raaseulinity drink

it s Xo aueho, without r>jg.-r(

Ths education of thw T-vr-ly gaucho consisted in Teaming

the fkills he needed tc sirr-rive on the Toamcsts-. Very fev? .had

ever gone to school. In the late 16C0's when more schools

were built and vast education progi'ams wore instituted, the

gaucho still found it difficult to sexid his children to school,

raainly because of the great distance sep&rsting him from the

nan rest one. -5

His religion consisted of a mixtur© of Cathollcicra and

superstitlori. Ke considee o& it .an insult to be called indio,

because the Ixidi&ns were &ot Christians. Indeed-, he was

essentially a Christian., although hi3 knowledge did »ot exceed

the basic sincerity and pri.r.itiveness characteristic of the

gaucho paisano, Host rnno-ios had a designated little corner,

Khere a candle burned in front of the image of BOSIQ saint,

A considerable nv.inber of g?.uehos wore crucifixes around their

necks. They very seldom attended church, and when they did,

it was in order* to be anirried or to baptise a child. Many

were not financially co hsvs- their children baptized in

the Catholic (Church., or to be. ferried there. On one occasion

the government set a design?* ted period of time during which

marriages were parrcrced free of charge, By the end. of that

period a shc-rp increase of carriages had taken place.^

^Nichols The Gf-u-jhOr tm.» t —3.5,

•"' KvullO-da, Hp iyh:.j.e on.d Sonfc, pp. 39~ ''»

I*

The gauche has- "iecu-s-ja. of laziness and of e.,",p,Io?.4—

iiig the women."to dc all the ?>c-r-k; in reality, this was not

30. Hie -.socl-ety.. ia which ha. lived dec^-mied a.-certain type of

activity eucix-as the y a, even. rodeos * or cs-ttle drives, These

activities he liked and enjoyed performing. The women ful-

filled the chores arouK house ir?. addition to cultivating

whatever little .garden they had, arid made the clothes.^

throughout hio life* he sought public attention and

admiration. On the 1 es_tanoias he enjoyed wording as a domador,

breaking wild horses, while surrounded "by the ogomia, His

drive to prove his' ma ch is no. gaucho ciasc.tlinifcy, led hio to

live dangerously# Sven in his love affairs he sought com-

petition, someone from whoa he could win the object of his

affections. He was ncc in teres tei In a '-jo an unless he y j ©

could ha-ve a-rival with v.;hcn sue could be dlspufcsd. Ha

enjoyed women but did not f jno. thea as useful as his horse.

He esteemed his horse mors than his own wife aa Is revealed

by a very popular copXa, HI mujer y :ai ca"hallo Se -ne fuero^ para 3alta Corio rsi 03ballo viielva ,;,q 111 aujer no a1- haoe falta**"

2? TV P-

28r

Willcds, F&shifta ?:nd Song, p. 35-

II i oho Is, Tjrr Gsuchc-pp.* 15-16.

29.

• •' ' .,j 16

j?he extreme paction for fv^c^cra sua independence Is

one cf the essential c r ac t e /• 1 s1i.os ci" the gsuciici's life.

As a result, ho wandered frea place to place, never reqaining

in the came area for an extended period cf time. It. is erro-

neous, however, to think that he re-sained in this nomadic

state his entire Ufa, h'hen they felt the desire to build

a neat, a? the fsuehos? e-Iled v,heir homes, the,v {{id settle

down. ^

The l"'ck ci' des5re c.c live in a better and more comfort-

able place frca' -he fact; .that he uas continuously

threatened either .by tr.e ;lp, g-.es. Indian attacks, or the

power of the local j-adiei:*] authorities. As 1st© as 1876

war with the Ixvltens required that the &rciy be on constant

alert and read inee y.. Consequently, the gaucho was often

drafted without regard to the support or velx-ai'O of his

f3ndly,

His true v.'cn tit o,i a / c . & x i v:ss net recognized

until "che aid-nin^teeu th c=-:;tui\y . r-ven then, Domingo S'eustino

SsxiVuIeritc wrote to Barto'icc^ Mitre, wUe tr&tes: Ce economis^r

sr-rprre gauehtu F.s ta es na a be no que es ppeciso hEteer, util

si £*.{.&* La s iig'-e ee io -Jnico tien en de seres huaanoe."^^

•'A.j;-;u&to '• 'n'•' 1 Corta"r, £nlios x g&vehoe en la litera~ tura a ,>«;•/-•: <rina ires. I'sH TT* ?P«'^'^"ll?cT

-5~-Jnc n iiSpe , rai'li ill gauchc, p, 100.

- S vr-ro 5uriue, Lc* literf'tura social c-iji la Ar;: antina ; i u-2v,.-iS Airen, l^j} ), "p7'"l?lV~ " *

. X?

/

On the other.hand, the Spanish Gecier-al Garcia Catoba who

fought against C-ue-nss and his gai^hoo describes them b j

saying, "Eran hoabres - extra crdinari-os a caballo, diestrcn en /

todas las ar^aa, in31 vidual&ent«l. valientec, habiles para dis~

porsar y volver de nue./o a! atsque.*33 The gaucho 3.iIced war

and the easy spoils it offered. He considered it a sort of

game. The gaucho was used .la the Tv-ars of independence, in

wars against the Indians, and agair;st the leading caudillos

such as Rosas or* Quiroga., Throughout these -wars he managed

to win respect for himself. * When the wars were over, so :*as

his usefulness and his or;portunifcy for recognition.3**

Huch has already been said about the gaucho raisano.

The gaucho matrero, or gaucho r.c 1c. has also occupied a

prominent place in Argentine history, although he has been

romanticized in literature., Tho raucho malo sat* an oppor-

tunity for pillage during the War of Independence, early in

the 18008s. A gang of ganchos &aIc-B became known as the

rqoritonera, whose chief k?s called 'die caudlllo. The nonto-

nara of ,<auohog aaloa permeats3 the Argentinian scene froa

1620 to 185^, and marked their trails with crimes and atroc-

ities. They did not hesitate to attack villages, sack them,

carry away ths s ooieri, and kill saost of the male population,.

'"5 """Ibid, p* 120,,.

chol1'?, The Gouchc, PP- 5?-57.

1.8

I f * n I n d i a n r a i l o f f e r e d o p p o r t u n i t y f o r p l u n d e r , t h e y w c u t d

j o I n t h e I n d l a r:& »3 i»

T h e g a u c h o f o u n d h i m s e l f p u r s u e d b y t h e lav/ a s e a r l y

o r c o l o n i a l t i m e s du'i t o t h e . t r a d e - r e s t r i c t i o n s p l a c e d b y

S p a i n on. h e r c o l o n i e s . Iia s e t a p a t t e r n o f l a w l e s s n e s s f o r

w h i c h h e was l a t e r c h a r a c t e r i z e d . , S p a i n d i d n o t l e t h e r

c o l o n i e s . t r a d e w i t h . e t h e r c o u n t r i e s b e s i d e s h e r s e l f . S i n c e

r ,rans p o r t a t i o n o f good.': t o S p a i n was c o s t l y a n d i i a p o s e d many

h a r d s h i p s , g a u c h o s f r o a t h e P l a t a r e g i o n p r e f e r r e d t o t r a d e

w i t h o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , t h u s b e c o m i n g l a w b r e a k e r s • L a t e r , i.a.

t h e 1 - 7 0 0 ' s , when n u c h o f t h e l a n d h a d b e e n d i v i d e d , a n d

g r a n t e d o r s o l d , u s u a l l y t o E u r o p e a n s w i t h c a p i t a l , p e r m i t s

w a r e i s s u e d t o i n d i v i d u a l o w n e r s f o r t h e h u n t i n g o f c a t t l e .

S i n c e many w i l d h o r s e s a n d c o w s r o a a e d t h e £ a m r a s , t h e g o v -

ernjiSiii". a l l o t t e d e a c h l a n d o w n e r a s e t number c f c o w s t o b e

h u n t e d . A f t e r t h e c a t t l e b a d b e e n h e r d e d , t h e y w e r e k i l l e d ,

a n d t h e i r h i d e s t a k e n o f f , l e a v i n g t h e n e a t t o r o t . H o w e v e r ,

w h e n t h e g s u c h o k i l l e d c a t t l e o n l y f o r t h e h i d e s , h e w a s

s e v e r e l y c r i t i c i z e d a n d o f t e n , p u n . i s h 3 d . 3 6 T h i s l a w ' i s o n l y

o n e ^ x i t ' i p l e o f t h e niarsy t h r o u g h o u t A r g e n t i n a ' s h i s t o r y t h a t

h i v e f r . v o r e d l a n d o w n e r s a n d a r i s t o c r a t s . A s a r e s u l t ,

j L i t r l s M s b e e r . d3i;:e t o c l o s e t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e v e r y r i c h .

'•ha very poor*

^ C

•'•Vhi!lZa'.:u, R a y . h i d e arA Son,";, p p . 1 2 2 - 1 2 3 »

- - ' I n o h a i i s r . e . La t n ^ l c i o n j?_ e l p a y s h o , p p . 66 -66 , , ,

. ^ 19

The Indian chiefs wore bribed with n&ny kinds of rews-r&s

arid previsions in order to keep tiieu off the wai» path. On

trie other hand, the? gaucho was continuously oppressed. An-

other law forbade the ganoho to work: oa.an eatancla as.an

aaregaflo. one who works occasionally to earn his keep. This

law was used in an effort to obstruct his freedom of movement

from one estancia to •another,, Little was done to encourage

thes "gaucho to settle, and stay in his own rancho. In 1768

a law wags introduced which.stated that in order to obtain

Jand one bad to show to the cablido evidence of a home on

the lard being requested, and that one had served in the

military service. In additon, the individual requesting

the land had to make this petition personally, in Buenos

airss, and go througr a great deal of formalities. Although

the land in itte'if -.? s almost free, the process of obtaining

*t, such as p-nyisg the judege,. land surveyor, and stamp paper,

amounted to such high auas that only the well-to-do could

afford to r and* "hen a rich individual decided to

obtain land. ne requested vast regions to ;aake the trouble

•* C H\ :-r 'trj'- r t i & * j ?

.In order* to be classified as a .gaucho aalo. be scorned

by «3oM*.ty, hrS persecuted by the latf, it did not require

sv? offences of misconduct, Who was the gaucho malo?

He w.;:s tv.e :~r.n that was bor-n and reared on an estancia, but;

' ; J p r Q - o *5* wl r ** * j; * T

?,Q

who really bad no place to rest, his head• The land around

hira belonged to soaeoue v;ho had accuaulated it with capital

or service to some t1ranoa If the gaucho happened to have

a raneho in such area, very of sea lie wss forcibly evicted

from it by the owner. 3^ . Th<s class-if lea fcion of ;-3ucho aalo

included individuals whose only offense was not being able

fco show a paper in which it .was stated that they had a per-

manent ,1 ob,, or a fixed address. It included individuals who

were travelling outside of their own district and had not

secured a permit to do no. And there, was• occasionally one

who fit in this category simply because he had neglected to

vote in the last elections, or because his wife aroused the

Interest of the police sergeant.39

It is extremely difficult to give an objective and

unbiased view of the gaucho, mainly because works coac^ming

him are either in favor, or against hira. One of -the moftt

reliable and best descriptions of the gaucho and his way of

life is found in the diaries of those who travelled through

the pampas. Edmund Teuple travelled from Buenos Aires to

Bolivia in 1826 and in his travel diary he tells of the hos-

pitality and cordiality with which he was received at the

many ranchos he visited, Whenever a stranger visited the

gaucho's howa, he. would refrain from asking his visitor >ho

-^Leuniann, La 1 it era fcura gaucheaca, pp. 166-169»

-'^Inchauspe, La trad j clon £ el gaucho, pp» 3/~39-

.113 was, cr where ha was going, lest he himiliato or embarrass

scaeons with his questions. The gaucho had 230 strong l'e sl-

ing t» of possession and thereforef did not hesitate to share

whatever he had with someone else,^0

x'no fyiucno viewed ir o.'fl a Histories*!. perKpsrotivcs pro-

jects aa iuage that each .Individual nust identify for himself.

J.'or some the gaucho wae a hero, for others s savage. In truth

he vras neither and he was 'both. Unfortunately, today the

^"jch0 i a l i u l e aor'« than a shadow -of the traditional figure.

TYA'3 historical gauchc slowly began disappearing from the

•rger.ti.vic scena with the appearance of barbed wire fences,

an5 long niles of railroad trades.

c

L-'0 r 1 }-lr * ? !

CRAPIER II

WiB GAIJCHO IN ?03tRI AND .8'IC'I'IGN

The gaucho literature of Argentina is of particular

lraporusr.ee for several reasons. It Is the first truly indige-

nous one of xhe B.lo de la Plata region; it played a Eajor

role in shaping ths idea a o* the people; and, it .demonstrates

the fcirjilarity between the gc-.ucho and the North American cow-

boy .

The. gauc.bc; the:aa c%x. bo found in every genre of Argen-

tine literature. It crlgi cursed in scngs ar»d ballads** Tha

forms of the primitive vers?- treating the ganeho v;ere aany

and varieds and t A e lyr JL O lD> were sung tc the accorapanisaent of

a guitar by the payaclorer, gauclio ainstrels» Their themes

v;ere in large part limited to Love, merriment and death.

After 1810 patriotism same to be a popular subject. As a

general rule the ballads? r/ere ncclelei on the old Spanish

ronanoe.s. composed in quatra ins with linos of eight sylla-

bles, the second rhyainr vrifch the fourth*^

In 1?77 the first gauoho poen was published by an

anonymous balladear, It followed by a few others iions

• 'Anibal Sanchez Realet"., wLa poecia gau.cbesqa," Bevista 11er oa;aea»iu£ tia, X.XYI uly „ i$r5l), 261-299«

'"Tinker, Life a net Liters tore of the Pa my^ s, pp.. $-10*

*\!r it*

23

of Hitch .is considered of significant importances It was

not until Bartolcwe Hidalgo C1788-1623) published his Dialo-

S 9 R :F b't'loticos in 1821 that gsaoho talk and v e v n e . became a

h

respectable branch of literature„ "* Hidalgo8 a vw*K was fol-

lowed by that of a faw ninor poets-, awong them -Juan. Godoy

(1793-1^).5 The next really important gaucho poet v;as

Hilarlo Ascasubi {1S07-1875) whose po«si Santos is

treated in this thesis.

. Esteban Echeverria (ISO5-1851) regarded the language

used on the as- an ill iterate jargon and founded a new

school of writers who wrote, gaucho poeuis in correct Cb S T>L li&n.,

His most important work La caotiy-a (183?) is notable because

it is the initial gaucho poem written in such a manner* The

rchool of writers founded by Hehever.ri'a counts- a&o;as Its •

members Rafasl Gbligado author of another Santos Vera, and / *y

iiartol ome Mitre#' _ .

The greatest gaucho poe;a. v;as published by Jose Hernandez

{J.f33'+-1 ) and has a till not bo en paralleled in popularity " i . '

Edward La roc que Tinker, The Horseaen of tjhe Ara ericas (Austin, 1967), p« 33® """""

'tfeberto Glusti , Lecclones oe 3.11era tura ar rentlna £ h 1 ts t>anoa r.er j cana (Buenos" A ires", i947)7~P« "179*7" '

< • Ricardo Rojas His tor-la de la literatura ar^entina

(Buenos A-tres, 19^"), ~ ™" "**"

<

It^first appeared in 1&50, but. it was not completed

•*Ko ias, Hi-3 tor la la 11 t era tura, ar^en tlna t II, 4?I<,

?.h

anl literary value„ Kis poem Mar tin Flerroa (first p^rt

published In 1872) along with Fausto (1866) written, by Esta-

nlslao del Canpo (183^-16605 are treated in this investigation,

Del Campo's poen is inferior to the work by Hernandez in

sincerity and inspiration. However, it cannot be denied that

It served as a link: fro® native verae in gaucho form to cul-

tured poetry about native subjects.

The next genre in which the gaucho theme found great

appeal was in the drar.a. However, because of the large scope

and considerable variety, the study of gaucho stage productions

will be ouitced frcji this thesis,

When the gaucho legend b£i';'?rj£ the subject of city-bred

writers it began to lose In truth sud vitality. That it was

revived in the novel is partly due to Argentina's statesman

and author Domingo Faustina Sara let: to (1511-1 ££&), 'who aroused

new Interest, by including in his famous Facurdo (XS'i-5) a

brilliant description of the gaucho types; singer, knife

fighter, tracker, and pathfinder. Saraiento insisted that

the gaucho would soon disappear. However, .he could not con-

ceal a nationalistic pride in the courage and complete sense

of independence of the gauchos. It was this that gave the

gaucho new importance in the mina of the writers and con-

vinced then that the gaucho could become a hero in the novel

as he had been, in poetry,®

8 'Tinker, ThB Horsemen of tfrf? Americas, p, 57,

• , 25

Eduardo Gutierrez,® (1853-1890) dime novel, Juan More Ira

(lo79) 1 while of question-stole lit era ry value, is worthy of

consideration because of its theme. Just as Martin Fierro

was the refer Lied gaueho, -Juan Iloreira was the outlaw who

must perish. It Is also Important to note that Gutierrez

was the first Argentine writer to earn bis living writing

fiction. Juan Iloreira "became even wore popular after it was

adapted for a stage production.9 Argentine writers of gaueho

fiction are numerous, but only a few have reached national

distinction. Chapters VI through IX of this thesis will

deal chronologically with the most outstanding and important

gauoho novels of Argentine literature.

Although Roberto J. Psyro' (1667-1928) has not received

any critical acclaim for his novel SI casamiento de Laucha

(1906), it has been included in this study because of the

changed characteristics of the gaueho in this novel. Instead

of being presented as s legendary hero, he appears as a *

pica.ro,

It remained for Rieardo GuIra ides (1686-1927) to pre-

sent a perfected portrait of the gaueho in Don Segundo Soabra

(lS-2?) as Jose Hernandez had done in Martin Plerro. Unlike

other writers who v?rote reminiscing about their days on the

g.s.. 3ncla, Guiraldes, in the character of Don Segundo, por-

tray ad the gaueho as he had observed hia at a time when

^Arturo Cambours Ocampo, Ind3 c 1 ones sobre literatura argentlna (Buenos Aires, 1952) 48T ~~ ~~

the traditional figure was little wore than a shadowy memory

i A

of the pant.

The last major gaucho novel discussed in this investi-

gation is SI romance de un raucho by Benito Lynch. There la

a diversity of opinion ivi i:h regard to the actual date of pub-

lloatlon of this' novel» iirturo Torres-Rioseco states that

it is while Rafael Alberto Arrieta gives the <3,ate as

1 'p

1933 •' ~ Lynch is considered, as one of the most prolific

writers of gaucho literature and his works have been included

among the best and-most interesting#^

In the twentieth century the preservation of the geucho

legend has fallen to the pen of men such as G-uiraldes, Payro,

Huge "Ws.pt, Benito Lynch, Eleuterio F, Tiscornia, and Leopoldo

lugones, who never knew the traditional gaucho in his prime.

Thus no ism gaucho literature is continually being written,

although today it is merely a portrayal of country life with

description cf gaucho characters and customs# It may ba

observed that present writers are no longer escrltores gauefcoa

but rather epcritores agauchados# 1 n / 'o3e E. Espinosa, "iNotes on the Role of the Gaucho

1TJ Literature," His rania. XIX (February, 1936) 65-92.

i J,.'»rturo Vorres-F.ioseco, His tori a de la liters, tura iberoarriorlcana (ilew York, 1965)*, p#"T5¥#

"^Rafael Alberto Arrieta, Historla de la literatura •ardentina (Buenos Aires, 1959)* IV',~~l44#

"""• Philip Smyth, Spanish and Spanish-American Literature (New York, 1965), p#" 597 ~~ ' " ~ "

:hs pop alar* ocfco-

v- *tern of stanzas

CHAPTER III

SAUTOS VEGA BI HIIARIG ASCASUBI

Coinciding with the famous Hay Revolution of Argentina,

there came to prominence a unique arid peculiar type of liter-/

ary poetry, better known as poesia ^auchesca, It is written

in the idiom of the gsucho, Izs raster is

syllabic and- it is of epj c length. The p*

is irregular, apparently conforming to the whlnis of the poet.

Although it Laay be possible fco trace the origin of

gouciic poetry to some distant and unknown author, it 6.id not

s chieve a h xgn desc rce of recognition until the Uruguayan

rtol Oni'c.' i i idelgo gave it literary forta. It must be

stressed; however, that Hidalgo was not the creator of gaucho

poetry but rather its promoter*1 Since he is not ox' Argentine

cr5 ,t:in, his wor.is will not "be treated In this pa pep. The

direct saccesijor in Argentina of Hidalgo's gaucho poetry is

h*i la r 1 o A s ca sub i *

Pilaris Ascasubi was born on January lb, 1807, in the

vicinity of Fraiia liuerro, in the province of Cordoba, during

s trip his mother r, as making to Buenos Aires. Much of his

e^rly childhood was spent on an estancia where he became

1 --Kojas, ill P tori a de J.a Ilteratura ar,:-;entlna t II, 3^?~

y'tf.

27

28

acquainted with naiiy cf the gauuho skills. He was only about

twelve wren he enibarked as an apprentice sailor on the ship

La Argentina. "During the trip to the United States, the

ship was overpowered by Portuguese pirates who took hita to

Portugal, England, ana. -France; aid finally he returned to Ar-

gentina by nay of Chile and Bolivia.^

He loved travel and adventure. In. 1824 he went to the

province of Salta, where he founded a newspaper. In 1825 he

enlisted in the ranks of Colonel Jose' Harla Paz and took an

active part in the struggle between the Unltarlos and Fede-

rales. Colonel Jose Paz was an Unltarlo fighting against

the cauolllos of the interior. Because of his military ex-

periences and travels throughout Argentina, Aseasubi cacae to

observe closely ana appreciate the gaucho, and his way of

life*3

Ascasubi used gaucho language in satiric poetry to

attack the evils of the government. As a result} in 1830,,

by orders of Juan Manuel r!e Rosasa he was imprisoned. He

spent two years in jail under threats of execution, and

finally rmanaged to flee to Uruguay, '*;here he remained for the

next twenty years, until- the fall of the t y r a n n y W h i l e iu

I-ianuel Mujica La Inez, Vlda de Anlceto el Gallo (Bue-nos Aires19^3), PP* 14-18.

^Ki'iario Ascasubi, Santos Vega, (Buenos Aires, Editorial Universit&ria de Buencs Aires, 19567, pp. 7-9•

^Laincz, Vlda de Aai.ceto el Gallo. pp. 48 -49*

Uruguay he wrote extensively end published several gaucho

periodicals, anon- the*, 31 arrlero ardent1no and El gaucho

®ii 2®IS2SS9:» Also in Uruguay, with the ear-Dings of a small

bakery which he esrabllshed, he helped to buy arms for General

Lnvalle and his crew, which eventvally defeated the Pedersles,

In the campaign against Rcsss, he v:as General Jus to Urquiza's

assistant, and in the battle of Caseros earned the rank of

colonel. When Buenos Aires separated from the Confederation,

he embraced the cause of Kitrs against Urquiza. After national

unity v*as achieved, -he was seat to Europe on a government

military mission* He lived in Paris the latter part of his

liie, where in 1'c'"/'^ ho published his complete works. He spent

uhe -last lew ,/ea.rs ox nis .Life in Argentina8 s capital, v.here

he died in 1875,-5

Aseasubi began his literary career by imitating the

of Hidalgo. Arrcng his most important works are Pau-

l l m Lu^ero and Santos Vega. The latter, also known as Los

£!®11120£ de was amplified and completed in Paris in

1672, and became the aufchor's moat widely read poem. H©

b£.r n writing Santos Vega in 1650, and it took hia eight

months, frcru September lc?l to April 1572, to complete this

work, which exceeds 12,600 verses. Because of his eagerness

v-w jLtublic-h i e h a i fc6.i"*s are soiflsticieu presented in

confused fashion, and the action is unrelated. One of the

"Glusti, Loccl ones de 11 ters tura ar/renti.na e hi s-nano-amerlcasa. ppe lfco~loi, ~ "" ~ ' """

30

periodic ided, Anlceto el Gallo (1852), Is signifi-

cant no' its vivid consents, but also because he

6 adoptc' xs of it as a pen narae.

i's original intention in vjriting Santos Vega

Is be >scribed by the second title, Los tnelllzos de la

flor account of the life of a p-auoho caalo, Luis Salvador,

a Is wn as el Tigre, and his blether Jacinto, although

th /,ter occupies a minor role in the development of this

posisi It Is a description of the perils and existence on

the estanclas. at the end of the eighteenth and early nine-

teenth century. The entire story is told by the legendary

ainstrel, payador Santcs Voga, and hence its title. Aseasub1

chose Santos Vega as the narrator* of his poera In order to add

a certain air of verisimilitude to his fictitious characters;

however, the poem has no other relation to the legendary

minstrel besides its title J

Santos Vega is the jiayador, the story teller, and for

eight consecutive days he tells Bufo Tolosa and his wife Juana

Petrona, the story of Log reelli.zos de la flor,, The action

takes place around Chasocmus, close to the Indian frontier,

during a time when. Indian attacks were a part of everyday

life on the estanclas. 'The two major characters are the pre-

viously mentioned Luis Salvador, and Genaro Berdun. There

^Ascasubi, Santos Vega, p. 10,

1 / 'Julio A, L-eguizajson, His tor la de la, lit, era tura hlspano-

asnerlcana (Buenos Aires, 19^51, I, 572**5?3«

31

are several other individuals who take part in the development

o.f Santos Vega, arid at the end of the poera, they all cose

together at Pergaai.no, to the funeral of a mysterious stranger,

who Is none other* than Luis Salvador. -

La flor is the name of the e3taneta owned by Faustino

BeJarano and his wife Dona Sstrella. After several years of

married life, a son is born to them.

Angel le dieron por nombre nombre en el que acertaron, porque fue luego en la tierra todo un angel humanado, eautivandose el carirlo de toditos ios pai rano«, que el nombre de patroncito en seguida le sgregaron."

The foreman of La flor is Bruno Salvador. He is a

very hard worker, held in high esteem by Don faustino. Bruno

is married to a beautiful girl who dies after one year of

their marriage while giving birth to twins. This great mis-

fortune so saddens Bruno that he also dies soon after. Don

Faustino and his wife Estrella. moved with compassion, take

the twins, Jacinto and Luis, .into their hotua and roar, them

as if they were brothers to their own Angelito.

Jacinto proves to be a gentle and obedient child.

Luis on the other hand is extremely cruel, a fighter, and a

troublemaker. By the time he is seven, he has engaged in

such pranks ss making a blind beggar sit on hot coals, or

p ""liilario AscasuM, Santos Ye.tca (Buenos Aires, 1952),

—

3

heating the bombi 1 la, tnus fca>rhii;/: « victim's mouth. When

he is eight he steals his brother * 3 poncho and a small knife,

and flees from La flor. After several 3'ear a of wondering,

Luis finds asylum on the estancla of a Portuguese fisherman.

As usual, he takes advantage of other people's hospitality,

and steals a few coins from the fisherman. As soon as the

fisherman finds out, he has hln arrested by the alcalde, who

in turn hands him over to Genaro Berdun, to be sent back to

La flor.

Genaro tells Don Faustino of Luis' conduct, and at the

same time begins an enduring friendship with the Bejarano

family. During one of Genaro's visits to La flor he meets

Isabelita Azucena, a young girl reared-by Dona Estrella and

Don Faust ino. Genaro as Its? for her hand in marriage, and

within five weeks a large wedding feast takes place. During

the wedding fiesta, Luis steals a few items and again flees

the es tancla to become the terror of that region.

Ansi fue que la justicia hasta un preaio prometio para aquel que lo agarrara vivo o auerto al saltiador.9

Isabelita arid Genaro receive a large piece of land and

much cattle as a wedding gift from the Bejaranos. In spite

of Genaro's desire to flourish as an estanclero. he was

severely hampered In his efforts by repeated Indian attacks.

One early morning an order arrives cosimanding Genaro to take

9Ibld, P.« ?2.

*»s

3 j

charge ox" fifteen men to take part in the defense against the

expected Indian maIon, as such raids were called. Before

Genaro leaves he tells Isabel!ta of his sister Rosa, who was

taken captive- by the Indians, along with her son Kanuel,

after the Indiana had killed her husband. Genaro had been

told that Manuel is now an Indian chief, taking part in malo-

ne s- against the white population, Genaro expresses to his

wife a desire of meeting his nephew, and tells her to flee

to La flor.

After Luis* escape from La flcr a rastreador and his

group succeed in finding hiri. However, in a last effort to

escape,'Luis covers his horse's eyes with a poncho and juaps /

into the Parana River. The skill of the rastreador in per-

suing his victim has become legendary. Para pasar el arroyo dejando coino dejo, esta rayita en la arena; y esta ray a la form©'' con la argollita que tiene en la punto ci chinchdn porque desde squf, el recao en los bra2os lo llevo'; pero luego a la cafceza al pa ear se lo car gd\, Y este arroyo, es toy siguro lo conocs el saltia&or coma cualquiera de ustedes o quiza mucho niejor. A hora nuenten. y pacemos el arr-cy o, y luego yo les dire' cowo v adondee

se ha dirigido el ladron,*®

10Ibld, pp. 171-17?..

3l-

I

While Genaro Is out on. his expedition against the

Indians, he meets Anselmo, Another rastreador hired by the

alcalde to find Luis, Genaro arid Anselmo join their efforts

and manage to apprehend him. Luis is first taken to a prison

in Chascomus and later, under heavy guard, he is taken to

Buenos Aires. As Luis is led by ch-3 guards to the new prison

in Buenos Aires, Angel who is in the capital studying to "be

a priest, sees him. The patronclto is so moved that he asks

his parents, Don Faustino and Dona Sstrella, to come and help

Luis. The prison conditions are very harsh and inhumane#

Luis is sentenced to death, but thanks to Don Faustino's

efforts, the Vlrrey changes the sentence to ten years in

prison. During his time in prison, Luis is often visited by

the Bejsranos and helped in every possible way. After two

years in prison, due to his good behavior, Luis is allowed

to liriiosnear, while escorted by two guards. Ltaosnear vas

the practice of allowing prisoners to go out in the streets

to beg. During one of such outings, Luis invites his guard

for a drink. After a few drinks at the pulperla. Luis kills

his guard and the pulpero, and once again flees.

Ascaoubl severely criticizes the entire prison system,

not only because of its barbaric conditions, but because of

practices such as limosnear. Most of the things given to

the begging inmates, were confiscated by the guards or prison

authorities. Not only was the prison system corrupt", but

so were the judges who sentenced the criminals. Don. Faustino's

35

generosity towards a certain judge proved to "be sufficient

reasons for shortening the ten-year sentence to less than

three. Another of the institutions criticized by Ascasubi

is the Catholic Church. He cites one example xvhere a monk

found some lamb ribs in & carbage can, and then tried to sell

them as miraculous religious relics belonging to Saint Anthony.

At the same time that Luis is being imprisoned, Genaro

prepares his soldiers for the Indian attack. During the

battle, Genaro is about to kill an Indian chief when he

realizes that it is his nephew Manuel. Berdun embraces his

nephew and takes him to meet Isabel!ta. Manuel stays with

them, and for the next few years they live in peaceful harmony,

with the hope that someday they may rescue Manuel's mother.

On one occasion when Berdun and his wife left Manuel in charge

of the estand a for a few days, the Indians attacked and took

Manuel back with them. At the same time the Indians attacked

and destroyed the estancla La flor.

Berdun and his wife had to flee to another region to

begin life anew. One evening after Berdun and Isabel!ta have

a small quarrel, they sleep on separate beds. During the

night a mysterious intruder comes into their ranoho and stabs

Berdun. Isabel!ta finds an iron rod still hot, which they

use to remove the rjoals from t he fire, and brands the assasin

on his back. Then, she removes the knife from her husband's

throat, and goes out into the fields crying for help. A

military patrol finds her and since she still holds the knife

in her hand, she is accused of the murder. Ascasubi again

condemns the judicial system and the manner in which justice

is administered. The sergeant simply made out a declaration

•and signed it. His words are accepted as complete and unchal-

lenged truth.

Y despue's ds ese chorizo, de mentiras, que ensarto con verdades y apariencias,

su declaraci6n fir.no, 11

Shortly after Isabelita is imprisoned she becomes Insane

and as a result she is .released and allowed to rejoin the Be-

Jaranos, who after two years manage to cure her. By some

miraculous chance the Bejar-snos and Isabelita meet Berdun,

Rosa, and Manuel. Berdun explains that the night when he

was stabbed, by the sti11 vnldentifled assailant, and Isabe-

lita went for help, M s nephew Manuel, who was taking part

in an Indian maIon, saved his life.

In the. meantime Jacinto Salvador is wounded in an acci-

dent. A stranger happens to cone by and tries to help Jacinto,

claiming that he is a doctor. /

Era medico el viajero o mas M e n ion matasanos de mala eerie la y conoencia, de aquelloa.que farclian&o la ec-han a ca en la campana de dotore i af&mados siendo capnz de :2a tar a Cristo crucificado.l^

At the sarae time when the doctor arrives, another stranger

comes to Jacinto's house trying to help. After the doctor

nIbid, p. 201, 12I]jid, p. 248.

37

pronounces Jacinto dead, the othev stranger requests permission

to sit at Jacinto's bedside, and remains there all night.

The following morning Jacinto is placed on a carreta.

and taken to be "buried at Pergamino, where the rest of the

family has Just reunited. Eight blocks before arriving at

their destination, Jacinto who apparently has not died, starts

to get up. The stranger, who was sitting on the edge of the

carreta. is so frightened that he falls off and is critically

wounded. The whole family gathers around the wounded stranger

and a priest is called to confess him, but the stranger re-

fuses, saying that his sins are too many and that he would

not have time to confess them all. Finally, he agrees to be

confessed, and the priest absolves him of all sins. Shortly

before he dies, he reveals that he had stabbed Genaro Berdun,

and that he Is Luis Salvador* After he dies, they turn hliu

over and find the mark with which Isabelita had branded him

the night he tried to kill Berdun.

Ansi, pues, la Proviciencia del cielo justified) no hay deuda que no se pague. A lo que anadlo' el patron; ni plazo que no se cumpla es verdad dljo el 0id.or.l3

The poem Sa.ntoTs Ve~a covers a wide field of interests

and depicts individuals from different regions of the country.

It describes life in the city and on the e stand as. customs

among the Indians, and among the clergy, A sea sub I has tried

3 OiJ-

38

to include so many different elements that at times he

sacrifices quality for quantity. Soma of his character

sketches seem unclear, the scenery hazy, and the perspective

false.^ Several details give Santos Vega an historical

appearance, although at- times the anachronisms are too evi-

dent, tending to destroy its historical frame.

The author's desire to moralize is evident in several

sections of the poem. He tries to equate Imprisonment with

divine punishment. This is especially true when Luis is

taken to Jail.

Hasta que al fin lo alc-anuo la mano de Dios y, al cabo diole un cestigo terrible del mcdo raenos pen:ado .1-6

Ascasubl presents the gaucho as lie was before the city

corrupted him. He evokes that golden age in the life of the

Kaucho palsano before the Wars of Independence and civil

strife.1?

The women in Santos Vega, generally, are objects of

esteem and respect although a feeling of romantic love towards

them is almost nonexistent. Ascasubi does not glorify the

lo. but repeatedly emphasizes the unhappy

l^RoJas, Hist or ia de la litera tura arf.en.tina. II. 46*5-493. ~ — a —' ' J

1^ A r r l e t a' Hlstcrla de la literature, aryentlna. IV, 65-

l^Ascasubi, Santos Ve^a.'p. 162.

^ i M d , p. xii.

39

consequences of a life of or Lute. Ha not only amuses with his

wit and good sense of hu^or, "but teaches a moral lesson.

Ascasubifs true genius as a writer is clearly revealed in

Santos Vega, earning him a place of distinction among the

three most popular and beloved gaueho poets.

CHAPTER IV

FAU3T0 BY ESTANISLAO DEL CAMPO

Of the three major gaucho poets,, Estanislao del Campo

/ /

I s l e s s popular than H i l a r i o Ascasubi or Jose H e r n a M e z , but

h i s poem Fausto is considered the most refined and ingenious,

a j e w e l of its kind.

Estanislao del Campo was "born in Buenos Aires on Feb-

r u a r y 7, 183^. His father had served in the Army since the

days of Independence, and returned to the military ranks un-

der- the leadership of Lava lie, under whom he became a colonel.

His son Fistanislao also occupied a prominent place among the

revolutionary figures of that era„ Estanislao del Campo vras

an ardent supporter of the porteiios who favored the secession

of Buenos Aires. Under Ado]fo Alsina ho took part in the

action at Cepeda, and in P&von earned tho rank of captain.

During the Mitre revolution in 18?U, he became a colonel. 1

Hs occupied several public offices, serving as Secre-

tary of the Chamber of Deputies of Buenos Aires, and National

Deputy, and for twelve years held a provincial governmental

post. Del Campo was at different times a merchant, a military

man, an editor, and a politician,, However, it was his works

^ R o j a s , Eistoria de la liters t u r a arsrentina. II. k-9k-^95. — — — - - — —

*f0

k-i

as a poet for which he Is best remembered.2 He entered the

ranks of gaucho poets in 1857, declaring himself a disciple

of Ascasubi. Following the example of his master Ascasubi

(Aniceto el Gallo), Del Campo chose the pseudonym Anieeto el

Polio.

His first poem which he published in the newspaper Los

debates caused Hilario Ascasubi to write in SI orden of 1&57,

in which he declared that he was not in any way connected to

the poem published by Del Campo, under the already mentioned

pseudonym.3 Among his works are found Acentos de ml gultarra

and. Composlciones festlvas. In his brief book Poesias (18?0)?

his poem Fausto has saved his name from being for ever for-

gotten.^

Faust, lyrical drama in five acts by Charles Gounod,

with an Italian text, is a simplified version of Johann Wolf-

gang Goethe's . It was premiered In Argentina at the

Teafcro Colon on August 24, 1566 On the 21st of August, the / •

newspaper La H a d o n Argentina, began publishing a Spanish

translation of Faust so that anyone attending the opera could

understand It. Five days after .Faust's premiere, Del Campo

^Glusti, Lecclcnes de literatura argentine e hispano-ameri carta. pp. lS?-l~63. ~

^Arrieta, His tor la de la IJ-^^r'Atura ardent l m , IV, 93*

Ro,1as, Hi s tor la de la literatura a;-p;5ntlnaa II, 196.

I, 5?4. ^Leguj zamon, His fccria de la li et;a trra. h1s^a nc&n^ r icana,

42

dedicated and submitted to Ricardo Gutierrez' judgement his

own version titled Fausto. It was published in the newspaper

La trlbuna October 3 sr.d L-, 1866. On November 8, 1866, it

appeared in booklet form. The proceeds of the sale of Fausto

went to military hospitals, since the country was at war with

ParaguayEstanislao del Campo died in Buenos Aires on

November 6, 1880 at the early age of forty-six.?

Del Campo begins his poeai by describing a meeting be-

tween Laguna and El Polio in the downtown area of Buenos Aires „

El Polio has come to the capital to receive money which some-

one owed him. During their conversation, Laguna mentions

the devil. El Polio in turn says that he has seen the devil,

represented by Mephisto, in Faust, as it was staged at the

Teatro Colon* El Polio's interpretation of the stage action

is typical of that of one who has never before attended a

theatrical performance, and his conclusions although distorted,

can be accepted as quite plausible to the ears of his unso-

phisticated gaucho listeners.

As El Polio enters the theater, he is pushed from every

side by a large crowd. His boots are often stepped upon, / •

and to make matters worse3 soiaeone has stolen his facon.

Finally he finals his seat, and suddenly the music begins as

^Arrieta, Kistorla de la llteratura ardentIna. IV, 95-$8. ~~

7Ibld, p. 93.

ii3

the curtains rise. He is rather confused by all this activity,

especially when a certain doctor Fausto appears on the stage

and publicly complains that science has not been able to

answer his problem. The aged doctor Fausto is in love with

Margarita, a very beautiful blonde, but she does not love

him# He announces that he can no longer live without her

and wants to poison himself. In his agony he calls upon the

devil who suddenly appears onths stage.

The devil seals a pact with doctor Fausto whereby he

will grant whatever Fausto desires in return for his soul.

Mi dotor, no se me asuste, Que yo le vengo a servlr; Pida lo que ha de pedir Y ordeneme lo que guste.®

Fausto tells him of his great desire to possess Margarita.

The devil agrees to help Fausto seduce Kargarita, and begins

by transforming him into a handsome young man.

El Polio takes another drink of aguardiente, and con-

tinues with his story. He tells Laguna of Margarita's garden

and the beauty surrounding it. El Polio feels sorry for

Fausto because he realizes how difficult it is to recover

from a one-sided love affair-.

Siempra ese amor lo persigue A donde qui era /que va ; Es una fata ilea Que a tod&s? partes lo persigue.

cEstanislao del C&mpo, Fans to (Buenos Aires, 19 5~')} pi 18.

ijij.

Y si el vienfco haoe sonar S u po br e /1 a c a o & e. pa j a, Cree usts que ss el la que baja Sus lagrinas a secar.9

The devil and Fausto are hidden in Margarita's garden

when her fiance Don Silverio appears at her doorstep and

leaves a bouquet of flowers. When Silverio departs, the

devil comes out and adds to it a little jewelry box. Mar-

garita is very pleased by wh&t she finds. Margarita1 s mother

becomes angry when she sees her wearing the jewelry, Kephis to

takes Margarita's mother aside and tries to seduce her® At

the sanie tir:;e Fausto is left alone with Margarita® He de-

clares his great passion, and also asskes love to her.

The following morning Margarita sits at her spinning

wheel lamenting her shame. She goes to church to find con-

solation, but the devil is waiting for her, and forbids her

to go inside. 31 Polio expresses his own feelings and pity

for Margarita when he tells Laguna,

Aura, confiese cuilao Que el cor&zon mas calludo, Y el gaucho mas extranudo,

All{ habria lagrimiao.

Mephisto and Fausto return to Margarita's garden 'where

they find Valentin, Margarita's brother, who has come horns

from the army. A fight breaks out and they kill Valentin*

Later Margarita gives birth to a child. Due to the misfortunes

and tragedy surrounding Margarita's life, she becomes insane

and kills her child. As a result, she is impr.u~Gr.ed, and avralto

'ibid, p. 28a "^Ibld, p. 16«

45

her execution. The devil and Fausto come to the jail and

try to rescue her, but she suddenly realizes that Mephisto

is the devil and dies. Fausto, upon seeing such tragedy,

falls on his knees and begs for forgiveness. El Polio ends

his story by comparing the destiny of a woman to that of a

flower.

Sus tiemas hcjas despllcga Sin la menor desconfianza, Y el gusano ya la alcanza Y el sol de las doce llega

Se va el sol abrasador, Pasa a otra planta el gusano, Y la tarde encuentra, hermano, El cadaver de la flor.11

Whatever appears dubious at the bog inning of £ajus_to

is clarified by the casual meeting of Laguna and El Polio.

The same is true for El Polio5 s presence at the Teatro Colon,

It is explained by the easy mingling of gauchos among the

urban people. Once a person can accept the likelihood of a

gaucho1s going into a theater, the rest does not present any

problems of credibility.^

Fausto's immediate popular appeal rests on its humorous

characteristics. El Polio's interpretation of the action on

the stage is quite different from its original uearArig. The

humor lies in the mistaken assuaptions which El Polio makes.

11lbid, p. 41.

1 o floras, His tor.I a de la llteratura argentine II, 501 <

k6

He naively believes that he is witnessing the occurrence of

actual events. His reaction when the devil appears on stage

is reflective of the limited concept he had of the Prince of

Darkness, since for him, Mephisto was not the incarnation of

evil, but the legendary unbeatable minstrel. Mephisto1s

guitar in Gounod's opera is his best credential as one who

is connected to the pampas, -3

Fansto is a transitional poem between "la poesia nativa

de forma gauchesca y la poesia culta de asunto nativo.w^

It is new and unusual in its content, although weak in its

dialectal style. It is not written in the original gaucho

language because its author has been in contact more with

the city than with the gaucho. His rhetoric slnply imitates

that of other gaucho writers rather than of gauchos in gen-

eral . ^ That he is not a man of the pampas is evident by

his usage of the word mar, which was not known among the

gauchos. In describing an extraordinary horse as animal

ove.ro rosao. he reveals his unfamiliarity with horses. This

type of animal was considered unfit for riding and. was used

to draw water from a well.^

•^Arriota, Hlstorla de la literature argentlna. Ill, 108,

•^RoJas, Hlstorla de la literature argentlna. II, ^98.

1^Ibldf pp. ^-98-^99.

^Arrieta, Hlstorla do la llteratura arnentlna, III, 118.

4?

Del Campo goes into great pains to describe the meticu-

lous details such as the description of the sea, Margarita's

unfortunate condition, and the change of colors in the sky.

Although these descriptions are not completely related to

the outcome of the action of the story, they contribute to

make Fausto a truly great poem.^7 He does not merely tell

a story, but delves into human conflicts and sentiments.

Before Del Campo, gaucho posts have bothered to describe only

the outer elements. Del Campo goes deeper, he penetrates the

invisible; he explores the soul and its destiny.!®

Some critics Insist that Fausto does not try to teach

nor moralize, but rather to amuse.19 This debatable con-

clusion would depend on their interpretation of such passages

as,

Ansi es el nun&o, aaigaso; Nada dura, Don Laguna, Hoy nos rie la fortuna,

Manana nos da un g u a s c a s o » 2 0

Most critics however, agree that Del Campo enriches

Fausto with philosophical meditations, and thus underscores

a prominent aspect of gaucho literature. One of the major

17 ' 'Leguir.anon, Klatcrla de la 1 it eratura hlspanoamerl-

cana, I, 575 •

^•®Rojas, His tor la de la literatura argentlna, II, 505*

19 Yunque. La literatura social en la Argentina, p. 128,

orv

"Del Campo, Fausto. p. kO.

48

characteristics of most gaucho writers is to moralize, and 91

Del Campo is no exception."

Fausto is the work of an ingenious author, but none-

theless, an author of transition. Del Campo paved the way

for future cosmopolitan authors to write about the gaucho

and his environment.

507.

23 "Ro jas, Hlstorla de la literature argent-Ira, II, 506"

CHAPTER V

EL GAUCHO MARTIN FIERRO BY JOSE HERNANDEZ

Jose Hernandez was torn on November 10, 183^, on a

fanu in Fueyrredon, San Islclro, orx the outskirts of Buenos

/ -

Aires* His parents, Don Rafael Hernandez and Dona Isabel

faeyri'edon wer® both portenos > He was baptized July 27, 1835*

in the church of La Kf;roejl, Froai an early age he iv*as left

in the cca-e of M s aunt Victoria, while his parents traveled

back arsl forth fi*oa their e stands in Southern Buenos Aires,

In I638 Jose wea left v.-ith his paternal grandfather, Don

Jose' Grer.erlc Eeruftr;&ez Plata. By the t-i e he w%»ft six, he

could read and »crlba» He w*s sent to the school of Don Pedro

Sonc-hesj -where he spent bi»o years, In 1653, after his .r.cthor's /

death, Jose Kas t«ken south to sr. egtancia due to a lung

infection. There he quicltiy learned aan/ of the rauoho skills

and ca-jse to closely observe the gauchc way cf 11/e» "

In the rc-versa ent power st..;'juf-;gle which followed the

fall of Juan Kanuel de Rosas, Hernandez took part in fche

battles of Rinco'n and Kl T&la. In 1657 his father died.

After a duel with another gowernuent official, due to po-f f

litical differences, Hernandez *-:ev ncvsl to Parana, whxch ">n

1 / / / ' Jose Hernandez, Mar tin Jierro (Buenos Aires; Editorial

A'&lant idrj 3.A., 19 3^) t PP» 13

hr)

50

1858 was the capital of the Confederation. There he begsn

a career as a writer and reporter. He held several government

posts and served at different times as Recorder for the Con-

federate Senate, private secretary of Governor Pedernera of

Entre Rios, and Deputy to the Provincial legislature of Bue-

nos Aires

In I863 be carried Carolina Gonzales del Solar and

shortly after, upon the death of General Penaloza, Hernandez

published his flrsz work, La vLda del Chaco. After 166? he

occupied posi -felons of wicle responsibility including a teaching

asslgn&arxt in Ooleglo *5e Sax, Agun tin, In lbf>9 he returned /

to Buenco Air*r? vhore lie be^an publics cion of SI Rio ds la

Pla ta, - Is. p e*.? he arcently defended .taucho culture

and 3oo5ety»*f In April, 1670., the gcvsrrur.ent cf Domingo

aaustino ^usra:^ed its puolieatiori#

took refuse in Uruguay• 2~<n3 sourcs-a say that in lc:J2s under

an aatneaty declared bp 3.3rmier.to4 lie returned to Buenos Aires

where ho conclude! the vo&x. 21 e;ru;cho r*uart£a Fisrro,^ Other *

sources clain that early In 1c7"~3 Kernsndse trav .•?•! = <* secretly

to Buenos Airest and under the protection of friw.Jn cook

*'RoJas, Hi st or la j.y 11 tera tura arr.e-itl.na? II, 516.

-'Giucti, I eceicn s de ll er.*--tura arg&titlna e hif»o&no-arr-ericuna, trr.** 206-201",,*"" ~ ~ ~~

fy£io ca la Plata, September 21. 1C69 • — ) , _i-> • < 1» -iinrtqae Bianch I, HarDin Fjerro »y, poe,pa de protecbe

social (B'_. er.es Aires, 1?52) / P» "l5«. " "" " """

51

up residence at the Hotel a renting. In 16 ?3, he once again

had to flee the country but was able to return the following

year to defend the candidacy of Adolfo Alsina

In the days of the presidency of Nicolas Avellaneda,

Hernandez was able to better his economic position. In 1879

he published the second part of Martin Fierro at his own

book store La li brer la dsl Plata, In 1880 Hernandez; defended

the federalization of the capital of Argentina and the estab-

lishciorit of La Plata as the capital of Buenos Aires. During

the latter part of nis life he had a substantial voice in

she c.:ffftir»3 of h\z country, and his influence wap felt in

Ba<ay govstweas pre jeefc* * In lc6,5 hi a health began to fail,

arid, he retired to an ssfcfer .via. lie disc. in Buenos Aires, Oc-

tober 21, Iv86J

His major rare: La vjk]% dsi published in

Parana, 1363, cl /jucho gartin ?.<cyr* Ax..d jX vuqlta a 3 Kartln

Fierrot both pvblis>wd in Buonos Aires in 16?2 and 18/9 re-

spectively, " 'id in 1881 he publisl-.-sd XZISCT-H SCROTI d el, es tanolero,

No other vrcrk in the hist cry c.f Ardent.!c-.o li er::< hare has

achieved the _ sarae fs-us ,-.nd distinction c s Heiv-ar.dar: * i',:arfc/n

Fierro» One edition fcllo:nd anotner, and by 16:,-v over

62,000 copies had been printed. His friends no ion,---?;' called

& ,J f J Mose Hernande;;, H.-rfcir. Fierro (Buen-;s Aires: ScHcLo^ec,

Peuser, 1?58), pp. 325-327.

? ' / > Fer-iin Chavez, .Jos--, Fernscd52 (Buenos Aires. 1959),

pp. 9-12.

52

/ / o him Hernandez, but rather Martin Fierro. When he died,

/ /

people told each other, "hartin Fierro murio." Of course,

Martin Fierro did not die, but rather passed into immortality,

/ /

Its author, Jose Hernandez, lives in the hearts of the Argen-

tine people, and his name is uttered today with respect and

veneration. Aquf me,pongo a cantar al compas de la viguela, que el hombre que lo desvela una pena extraor&inaria como la ave solitaria Q con el cantar se consuele.'

Singing in this fashion in simple versos crlollos.

Martin Fierro begins to tell his grief and his sorrows.

Fierro, like all the other gauchos, above all, loves freedom.

Hi gloria es vivir tan libre como el pajaro del cielo; no hago nido en est© suelo ande hay tanto que sufrir, y naides me ha de seguir cuando yo ream en to el vuelo.

The gaucho finds himself in difficult conditions mainly

because of the circumstances surrounding him. ^e says he

never fights or kills, except when forced by necessity.

Formerly there were days when he lived happy and peaceful.

He got up early In the morning, drank his mate and went about

O Glusti, Lccclor.es de litera turn argentine, e his pa no-

a merle ana, p. 200. "" ~ Q / / "Hernandez, Martin Fierro, p. 1.

Ibi/I, pp„ 4-5.

53

his work. When the day was over gauchos would gather together

under an onbu to tell stories or sing to the rhythm of their

guitars. However, "la conqulsta del desierto" has changed

.matters. t.

pero aura barbarida : l a cosa an&a tan fruncida que gasta el pobre la#vlda en Juir de Is autorida.H

/

Martin Pierro, along with many other gauchos, is cap-

tured and sent t o the frontera to fight Indians. He is

supposed to be gone for only six months,. However, Pierro is

compelled to stay much longer. The gauchos are not armed

and the sergeant uses thesi on his ov;n farm. The Indians

cous and go as they please because the captain has sold the

acuumit ion to ostrich hunters.

The Indians burn and kill everything that stands in

their way, and in the case of captured viomen they burn the

soles of their feet so that they cannot escape. During,an t

Indian attack: Martin Pierro describes one of his encounters with an Indian as follows.

Dies le pardone al salvaje las ganas que me t-?.:>}la Desate las tres narlas y lo engatuae a cabriolas„ Pucha, si no traigo bola«; me achura el indio ese dia.

The' living conditions on the, frontier are extremely /

rugged. Martin Pierro is given no clothing or money, and

11Ibid, p. 12. 12Ibid, p. 29

5^

very little food. The only thing he has left is a blanket,

and even that the sergeant soon takes for himself. On a

certain occasion a few gauchos receive a small payment. Since

Fierro has been in the service for two years he expects that

perhaps at last he will receive some money. Unfortunately,

he finds that his name is not on the list. He asks the ser-

geant,

tal vez nanana acabaran de pagar Que ma nana ni otro di'aQ al punto me contesto.

This incident Increases Martin's desire to desert. One

evening he tries to escape, but the guard who happens to bo

a gringo shouts, •JQuien vibore? Qxie viboras?11 replied.

Martin, "Hag'arto" shouts again the £ringo, to which I.artin / /

Fierro answers, "Mas lagarto sera3 vos,H14 He is severely

punished for his attempted escape. Fierro complains of ^rin-

gos who are sent to the frontier because they do not understand

the gaucho, and do not know how to survive the rugged life.

A new attack is being planned agsinat the Indians.,

Martin Fierro again tries to escape, and this time he is

successful. When he arrives home he finds everything gone.

From a neighbor he finds out that all his possessions have

been sold to pay taxes, his two rmall sons have ted to go to

work as r-eones. and his wife has left with someone else who

can provide for her. His hatred against those who caused

P. 36, i;\Ibid. p. 41.

55

this misfortune is revived. Since he is now a deserter, he

finds himself persecuted everywhere he goes. At a dance he

gets into a fight and kills his opponent. Although it was

In self defense, he has to flee because otherwise he will be

arrested for desertion. His life becomes an endless race

against the authorities. As he flees he says•

Monte y me encomende a Dins, rumbiando para otro pa go; que el gaucho que llanan vago no puede tensr querencia, y ansl de estrago en estrago vive yorardo su auserela„

El anda siempre juyendo, siempre pebre y perseguAdo; no tiene cueva ni niao, como si juera ma Id .1 to; porque el ser gaucho, barajol el ser gaucho es un delito*

When a gaucho dies no one bothers to bury him. The

only thing he is good for is to vote® If he does not ceaiplaln

he is a brute, and if he resists he is a j^uchc iiialo. On a

^certain occasion Martin Fierro finds himself surroundad by

the mlliela that Is trying to arrest him® Although greatly

outnumbered, he courageously defends himself, Gaucho Cruz

Comes to his rescue and the two defeat the police. A la stir _•

friendship develops between Martin Fj.erro and Orus. The /

latter also had a rancho and a. ivife, but J-ust like Martin

Pierro he was sent to the frontier where he became a deserter.

Cruz tries to console Fierro and tells his c m life story.

He goes on to compare; the city dweller with the Ja&Tji, a very

common waterfowl of the country' •JIbljj , p, 63.

56

De los males que sufrimos hablan muciic los puebieros, pero haceix cono los teros para esconder sus nlditos: en un lao pagan los gritos y en otro tienen los guevos.1°

Martin Fierro and Cruz decide that In order to end

their flight they should go and live with the Indians. Be-

fore ending Martin Fierro. Hernandez closes with a group of

stanzas praising the gifts with which God has endowed man.

The conditions under which the gaucho survives are Indeed

deplorable, but Hernandez knows that his poem alone will not

change conditions; thus he says,

Pero ponga su espora nza en el Dios que lo forrno'; y aqu L me/despido yo, que referi ans.{ a ml modo males que conocen todos pero que naides conto. -*7

Because of the success achieved by the first part of #

Martin Fierro, and the many things which were left unsaid,

Hernandez decided to write a second part calling it La vuelta * *

de Martin Fierro. When Cru2 and Martin Fierro arrive at the *

tolrierlas. there Is a great tumult because the Indians are

preparing for war and mistake them for- spies. They are

placed under heavy guard and live separately for the next

two years.

A plague cones upon the Indians and kills a great

number, Cruz becomes sick' and dies within a very short time.

The Indians try to cure themselves with many barbaric and

5?

repulsive rituals and superstition. One common practice was

to beat the evil spirits out of a person.

One day Martin Fierro hears the agonizing cries of a

woman, an occurrence that does not seem unusual to him, since

they are often beaten. On this occasion it is a captive who

is being terribly punished by her husband. He has killed

their two year old son and with the child's intestines tied /

her hands before beginning to beat her. Martin Fierro tries

to help her, and in the process kills the Indian. Once again

he has to flee, accompanied by the woman, but when they arrive

at a farm, they separate. A friend tells Martin Fierro that

the judge is now dead and the tnlli cla is no longer searching

for him® Soon after, he finds his two sons, and the older

one tells of his sufferings,, While he was working on an es-

tancla someone was killed. Since the judge could not find

the guilty party, he sent three gauchos to prison assuming /

that one of them was the guilty one. Martin's son expresses

his sentiments about his imprisonment in the following verses;

Hijas, esposas, hermanasv cuantas quleran a un varo'n, diganles que esa prislon es un inflerno terui&o, donde no se oye mas ruido p que el latir del corazon.-"-b

The youngest son was reared by a very kind aunt. How-

ever, soon after she died, the judge took all her goods arid

assigned a guardian to him. His guardian was a brutal,

l8Ibid, p. 192.

58

thieving, criminal who had killed his wife, because she had

served him a cold mate. Whenever he got drunk, he liked to

give advice to the younger son of Martin Fierro.

Hacete amigo del juez no le des de que queJarse; y cuando quiera enojarse vos te debe encoder, pues sieapre es gueno tener palenque ande ir c rascarse.^-9

During the reunion celebration a stranger arrives. /

His name is Picardia, and he wants to sing his own life story.

He was reared by his two aunts who were very religious and

were constantly praying. Since he could not learn the prayers,

he fled. For many years he earned his livelihood as a gambler.

During a certain election, he insisted upon his right to vote

for the conaidate of his choice: En las carpetas de juego y en la mesa eletoral a todo hombre soy igual respeto al que me respeta pero el naipe y la boleta naides me lo ha de tocar. 0

Before voting, the judge told hira which candidate to choose.

Because he disobeyed, he was taken to prison and later sent /

to the frontier. Picard!a goes on to tell about his father

who happens to be Captain Cruz. Everyone is surprised, but

very h a p p y to meet the son of .Martin Fierro's best friend.

After Pi card/a tells his life story, a Negro comes in

and challenges Martin Fierro to sing. Their subjects vary,

2o.ipia, p. 258.

59

and Hernandez uses this occasion to express seine very philo-

sophical thoughts. The Negro finally admits defeat after

Martin Fierro sings,

Moreno, voy a decir sigun mi saber alcana: el tiempo solc es tardanza de lo que esta por venir;

No tuvo nunca principio ni jamas acabara, por que el tiempo es una rueda, y rueda es eternida';

X si el hombre lo divide solo lo hace, en ml sentir, por saber lo que ha vivido o le resta por vivir.21

Before they all separate into different directions,

Martin Fierro gives his sons some advice concerning shams,

unity among brothers, respect for elders, and everyone's

duty to work. Hernandez ends this story by expressing his

own wish that Martin Fierro be profitable to its readers: / f

Ansi, pues, entiendanmo con codicias no me nancho: no se ha de Hover el rsncho en donde este libro este.22

El gaueho Martin Fierro may be divided into three main

divisions: life on the frontier, life among the Indians,

and the return of the hero to his hometown,, The second part,

La vuelta da Plartin Fierro. is longer, involving more char-

acters, and Is richer in action. At the same time, Hernandez8

tone is milder, and he seems to accept the growing disap-

pearance or transfornation of H auchcs.

60

In the course of preparing several editions to supply

the demand, some editors c»ade substantial emendations to the

original text. Thus, soae words that are found today in / / O O

Mar tin fflerro belong to editors and not to Hernandez •

When it first appeared, the intellectual class accepted it

indifferently» The cooaon people, on the other hand, received

it with enthusiasm. Mar.*/ who could not even read had copies

of the rrerk, There waa always the hope that someone would sy J,

read it for th s;n. *'' Hernirideii v;as inspired and at the same tiro© notivated

/

to write Martin glerrq because of the scorn and persecution to

which gauchos wsr-o subjected, especially during Sarmiento1 s ""y ft J ^ $

administration.4"^ Anibal Sanchez Reuls'; implies that Mart in

Flerro's superiority li3<.* in it* fcher.e of social protest,

rather than its literary v a l u e T h i s is an over-sicvplified

explanation of the popularity of Martin Fiacre, since the

historical and costur,'brlata elesenta contribute to Its hi&h

acclaim as well as the purely entertaining aspects of the

account of the gaucho1s adventures *

The author of Martin did net v. rite deliberately

to amuse. Unlike Del Campo, his usage of versos, ?3 "^Ro jas, His tor la de la 3 i teratura arfentina, XX, 519-

520. ~ ™ """" ~ zi*E nriqu© Bianchi, Martin Jlerro an poesgi de j>ro testa

social (Buenos Aires, 195%), P# 53* C A-*Giusti, Lecclone3 de lltfe ;i turfl argentine e Msj^no-

amer.lcan^. p. 202, -> £ , /

*'ui?oulot, wXa poer:ia £/'.uchet;ca, " , p„ 26?..

61

was not to ridicule the gauche s M provoke laughter in the

educated rati 6 • father It was, "•« .para reflejar en el idloraa / t

dfe eate su indole, s k p:-<sicnes, sue sufricientos y sus espo-

rarxsa-s, tar-to ra". inteneas y sagradas cuanto mar? c-erca escan /

de la 7i3.tu?:*?3, dJd Bsmantlcvz write primarily to

describe the eustons of the gaucho. Ka wrote because he had

a. social p'rcu-.st to r ske. Ha felt and understood the trials

and conflicts whlcn gauchos v»rc? exper i ercing. tieroanaez

had a genuine concern ar.d to improve cerditiorsS» An

editor of a paper ho s.Tote, '"Vic country lh rich if' It 1b not

concerned about the face di it<3 pcoi*.-,

The historical backgro-.ind of Hart in Fi erro tes bean 4

clearly established. jfeceuf.l evidence supports Jiernsndesf

claim that gauchos who did nob vole as told by their super.lor a

were promptly dispatched to fight I n d i a n s L s w b , aiMilar

to the American "black code, * alm&d at makltjg the gauchos

subservient to the will of the city masters, were widely

used. Furthermore, land was unequally distributed, natives

were scorned, and gauchoo became the object of ridicule.3®

^Jose Hernandez, HartIn Fieryo (Buenos A jre&: Biblio-teca Mundial Sopera SRL., 1953), V- 5»

^Yunque, La llteratura social on la Argentina f p, 133 <

^Chavez, Jose Hernandez, p* 16.

243-2^5,

30 Arrieta, Hi s tor la de la liters tura argent Ina, iV ,

•. . 6 2

J

iier.Kn0.e2 advocated the application to the gaucho of

the /{-Maraitees of the law» 'The gaucho, he felt, must be a

participant in the ad vantages which progress achieves daily. /

Martin Sxevvo is not the name ex" a man, but of a race. Her-/

r£\me'z. doeo not tell the experiences of one gauc.hos but of an

ent I r- e s o 2 i e t y»3 i /

Mac tin ?,i. erro is a a effort to personify the character-

of the l.rgs:itini gaucho. It includes; his behavior, his way

of thinking, and hi a peculiar way of expressing himself. /

Herat udez has endowed him with both admirable qualities and

defeats. He is especially saf-.,.»soful in &ccursts'JLy projecting

met«.phcr s, th» gaucho * s favorite figure of spe.ech.32 It is

interesting to note that with very few exceptions all his

wefcsphcrs are drawn froa the p car/3 3. animals, or triirg,-. '.ilth,

which the gaucho is moat familiar.

Hernandez' technique of writing does not contain any-

thing thac had not been tried cefore. However, with rs-gard

to the authenticity of his gauchc accent,, he is considered

superior to all other poets >?ho -wrote in thin ldioin.33 S0r?5 /

critics reject Hartin Pierre aa a litersry mpsterpiece be-

cause j.ts author did. not adhere to the established rules.3^ 3%artfnez Estrada # Knert.? Z ttp.r.2.fi?iuracien d_e hartin

Pi erro (Buenos Aires, I95S), pl"~33?. *

32Hernanclez, Kartln fflerro, I'.diciones 1'euser, p.. 327. 33„

*"Kojas, Historla ae la literstura argentlna, II, 510.

3 -fM v, <^9.

63

It may be observed that- he displayed the kind of originality

and independence for which the pattern had been supplied on

a nobler scale by Shakespeare and Lope de Vega.

Martin Fierro achieved, complete identification with

the masses. It is the first book which in language and spirit

manifests the authentic national literature.35 Today in

/

Argentina, passages from Martin Fierro are yetnorized by every

public school student. No other book: in the history of

Argentine literature has become so popular- and widely read t

as El gaucho Kartin Fierro.

3 K / / ^<Pedro Diaz Serjas, 11 Lo popular americano en Martin

Fierro, " Re vis ta Nacional rle Cultura. XXV (January, ~ 19cTT 98-109. ' " '

CHAPTER VI

JCJAN HOPS IRA BY KDUARDO GUTIERREZ

B&u&rclo Gutierrez was born in Buenos Aires , July 15,

1851*1 His formal education was limited to six months at

Oolegio Na clonal and one year at an English-speaking schools,

He seemed to have had a natural ability for foreign languages

and could speak Italian, English, French, and German, in ad-

dition to Spanish. He was also an accomplished piano player.

His five brothers assumed roles of prominence in their

society, one ef them became a doctor and another a well known

2

editor and literary figure,

Eduardo had not bear, reared oil the papvoas. but just

like Hidalgo, Ascasubi, Del Csnpo, and Hernandez, he also

spent considerable time in the army, where he became thor-

oughly acquainted with many gauchos.3 He came to adnlre and

appreciate the gaucho, but not his manner of speaking. Thus

in his writings he preferred to use Castilian, and only

occasionally sprinkled his works with gaucho terms

" Eduardo Gutierrez, La muerte da Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, 1959), p» 10.

2. Hojas, His tor la do la 111 era tura arpentina, II, 587-

590, . ' " " "" ~~ ^LeRtilsaaon, Hxstorla <3e la literature. hispanoaoiericaryi,

II, 3.46, * ~ ~ " """ ~ * " •

Rojas, HI st or la de la liters tura II, 608.

(,h

65

/ Another characterisetic of G-v.vierrez's writings is that

he did not spend much time describing the scenery arid the

surroundings since he felt that the public was well acquainted

with them. He did, however, emphasize action and intrigue

in his narrative, His writir.gs sre not outstanding for" their

high artistic qualities. but rather because the protagonists

have remained in the minds of the populace#5

He began his literary career in 1866 by writing in his

brother's newspaper, La Naejjm Argentina. and he remained a

newspaper writer for the rest of his life.^ Most of his

novels were serialized in a newspaper and after a series was

ended, it was published ins book, Kc wrote for the masses

and his appeal lay in the suspense of "contlnuara en el pro'-

ximo numero," with which each chapter* was closed,? None of

his characters is a purely fictional creature of his imagi-

nation,, He either used legendary heroes or drew his characters

from judicial and police records.® All of his gaucho works

have several things in common* They usually deal with a

kind gaucho who is a victim of a landowner, a storekeeper,

or the law enforcement agency, and almost each chapter in-

cludes bloody fights, warder, gambling, and drinking. At

5 / Leguizamon, Historic do lr« lit era tiara hlspanoamerlcana,

II, 1^6, "

^Eojaa, Hi a tori a. _de la li teratura argent!na, II, 59;'-.

7 * Gutierrez, La muer-te de Buenos Aires, p„ 23. ^IMd, p. ] 9.

66

the sane time he projects zha g&ucho as a noble figure who

in his attempt to survive is forced into treachercuo de-ids.9 *

Gutierrez has written over tnirtj volumes, among them

jlHSn Cuello. Juan sin pair la, Horml.ga Negra, and Juari Mo-

roira.^ As a stimulant; or- perhaps inspiration Ir. his prolific

literary labor, he used copious quantities of tobacco. He

would begin to write his stories in the evening surrounded

- with several trays of Turkish cigarettes and by early morning,

when most of the cigarettes were consumed, he had completed

another chapter.Gutierrez's works lack polish and he

uses a very elementary vocabulary. He never reread his works

before publishing them in book form, instead he wrote at the

beginning of each book, l! ain correccion del autor. "J-2

Juan Moreira is known to have lived in 16-74 during a

time of political upheaval,. Moreira was the chosen candidate

of a fraudulent election snd the pclico from the capital were

sent to Navarro to cancel the elections. Moreira, supported

by the local police, defeated the vigilantes from Buenos

Aires} but later was killed in a similar encounter.^-3

^Hojas, His tor I a de la lit era to ra argentina. II. 59?,-593® ""

-L^Arturo Canbours Ocampo, In:]ag;aciones sobre literature ardent lino (Buenos Aires, 195-5, ~ ~ "

xAuufcl^rrez, La miter to do Buenos Aires, p. 9.

12Hojas, HI g tor la de la :ntera tur& argenfcina, II, 595.

•^Xunque, La lltaratu.ya social en la Argentina, p. 152

6'

The theme In Juan More.Ira is vcry similar to that of

i /

Martin. Flerro, Gutierrez claims that the gaucho has two

alternatives in his life; either tc choose a criminal life,

or go to the frontier to fignt Indians. The gauche cannot

work on an estanola because the es tanclero would rather hire

a foreigner, who is not subject to military service, than &

gaucho who might have to leave at any time. He repeats Her-

nandez 1s statement, "El gSucho»».no sirve para otra cosa que l h

para votar en las elecciones«

Juan Korcira has lived the first thirty years of his

life in the vicinity of Katanzas. He is a. hard working nan,

highly respected by his neighbors. He attends the pulperla

only on holidays and never drinks in excess, His voice is

clear and melodious and he can usually be heard singing at

gaucho gatherings. Moreira has many admirable qualities

and his physical appearance is envied by other gauchos.

On a certain occasion while attending a dance, Koreira

meets a beautiful palsanlta. Vlcenta, whom he eventually

marries. At the same dance there is s tenlente alcalde. Don

Francisco, who loves Vlcenta but his intentions are not honor-

able. Don Francisco shows his disapproval of the wedding by

not attending it, and later begins a series of reprisals

©gainst Moi^eira, The alcalde's abuses culminate when. Kcreira

complains to hi a that Saristtl, the storekeeper, .refuses to

rJduardo Gutierrez, Mo^eira f:3uer,os Aires, 1951) P. 13* "" " * "

repay him a loan he made sorue time ago. More Ira is In desper-

ate need of the monoy because cf the birth of a son, but when

Don Francisco asks Sardetti about the loan, the latter claims

that he has never received the money. Thus, Don Francisco

- jails Moreira on a charge of falsely claiming to have lent

the money to Ssrdetti. Moreira doea not utter one complaint

while in Jail, and upon his release Gutierrez describes the

gaucho*s feelings: UB1 gaucho salic del jusgado con la pri-

©era aemilla de venganza en el corazoni y convencido de que f f f *

para el no habls mas fierecho que el que 1© proporcionsra el «d» &

fllo de su punal ni mas justicia que la que el misrno se

hi ci era," -5

After Moreira leaves the Jail, he .resolves either to

get his ten thousand pesos or to give Sardetti a stab with

his knife for every thousand pesoa. He confronts Sardetti,

who acknowledges his debt but insists that he has no money

with which to repay it. a fight beg3ns and Moreira fulfills

his promise by killing Sardetti Kith ten punaladas. After

this incident he has to flee and bocorae a fugi rAve. Before

leaving the district he talks to his ooapadre Jllaenez, whom

he asks to look after his wife and son. In the morning

Moreira."3 house is invaded by the authorities and all his

family is taken to jail®

Moreira Naders from rancho to rancho, where hospitality

is a part of the gaucho1 s religion, and js well received

» 1: • 9-

69

*

everywhere he goes. Jv*2ianf another g^ucho friend decides

to help Koreira and wantn to stay by his side. Since Koreira

wants to know the fate suffered by his loved ones, he sends / /

Julian to find outr When Julian, comes lack he tells Koreira

that his fat her-in.-law was put in jail in an attempt to make

him reveal Horeiraf s whereabouts but since ho would not talk,

they let him gq, and then killed him claiming that he tried to

escape. His wife and son, however, aro still in jail.

Koreira returns home to avenge the death of his father-

in-law, and finds Francisco and two of hip assistants. He

first kills the assistant?, and then a terrible aid. bloody

fight begins in which Horeira kills the one responsible for

all his misfortunes. He flees again to a nearby town where

for the first time in. three days ho is able to rest. Koreira

is awakened by his dog, Cacique, when so rue soldiers try to

apprehend him, but he kills several of them and the rest flee0

Morelra discovers that one of the abandoned victims is only

wounded, therefore, he washes the wound and uses his own

handkerchief to make a bandage. /

Julian often accompanies Horeira> but he never has to

intervene in the defense of his friend, whose reputation as.

a gi'eafc fighter has spread far and wide to the point where

he can no longer walk' into a puller la and not be challenged

by at least one gcnjolio, "Kaldita sea mi suerte... .Que no

puedo pisar un fsitio sin. tenor que ma tar a un horabre -L%bid, p, 94,

yo

While visiting one of- the pulporias, Morelra sings

several songs about his troubles and sorrows, Juan Cordoba,

one of the gsuchos present, ridicules and challenges Moreira,

but not before giving his own reply to Moreira's oong, "Ansi

es el raundo.«,el hombre es coao la maripoaa que da vueltas

alrededor del. candil. Tanto hace j tanto porfla que al fin

viene a caer entrs el sebo y que da frita. "1? Finally the

insult? become unbearable and Moreira kills Cordoba.

'Koreira goes to Julio's house and upon meeting they

embrace, "I se beoaron en la boca coao dos amantes, aellardo

con aquel beso apasiona&o la ami*;tad leal y sincera que se

habian profesado desde pequefios ,fll8 He stays with Julio for

several days until the former- is able to obtain some news

concerning Moreira's family. His wife and child were finally

released from ja.il, but when they caae home they found only

the bare walls, Everything been sold to pay the expenses

of apprehending Koreira„ Vicenta finds herself alone and

abandoned without anyone to help her. The compadre Jiiaenes

convinces Vice.^ta that Horelra had been arrested arid killed,

and persuades her to live with him as his wife. Upon hearing

therms -ne:.s, Moreira decides to kill Jimenez but all his

efforts to locate him are in vain, Jimenez, fearing Moreira {,s

angsr, has moved with Vicenta and. the child to another dis-

trict.

1 '7 "1F 'ibid, p. 92. x Ifcid, p. 9o,

... 71

During his wanderings MoreIra kills many individuals

and defeats several partIdasc groups of soldiers, seeking to

arrest him, Gutierrez describes the fights as cruel and

bloody. "Ell hue so frontal estsba roto en una extension de / #

ocho ceritimetros, y el cuero que los cubria ccciplfctamente t t

deshecho y hundido taezclandos© el cabello y las partioulas

d e . h u e s o . W h e n Moreira realizes that he is greatly out-

numbered by a new partlfla trying to apprehend hira, he says,

In words similar to those of Hernandez, "ijo me hago a i.m

lado de la huella, ni aunque vengan dsgollando."20 There

are several other fights, but the pattern is almost always

the same, with Moreira winning an overwhelming victory.

The last incident of jor importance is Moreira' a

affiliation with a political pnrty* Gutierrez tries to add

verisimilitude to his story by saying, "La oposicion estaba

presidida por persona Buy conooida en la sooieiad de

Buenos Aires y quo no noiobramo.s por- el papel que descmpeno O *1

St., el incidente,"*"4- Kcreira becomes a candidate and is

popularly elected. The opposition begins spreading terrible

rumors shout Moreira's cruelty until they succeed in convincin

the authentic? l.o the capital that Moreira should be arrested

A larga detachne-nt of vigilantes is sent, and after investi-

gating Moreira' s habits, they sat a trap, ".„ .ponis'adole por

19 20 ' M o , p. 130. "Ibid, p* 14k,

2J;ibid, p. 175.

," •;/ ,, • •. ,, ?2

cebo a una mujer de qui en el gust-aba enormemerite»n22 After

leaking arrangements to meet the v-oi an at the pulperfa La

Estrella. in Navarro, Morelra travels there on April 30,

1874. He requests accommodation at the pnlperia. and. while

taking his siesta, is awakened by Cacique, Koreira arias him-

self immediately, but soon finds that his opponents greatly

outnumber hira. There wore twenty-fivo vigilantes from the

capital v/ho had been brought tc Navarro specifically to

apprehend Morelra. After- a long and bloody fight, during

which Moreira manages tc wound and kill oany, he tries to

jump a wall, when one of the vigllantes who had been hiding

by a water well stabs Kore&ra in the back; with hie bayonet*

Koreira succeeds in killing his assailant but his own wound

is mortal, n.. .amago una ultima punalada; pero aquel brazo

que solo Is muerte podia fcaber deb ill tad 0, cayo' por priaera

VGZ sin herir, para no volvers^ a levsntar RAS'S.* 4 ^ Liter

Morelra1s death everyone wants to see M s chest, sinoe many

clain that he wears a protective net, but when they ycibotton

his shirt all they could find waj a net of soars, /

Gutierres tried to make his work: seem factual, and his-

torical oy saying, "Ko»os hecho an viaje ex profeso a recover

dafcos en lo& pf.rtidos que et?te a-icho habito priraero y afcerro' r /

despues, sin encoritrsr en su vida una see ion cobarde que /

arroje una sola soaibra sobre lo acrayente de la relacj on que

P- 1 8 8 . Ibid, p, 206.

73

e m p r e n d e a o s . " ^ 4 However, th^re Is little resemblance between

his character and the Juan Moreira found in police records*

The latter is described as a typical raucbo male, who well

deserves to be punished,

. Gutie'rrez* main purpose In writing Juga. Morelra was

not only to entertain, but it was al&o a protest fagainst the

abuses of the law enforcement agencies. Thus, Morcira came

to be a symbol representing the virtuous g&ueho unjustly

persecuted. Gutierrez maintained that the gaucho was in-

herently good, but he was frequently compelled by unfortunate

circumstances to defy the authorities and become an outl&w,25

There are several fictional works in Argentine litera-

ture prior to 18?9 which in socio way deal with the gaucho.

However, Juan Morelra. was the first novel by an Argentine

writer to treat the gaucho as the protagonist around whom

all the action revolved* "Juan Morelra may be considered a

representative work, one which brings to the fore* the gaucho®s

sad trajectory from respee13 b i 1 i t y to lawlessness."26

Gutie'rrez seens to have received his inspirati.cn from

Martjfn Fierro, this Is especially true of his concluding f ',

paragraph which repeats the theae of Hernandez1 masterpiece:

2^Ibld, p., 12.

jSl fc^ucho, p, 103®

^Myron Ivor Lichfcblau, "Formation of the Gaucho Novel In Argentina," Hispania, XLI (September, 1932), 297*

De un hombre naeilo para el M e n y para ser util a eus seinej&ntes, bace una especie de fiera, que para salvar la cabena del aable de las partidas, tienen que. echarse al c ami no y defenders© con la •daga y el trabuco. Ss tienpc ya de que cesen e.stos hechos salvajes y el gaucho empiece a ,gozar de los dsreehos que le ctor^a la Constitucion y que conquistaror. con su sangre en todos los

- campos de ba ta11a.~7

*

It is a very difficult task: to classify Gutierrez's

works into a special category. Some have labeled Juan KoreIra

as a "thriller."2$ others claim that it does not have any

literary value,^9 Still others have this to say about Eduardo c

Gutierrez: * * # #

Reformo^ adultero,. idealise o rebajo horafares y hechos1? Es verdad r ?ero en una literatura donde pe ha tcraado en ssrio la poesia de este nlliter -per ser militar - o el drama de aquel diputado ~ por ser diputado - bien pusde hablarse del folletinero Eduardo Gutierrez, y estudiarlo.30

The fact rer,ains that until 1879 no other work of fiction

dealing with the gaucho achieved the popularity of Juan

More Ira. and it was not until the. publication of Roberto J.

Pay ro1 s El capaalento de La a eh a in 19 06 that the gaucho

reappeared to form the 'background in a work of Argentine

27 t Gutierrez, Juan Kor-alra, p. 213.

?8 ' *"Arturo Torres-Riossco, The Epic of Latin American

Literature (Nev; York.', 19^2), p. 132". " " " ~ ' ' 0 *

'German Garcia, Lg novels ardentina (Buenor Aires, 1932), pp. ?3-?br, ' "

30 ' * s J Sstrellrs Gutierrez heroin, Siotesls de la literature

ar^entlna (Buenos Aires, 195'?).. p. 91. ~

ib

fiction,3-*- The widespread appeal of -luan Horelra" is evident

by the fact that publishing housew, contrary to national law

and editor's ethics, went as far- zn tc hire professional

poets to transpose it into a poec;.-^

Eduardo Gutierrez died in Buenos Aires, at the early

age of thirty-eight, on August 2, 1889.33 His work; Joan

Moreira may be considered as a significant contribution to

literature not only for its literary value, but because of

its later adaptation into a drama„ Many leading literary

critics consider the staging of Juan Moreira by the brothers

Podesta on July 2, ]

National Theater.3^

Podesta on July 1SC4, as the b:> rth of the Argentina

3^-Lichtblau, "Formation of the Gaucho Novel in Argen-tina, " p« 298.

32Rojas, Historia de la literatura argentina. II, 5S)8,

33outierrez, La muerte de Buenos Airejs, p» 11,

3^Carlos M, Cabrera, Historia de la llteratura amerl-cana jr argentlna (Buenos Aires,"* i^oT," pp. 395-3997~

CHAPiSn Vli

EL CASAMIENTO DE IAUCHA Bt ROBERTO J". PAYRO

t Roberto J* Payro was a distinguished editor, and ac a

writer he ranks among the first novelists and dramatists who

depicted Argentine country life at the end of the nineteenth i

century. Payro was born in Hercodes, a town in the province

of Buenos Aires, in 186?, Roberto53 father wanted him to be

a lawyer, but his aspirations lay in the literary world. He-0

spent some time at Colegio San Joso in Buenos Aires, and in

188? published his first work, No7elas fantasias.-*- In 1889,

upon the death of his father, he received an Inheritance

which he used to found the. newspaper la l'rlbuna. However,

he was financially unsuccessful and was forced to end the

publication of this paper by 1592.'

He was affiliated with the Union Cjvlca Radical and

participated in the revolution of l£90,. A few years later

he became a militant in the Socialist Party and was one of

its founders in Argentina Some socialist ideas are 1 f Roberto J. Payro, Pfigo Chlco (Buenos Aires, 19^6),p« 1,

*C„K. Jones «r.& Antonio A ions o, editors, Sobra las, rulnas (Boston, IS-i'jS, PP- vli-x. " *

Darct.o Curie o, 31 recant lei »sso politico (Buenos Aires, 1955', P* 5^. ' "

76

77

reflected in several of his work's which would prove to be a

most Interesting subject for a separate study.

For several years Payro worked for the newspaper La

Nacion. writing literary criticises under the pseudonym

Magister Prunum. He was also a foreign correspondent for

the same paper. In 1896 he was sent to Chile where he wrote

Cartas chilenas, and in 1698 while staying in southern Argen-

tina, he wrote La Australia argontlna,** Although he has

also written several dramas, among them Sobre las rulna3 and

El t.rlunfo de les otros, it was in the novel that he dis-

tinguished himself. A mo rig his outstanding novels are Pa£_q

Chi co (I898), El casaniento de Laucha (1906), and Divert Idas

aventuras del nieto de Juan Moreira (1910),5

One of Payro's outstanding features is the intensity

of his belief in the things about which he wrote. In 191'-%

while in Belgium as a war correspondent, he came to be such

an ardent supporter of the Allied cause that he refused to

leave Brussels, and tried to help that country in its defense

against the invading enemy.&

His fane &• 3 a novelist rests on the new type of gaucho

fiction which he wrote, namely " l a novela picaresca del

^Arrleta, His tor la de la 11 te.ratu.ra argentim, IV, 2<!>3,

3r<> Jas, Historia de la literatura ar^entlna. XI, 636.

^Yunque, La llteratura social en la Argentina. p. 199.

78

tipo de Lazarillo de. Toiv.es.R? Af;;er the first World War he

returned to Buenos Aires whore he remained for the rest of

hie life. He died on April 5, 1926, at the age of sixty-cr.e,

during an unsuccessful surgical operation.®

The action in El casa&lento de Lau cha t a Ices place In

the vicinity of Buenos Aires during the 1890*8, The novel

ie written in autobiographical style but it no longer con-

forms to the established ideas and myths concerning the gaucho.

Among the important deviations from previous gaucho litera-

ture which occur in El casa silento de laucha, one of the most

striking is the physical appearance; of Laucha. The gsuoho

of literature has been usually described with very admirable

qualities; Laucha on the other hand possesses none. ' Even

sore unusual is the deceleration of the gaucho to the extent

that he no longer owns a horse,9 Thus Laucha Is portrayed

as an apparent paradox, a horseless gaucho* Originally, a

gaucho without a horse was conslaired to be a man without

legs,. However, progress and time have changed this conception,

and Payro's protagonist travels; by train or in someone's

carrata.

^Giusti, Lecclones de literature argentina e hispane-amerlcana. p. *H7»* " ' ~ " """ ~ ~~ ~

^Minerva A. Kimball, "After the Storm; an adaptation of Sobre las ruinag,r unpublished master's thesis, Department of Foreign Languages, North Texas St&te University, Denton, Texas, 1964, p. 2.

%acialin3 Wall is Nichols, "The Gaucho,B The Pacific Historical Review, V (Karehk 19"j6} 61 -70•

79

Laucha has lived fbv' 'a&K eraj years In northern Argen-

tina earning hi p. living in many and varied occupations. He $

has worked as a boliohe.ro, a far® r;eont and even as a teacher.

Seeking an easier and better life he decides to move to Buenos

Aires, and after saving enough money for the trip gets as far

as Campana. Since he does not have sufficient money to buy

the ticket frora Campana to Buenos Aires, he sells his poncho*

While selling the poncho he misses the train and has to wait

until the following day for the next one. Finally, he con-

tinues his trip to Buenos Aires and, when the train stops at

a station, he goes to the sul-perla for a few drinks. By the

time he gets through drinking the train has departed and

Laucha is left at the station without any otoney.

He finis a job at an estancla near* Pilar, but after

two days of hard labor decldeo to look for easier work. He

spends several days war.de.ri.ug from fara to farm, getting

farther away from his desired destination, Buenos Aires.

Laucha stops at a puIberia where he is told of an

available job in the nearby town of Pago Chico. He waits

for the man -who delivers the supplies to the different pu 1-

perlas in the area and when he arrives, asks for a ride to

Pago Chico. During the journey the driver tells him that /

the owner of the nulperLa in Pago Chico is an Italian widow

who is looking for someone to help her iu the business. Lau-

cha meets Dona Carolis#, who is thirty-four, fairly attractive,

and has been a widow for about a year. She is living alone

except for an old man, Ciprlaijo, living in an adjacent rancho

80

who looks after the pign* Laucha offers his services and

although she cannot pay him much, he decides to stay and i

work at hsr pullerla.

Laucha impresses the widow as a hard worker and soon

proposes to marry her. The Italian priest, who was saving

as much as he could in order to return to his beloved Italy,

offers to marry Laucha and Carolina without recording the

marriage. For this service he demands a higher fee than

was customary. Although Laucha5s original intentions were

honorable, he takes advantage of this opportunity to marry

Carolina in a manner that will leave hlia free to consider

the marriage invalid later if circumstances make it advan-

tageous for him to do so, Laucha arid Carolina are happily -

married in an illegal ceremony, but of course, Carolina is

not aware of any irregular!ties.

Soon after they are married, Laucha squanders many of

his wife8 s possessions. He gambles freely and treats every-

one visiting the pulperia to free drinks. On a certain

occasion he tries to cheat at a horse race by disguising a

certain winner as a worthless nag, but he is discovered.

Subsequently a big fight begins and Laucha has to defend

himself with a facom "a bJ. no me gustan mucho esas coaas.

Soy be.jito, bastante delgadou, no tengo fuerza, j a mas, no

entiendo mucho de cuohlllo, Fero el hombre rae apuraba, los

palssnos habicn corrido a vsr, y habia que hacer pata ancha."10

• 'Roberfcc. J . Vsyvo, 121 ca«anlento de Laucha (Buenos Aires, 19^4), p. 69. """ " " ' " "

El

His wife comes to his rescue aril with the aid of the coml-

sarlo 8tops the fight- laucha has to pay what he has lost

on the race and ?.eaves his wife a'lnost bankrupt.

Carolina persuades her husband to give up gambling

and to begin a new life, Laucha recognizes that she saved

his life and promises that he will never again squander her

money. However, his gocd intentions do not last, and soon

after he is again treating everyone despite the protests and

complaints of his wife. At last he manages to waste all of

Carolina's goods, including the small amount of money she

had saved in the bank, and even a piece of land. Carolina

is now completely bankrupt and is forced to clone her pulpe-t

_ria. A bitter dispute ensues, a m Carolina strikes Laucha

several times with a stick. In return Laucha announces that

their wedding is not legal, takes whatever money is left in

the house, and leaves,

Laucha abandons Carolina without any remorse, or sense of guilt and ends the story by saying, si teugo notiolas?

$

Si. Ayer supe que estsba per-fectamente: do enferraera en el

hoopital del pago,

Payro depicts Laucha in a new environment c The r*r-cho

in which he lives is no longer of straw and adobe but, "Era / "? O

un g&lpcn grande con t-ocho de fierro ,"•*•** Another very un-

usual it.em in a gaucho's life were sheets, which Laucha

lilbid, p. 79. 12Ibid, p. 2„3.

82

takes great pleasure in uslnj;, 'fbus the uew gaucho portrayed t

by Payro la but a shadow of the original man of the pampas«

He Is a shadow which by the tin.ft Payro wrote El oasaralento

de Laucha had almost cccipletely disapeared.

The vocabulary of Si cagamlento de Laucha makes fre-

quent use of gauoho terms but in, addition Payro' includes

several examples of Spanish as pronounced by grIngos., Italian

immigrants. One -such example is the priest's felicitation

to Laucha and Carolina upon their wedding. " .Eh! .Q.ue » »

siano feliche1n^3

There are several metaphors in keeping with traditional

gaucho literature, They are usually uttered by the old aan

Cipriano who has been a real gaucho during his youth. Cip~

riano gives Laucha adries concerning the latter*r> proposal

to marry Carolina. ViLa Eujar no ha di andar sola, dispues

de haber tirao en yunta, Solita, BO hace manera, y no cirve

ni p'a nor la. n -'! laucte on the other hand reveals his own

identity more clearly, as one who does not belong to the

gaucho ranks, when he pcxiders upon Cipriano's counsel. nAl ^ 1 f

principio no entendi bien. Anyone who has lived among

gauchos would have immediately understood Cipriano's metaphor,

Laucha is neither a thief nor a aalo. He is

merely a victim of society, homeless and uneducated, who 1 3 lb id, p. 56, P» 29,

1-;lbid.

83

simply takes advantage of unexpected situations. The entire

novel is characteristic of the new tweut1eth-century gaucho

who is being assimilated into the urban population as he

acquires many of the traits and chsiraoteristics of city

people. He is no longer interested in preserving the high

Ideals of honor and integrity, but. becomes an opportunist.

El casaaiento de Laucha is a humorous story with a cruel

ending.

Until the twentieth century the gaucho was a victim

of cruelty and unconcern on the part of Argentina's colo-

nizers and immigrants. In the present century the situation

was reversed. The incidents in which immigrants became

victims and laughing stock of the paisanos are macro,us and

frequent. It is for thin reapon that after both the first

and second World War the large nunber of ircui grants vrho came

to Argentina tended to segregate themselves in small towns

called colonlas.

Today it would be difficult to describe the new gaucho,

for the tera itself is anachronistic. The gauchos of yester-

day have become los negros, or Ids cabooitas negras, who

have clustered in the capital city and other raajor cities

of Argentina,. Their ignorance st511 provides innumerable

occasions for runlorcus anecdotes, as they have ceased to be

gaucho* without boeoaing Gcciiml portenos. An example of

their ignorance is seen in their living habits. The national

government in an efforr. to ease the housing snort-age has

1 . • .. •• -, • 1 64

'built many barriost small communities in the outskirts of

the capital. These barrlcs are quite comfortable and con-

venient. However, soon after they were opened they became

slum areas because these paisanos when in need of firewood

to make asado chopped the doors and windows, using them for

wood, hanging burlap in their place. The same was true of

the wooden furniture with which these houses ware furnished,,

As late as 1959 the Banco Kipetecarlo Uaclonal wan responsible

for the construction of several more barrios. one of them

only about twenty miles from Ls casa rosada, Argentina's

equivalent of the White House. However, this barrio built

by the Socledad Industrial cie Korsiigon Livlano. S.A_., a

German firm with a new type of prefabricated houses, built

the entire house, including the furniture, either of concrete

or steel, thus avoiding the fate suffered by the previous

barrios»

CHAPTER VIII

BOM 3EGUKB0 SOMBRA BY RICAEDO GUIRALD5S -

Ricar&o Guiraldes was bora in Buenos Aires on February

13„ 1886.3- His father, Don Manuel, and his mother Dona

Dolores Go Hi, caxae of the Isrge ranch-owning class that

ruled the country until a short tiae ago. When he vras a

year and a half old, M s parents took him and his older

brother, Manolo, to live .1 a Franca. In 1690 a sudden im-

provement In the tide of Argentina prosperity brought the

G-iiiraldea back to Buenos Aires. Soon after arriving in

Buenos Aires they moved to the estancla La portena

Rioardo's first nehooling was provided by a young

governess who read to him tales in German by Hans Christian

Andersen* Soon, Ricardo was able to speak three languages,t

French, Spanish, and German. Under the guidance of another

tutor, Don Lorenzo Cebsllos, Ricardo was introduced to liter-

ature of the end of trio nineteenth century. However, his

heart was not there, but in the outdoor life'of the nara-p&s »3

'Xsniael B# Colombo, Ricardo Guiraldes el 130eta de la, Paapf- (San Antonio de Areco, 1952)", p™*13T""

O1 #« Rj.car-do Guira3dcs, Don Se/rundo Sombra, translated by

Harriet de Gnls (Hew Yor';C,"T935T. pp7 vii~"viii»

Guillexvio Ar& t RV^rdo Gulraldas (Buenos Aires, 196I) t D, 16

86

When Ricardo was about thirteen, Segun&o Ramirez made

his appearance at La por-teria. The colorful figure of Don

Segundo attired in traditional garb, seemed to Ricardo the

personification of the legendary gauche.** The friendship .

between the boy and the old aan was to last through the

years and, contrary to some crilie;.;1 beliefs,5 motivated

Gtfiraldes to write, toward the end of his life, Don Segindo

Sombra»6

In the sane year in v.hich he had met Don Segundo,

Ricardo left his beloved panpa to go to school in Buenos

Aires. When the time caae to cosaidsr the choice of a pro-

fession, he seemed to feel an inclination toward archi-

tecture, He entered the University of Buenos Aires in 1.903,

but his love of country life find his passion for reading

outside of his chosen discipline distracted his attention

from his studies, obliging him to withdraw from the uni-

versity.'' On October 20, 1913, in the Church of husstra

Senora del Socorro in Buenos Aires, Guiraldes married

2a ' }'Pafclo Kax Ynsfrar., "El vercladero Don Segundo en Don

Segundo Sorabra, " Revlsta Iberoamerioana, XXIX (July, 1963), 317-320. "" "

^David T. Sisto, "A Possible Fictional Source for Don Segundo Soubra,K hy^pania, XLII (March, 1959) 75-?&•

Leguizaiscri, His tori a de la j iteratura hispanuaaer.i-» cana, II, '503. "

nr # '

'Aristobulo Schegaray t Don So^undo Scnbra. (Buenos Aires, 195*0, p« 37.

8?

Adelina del Carrli.® Fourteen years later he died at four

o'clock in the aft&rnccn, on Saturday, October 8, 1927.9

In September, 1915. he as>:er/hlsd twenty-six narratives

which he published under the; title of Cuentos de muerte £

-sanqre. Among his other '.forks are a book of forty-six

selections in verse and prose titled El cencerro, He also

wrote the novels Rosa-urg, Jfrucho, and Xatnalca.-Q in Paris,

in 1920, Guiraldes began writing Don Segun&o Sombra. which

he completed seven years later. He was struck down by

HodgklnTs disease and while lying on his back to ease the

pain, he wrote the last pages of Don Se^undo SpGibra .11 A

month after its publication it was ranked with the monuments

of national literature, Faciyndo and Kartin Flerro. Recog-

nized as the best Argentine literary production in 192?,

Don Segundo Sombra recei ved the Prlqer Premlo Naclonal,12

The events narra bed in Don Se;?;nndo So a bra take place

in the Province of Buenos Aires during the span of years

between 1900 and 190c, 'I'.ce principal characters are Don

8, 'Giovanni Pre vital!. Ricardo G'iiraldes s M Don Segundo Sombra (New York, 1963;, p. 2?.

3eha£n.j.e F. O r t " L a atrlbulante noticia, n EI hens or, (October Ik, 1928), p, 2.

•^Giuciti, Lecc loners de |.:1 teratura aryentina e_ Mjsnjr ne-arer 1 cana, pp. ^35-^36.

11 ** "" "Previtali s Richr 3d

a n^ Don Safjajdo Sombra , pp. 81-83.

1 /?. H 1 ... J tl < J - , - 1 r-. "1 •; ^ •> T \T T

' 8 8

/ *4 ^*1

Segundo Sorabra and Pablo Cacerea.1^ Don Segundo is & cattle

herdsman by profession and a traditional gaucho in character.

Fabio, at the beginning of the novel, is a motherless boy,

ignorant of the identity of his father, whose unhappy life

'in a country village motivates him to run avisy and join the

older gaucho in his tr-svcls throughout the pampas. His ex-

periences during his wanderings with Don Segur-do center upon

three long cattle drives and constitute the subject matter

of the narration. The story is told in the first person by

Fabio in the form of memoirs*

The portrayal of Don Segundo is the primary concern

of the novel. Don Segundo'a mysterious personality is es-

tablished upon his entry at the beginning of the book. Il-

ls retained throughout by presenting as little description

as possible, His character, indeed, is stoic. He accepts

fate. Having no fear of destiny, he is caira and self-

posses seel. When confronted with a physical hardship, his

attitude is one of absolute indifference,

The narration is also concerned with the gradual

evolution of Fabio from boyhood to janliood. Consequently,

Fabio eserges as the other principal figure and assumes

importance as a character in his own right. He is over-

confident and impertinent, and ho is impelled by his

admiration for Don Segundo to bccone a gaucho.. He soon

11 -Arrieta, Historla de Is llteratu.ra argentine, IV, 13^,

89

loses his inflated opinion of himself -when he discovers that

he has a long way to go lr*fcra ha c~n be like the physically

skilled and morally strong men of tr.e pampas.

Fable's experiences during the first period Illustrate

the development of the boy in a battle against physical hard-

ships. They consist of his struggles to master the skills

and feats of endurance of the cattlemen* His rough life

begins mildly enough when he starts to work as a stable "boy

and sleeps that night on e hard wooden cot. After a good

day's work he falls asleap from exhaustion. The next- morning

he faces bravely the rigors of a long day's work. Several

days later he joins a cattle drive, and during the first

day of the journey, he undertakes to ride his unbroken colt,

but is thrown to the ground and loses consciousnass. Toward

the end of the second day, he nearly faints from fatigue.

Finally, with the help of Don Segundo, he successfully rides /

his colt, Fabio is very happy with his J oh: "Habia eapeza&o

mi traba jo y con el un gran orgullo: orgullo de dar curjpli-

rn.ieii.to al mas macho de los cficios."^ By the time he is

eighteen he has learned riot only the practical things which

taake him skillful in his job, but also the fatalism charac-

teristic of gauchos.

Fabio*s respect and cffaction toward Don Segundo in-

crease with the passing of time® Don Segundo is not portrayed *% h *

Kicardo OuIraIdes, Don Seeundo 3ombra (Buenos Aires 1957, P. *0.

as a pay ad or „ and he diiTsrs f rein such characters as Santos

Vega. In story tell Ire, however, Don Segundo is a master.

"Era un admirable conte&or ds cuentou, y su fa ma de narrador •

daba nuevos prestlglcs. a. su y& admir-ada f igura." j-5 Don

Se guild a Is represented as a or 1 olio storyteller and not as

a legendary gauclto narrator. 16

Two tales told by Don Segundo are introduced into the

novel ss separate narrative units. The first Is the story

of Dolores, a young pa if-a no who fell in love with a beautiful-

girl, Consuelo, while spying on her as she bathed in the t

Parana River. Although it is a fairy tele type of scory,

Guiraldes1 treatment of the tale banishes the impression of

any origin other than that of the native environment. He

has achieved this authenticity by casting the elements of

the narration into local terms. Specifically, he has region-

alized the setting, the personalitiesf and the language.

The second story is a moral tale with a humorous turn.

One day when Our Lord was journeying through the Koiy Land

with Saint Peter, the iuule on which he was riding lost a

shoe. At the next village, the travelers stopped at the

shop of a blacksmith. - The smith's naue was Misery because

he vras so poor. Ke had no iron, but gladly fashioned the

shoe from a piece of silver. Wiien he refused to accept

X:?I_bld. p* 63.

•^Prevltali, Ricar^o Guiraldcs a ad Don Sef undo Sonibra, p. 1^9« ~ ' "

• : ' 91

payment, Our Lord granted him one wish. Ilisery, instead of

asking for admission to Hsaven, foolishly requested that

whosoever should enter his shop night not leave without his

permission. After Our Lord left, the smith reproached hint-

self for not having asked for unlimited money and time to

enjoy it. Thereupon, the Devil appared and gave him his

wish in exchange of his soul, In time, Misery cleverly

tricked, all the devils of Hell into his shop, thus freeing

the world of evil. But, the doctors, lawyers,, and rulers,

who thrived on the misfortunes of the earth, were deprived

of their livelihood and complained to the governor. The

governor ordered Misery to release the devils, whereupon

the world was set aright. When Hiscry died he was refused

admittance to Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. As a result bis

spirit was compelled to wander the earth forever. And that

is why there will always be misery and poverty in the world»

The treatment of the two stories is similar* The action of

the narration is located in familiar environment. Our Lord

also speaks the vernacular and this, without suggesting

irreverence, produces a humorous effect, "Guenas tardea -

dijo Nuestro Seller*" 1?

Most picturesque of a]l is the description in Chapter

XI of the country dances. It is an artistic ouadi-o de cos-

tumbres« Later i'abio and Don Seguado arrive at Navarro

17 Guiraldes, Don Sef%undq 3e;_bva} p. 143,

V

where they are invited to ;-'ttnesa a cockfight. The battle

between the feathered combatants Is nade vivid with con-

vincing reality because V'&blo deacrioes it not as a mere

spectator, but as an interested party, Ke wins alaost two

hundred pesos,

Fabio and Don Segundo join a now cattle drive during

a period of drought. The cattle "become very thirsty but

they can not find water. Fixi.al.ly rain cones in the for.i of

showers and the cattle drain every muddy puddle they en-

counter. The following day, it is still hot and dry, and

as they approach an estancia that ha<2 a water mill, the

cattle become uncontrollable and charge through the fences

tovrard the water. Much asmage is dens but the owner .is

sympathetic to the problem,

Fabio is confronted vith physical hardships which con-

tribute to strengthening his characterMisfortunes begin

in Chapter XVI when his horse CoKadreja is gored by a bull.

Following this incident, he is enticed by Paula, a flirtatious

country girl, who at the same tii-e has encouraged the atten-

tions of numa f a slo"-'-wi tted farmhand, Fabio 0 is graces

himself by provoking :ium into a fight and knifing hin.

His misfortunes mount when he bsts on I he races and loser,

all his money and his cost norses. He comolains of his

18 T /

'Marts hofello F^oyh, "Evasion y retorno en Don Segundo Soabra,* Kisr^r.of ii.3. XklV (May, 1965) 35-41"

93

fate, "Un gaucho de a pie es buena cosa para ser tirada al

zanjon de las basuras.

Throughout Pablo's struggles, Don Segundo Is ever pre-

sent as an exanple of physical skill and moral conduct, He

is the Ideal gaucho in the mind of Fabio, who molds his

character in the image of the herdsman, 0 So rubra expresses

Fabio's degree of maturity when he says, "Ya has corrida

mucho y te has hecho ho;.ubre, raejor que hotnbre, gaucho. "21

Fabio reaches the suii,;it of his victory over physical

hardships when he succeeds in riding a particular black horse,

*N1 digo que tuviera un amor propio desmedldo, ni que fuera /

por demas accessible al eloglo, ^Quien no lo es xaas o menoa?

Pero el hecho de -veneer, gr&n&e y contin.ua tarea gaucha, me O O

liens ba de un vigor dasc^rado a fuerza de conf l.&riza .11

While Fabio and Don Segurt'io are working on a new as-

t-°.ncia. a man brings a letter from Don Leandro addressed to

Fabio. From it he learns that he is the natural son of a

ranch owner who has died, and left him his fortune. Even

mors than feeling the shame of his illegitiaacy, he is dis-

tressed when lie realises that he is to become an estarclero

^Ciliraldep, Don 3e;%m3c Scnbra. p. 151.

Irving, "Myth and Reality in Don. Segundo Sc:,\~ bra. w Klnr.an.ta, XL (March, 1957) i|-i| —'4-5e ~ "

2't *" "(Kb ral&^s, Do a 5 egunMo So^bra, p. 118,

p. 3-57.

9^

and thereby will lose his Identity as a gsucho.23 Don Lean-

dro becomes the guard!r_n of Fable. Raucho, Don Leandro's

son, is a very educated your c ten, fluent in several lan-

guages. "He shares his knowledge with Fabio, and lends hi©

many books. Thus, Raucho is influential in transforming

Fabio into an hombre culto.

B'abio is especially concerned and afraid that because

of his nevr status he will no longer be a gouoho. At the

conclusion of the novel it is evident that it was riot Gui-

raldes1 intention to change Fable's personalityt but merely

to give the reader an explanation of how an uneducated herds-

man had acquired the ability to write n e m o i r s F u r t h e r -

more, Gliiraldes stresses the point that clothes do not, make

the man. Don Leandro clearly expresses this- idea when he

says, "Si sos gaucho en de veras, no hag de nudar, porqne

n #

an&equiera que vayas, iras con tu alma por clelante como

madrina'e tropilla."25 It follows, therefore, that Pablo's

transformation is only an external change, and that his

character remains the

23 -'Arrieta, His tor la de la literature argentlna, JV,

1^3. ~ ™ ' ""

oil i Theodore Jlurgia, "The Timeless Aspect of Don Set-undo

Sombra," Hlspanla, XLV1 (llurch, 1963} 8S--92.

25 Guiraldes, Don Se^undo Sonbra, p. 1?^»

T.B. Irving, "Myth an3 He?*] ity in Don Segundo Soa-bra.w Hispan!a, XL {March, 195?) kh~h6* " "

95

When the raoment coaies for Don Segundo to leave him,

Fable's separation from his adopted father represents his

culminating aiisfortune. As the old herdsman departs, Fa'oio

succeeds in dissembling his grief. Ks bids Don Segundo

farewell in silence wich a handshake and a smile. He real-

izes that, "...en Don Segundo huella y vida era una sola

c o s a . " 2 ? By accepting fate with gaucho stoicisc he has

triumphed over the challenge to his sense of morality, and

has achieved the raaturity of rnanhood.

Don SeftuncSo Sor:-bra has a dual character* It Is a por-

trait of the gaucho herdsman and of the paatpa in which he

lives» It is also a nc vel based upon the story of the o p,

evolution of a boy to manhood.There has been acme specu-

lation about how Guiraldec v.ss able to revive an image of

the traditional gaucho. The explanation is in part that

Gutraldes has represented "Don Segundo in the eyes of a small

boy and of a youth. It Is evident that Fable worships the

legendary gauchos. So it Is that, in the light of Fabio's

Imagination, the reader sees the old man as a gaucho of the

past,

Gulraldes1 popularity and fame rests on his masterful

blending of the legendary and romanticised gaucho tale with

'>n

Gu Ira ides, Dor? Segundo B ersbra, p. 182.

~~ Juan Carlos Ghi&no, Testiaonio de la no vela argen-tine, (Bue.no5> Aires, 1956'), pp7" l6Y~l€%

96

modernistic technique.^ u & :13S represented Don Segundo

bs a spirit. He has done this not by description, but by

the power of suggestioxi of a single word. It is sombra..

By ascribing it as a surname to Don Segundo, Guiraldes has

stressed the horseman's quality of & shade from the pa st

The figurative speech in Don Segundo Soo/bra continues

the trend established by earlier writers. Many metaphors

are drawn, from the paams or things associated with It.-3-*-

An example is the foreman*e advice to the impertinent Fabio,

"Es gueno no querer volar antes d« criar bien las alas.

Sos muy cachorro pa miar como los perrow grandea."3%

Aristobulo Echegeray points out several inconsisteuci-'s

in Don Segundo SomJxca«53 Host of them serve to indicate

that Giliraldes was not a man of the nam pa 3 as one is led to

believe, but rather un hombre cultot who did not havs to

work for a living.Guiraldes .?pent much of his time in

Paris, where he led an active social life. Most of his works

90 "fiojas, Hlsterla de la literatura argent Ira, VIII,

64-0. " ~ " - - • - — 3f\ $

Aguirre, nDon Segundo Senators,: una inter pre tacion mas," Nuevq Rev1.«ta de PilcAogTa liiapanica 'XVII (August, 1963) £^95.

3xAra, Ricarao Guir&ldes, p. 309.

^Guir&lde.-i, Don Segundo Sccbr.:.. p. 27.

33schegaray, Don Segundo So^brs.. pp. 79-83.

3^ lunatic, La 2J lerapura social en. la Argentina. n, 155®

• 97

are not the product of rigurous application, tut rather of

his pleasurable une of leisure time.35

A great deal of symbolism nas been ascribed to Don

Sep;undo Sonbi'a, Perhaps the sost striking and convincing

are the three epocha represented by the different characters,

Don Segundo represents the past, Fabio the present, and Rau~

oho the future into which the present is disapearing.36

H'he vernacular in the novel is comparable to that in •

Martin Flerr-o, and other gauchesqua poems • By giving Don

Segundo the features of Kartin Fierro, CHilvaldes has cast

his ina&a in an aura of legend that has no equal in con-

temporary Spanish American Ilotion. As Don Segundo's

personality unfolds during the narration, he discloses- the

positive attributes of the uen of the •pfrnipas« When finally

at the end of the novel he is again abstracted into a shadow,

he clearly symbolizes the coaisendable qualities in the

character of the gauchos of all time,, Gill raides5 Intentions

were to represent nhe noble character of the gaucho as he

conceived It, His idea of the moral fibre of this Argentine

type has not been fully represented la gauchesque literature.

Accordingly, Bon oegunda does not have the cruelty, the

violence, nor the defeatism of Hartin fierro. Instead of

nheg'-iray, Don 3egund<> So&b&a, pp, 66-67.

-'°G.F. Vtjiss, "Techni .uo in the works of Rlcarclo Gu.i-raldeo, :{ Hiapanls. XLI21 (September, i960) 353-356.

' • ' 96

the negative traits of the gauchos of history and legend,

Guiraldes attributes? ax i'irma.tive values to Dor) Segundo,

The success of Don Segundo Sorabra places Guiraldes

not only among the leading i/riters of Argentina , but also

of Latin America .57 it has been translated into twelve other

languages, among thea English, Czech, Danish, Butch, Swedish,

Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Ukrainian, and Yiddish. Of

all the translations the most successful has been the French,

which by 1962, entered its twelfth edition.-^ This extensive

translation into foreign languages testifies to the universal

appeal of Don Segundo Sonibra..

^Francisco Luis Berna'rdez, "Ricar-do Guiraldes en ol recuerG-O," Grj terlo. XXVI (Buenos Airss, 1953), 67^-675.

3£previtali, Rlcardo Guiraldes and Don Segundo Sombra, pp. 201-202. ' ""—" — - — *

CHAPTER IX

EL ROMANCE DE UN GAUGHO BY BErllTO LYl-iCH

The last work discussed in this thesis is SI romance

de un gaucho by Benito Lyiicli. Lynch was born in Buenos

-Aires, July 25, 1881,1 His parents were of Irish and

Uruguayan origin.Benito spent the first nine years of

his life living in the city, and in I89O moved with hl«

parents to La Plata, where he lived for several years on an

e s t a n c l a H i s childhood memories are closely linked with

the pampas, and according to Torres-Hioseco, "Ss el urico

que logra darnos un retrato fiel de la vlda del gaucho.

Benito Lynch had a limited formal education and there-

fore the honorary doctorate conferred on him by the national

University of La Plata wss not in recognition of his ad-

vanced studies but an award for his works as a novelist.

He spent several years as n newspaper writer and won literary

acclaim In 1916, when he published Lp_s cararichos de la

^"Arrieta, Hi gtor-la la litera fcm*a ai!gentim, IV,

, ^A rtv.ro Torres~RIdi-sc-o, Grtmdcs novelistso de la America 3spagbla (California, T p F T r V " 1137

-'Arrieta, His tor la de la IJLJterafcura ergentlm. IV,

^Torres--P.ic3eco, flQ'^l-.stas de la > P* 1^r<) »

99

00

0

Florida, Among his other published novels are, El Ingles

de los guesos (19 2 *-0, L§iii nistl ca lladas (1923), and Raquela» -5

Literary critics co-asider Lynch a realist, "Lynch

estlma, sobre todo, el realistuo intense de sus caracteres;

"sus gauchos son ho afore s, honibres que viven, gozan y sufren

coco tales,"^

In El romance de im gaucho Lynch is not concerned with

the pictorial description of the surroundings or the scenery,

but rather delves into the feelings and emotions of his

characters.7 Although some critics have attempted to com-

pare Lynch with Henry William Hudson, who at twenty-five

left Argentina and wrote so.no g&ucho works froia his native

England,® the majority agree that this is- a superficial comparison,^

Benlto"LynoH" was "a writer for the Masses", and there-

fore he never won admiration from the sophisticated minority

Unlike his father, he never held a public position.

•^Enrique Anderson Tnbert, "Voice of the New Gaucho, " ' Aaericas. IV (Juno 9> IS' ) 9, 31*

£ t "Torres-Rioseco, Or-andc-s novel .i3tas de _la America

Bspanoln, p. 1 ]Jl-4

?Arrl c>-*x, Historic de la lAtoratura argontlna. IV, 15^«

D / '"Leguizaciors, Historic de la literature. hisj)anparnerJ.cf-i-

II, 5C2.

^Marshall Iteiscn, "be a J to Lynch, latro Hudson'.' Rev I'" ta lb eroajericana, XXIII (June, 1 c 5S / 65--&2.

lOr Cnber-i', "Voice of the N&w Gaucho." p, 31,

101

Throughout his life lie remained a secluded bachelor*, and i ..

died on December 23, 1951* in. the city of Eva Feron, -L~ the

name applied to the city of La Plata between 195^ and 1955*

JS1 ro.ua nce de un gauclip deals with the sad and unfor-

tunate outcome of a gauchc's love for a married pal 3 a nit a...

The protagonist, the twenty-year-old Pantalion Reyes, has

fallen desperately in love with the twenty-three-year-old

Dona Julia, wife of Don Pedro Jusntes. The latter is u:ore

than ten years older than hie wife, and is a heavy drinkerc

Pantalion, unlike the ronanticivded gauchc, is a shy,

polite, and almost withdrawn individual* He has always

lived at the side of hio wiclovred mother, Dona Cruz• Life

on their e static la, La blanqulada. is peaceful au<3. uneventful

until a couple moves in the area. The man, Don Pedro, fre-

quently beats and abuses his wife, who is quite charming and

attractive. Since Den Pedro leaves his wife for several

days at a time, Dona Julia becomes well acquainted with

Dona Cruz, and visits her on numerous occasions,.

At first Pantalion simply watches and observes Dona

Julia., but after a. short time, he falls deeply in love with

her. Dona Cruz is at first completely unaware of her sen's

feelings for Dona Julia, but when she finds out, she em-

phatically orders her son never to see Dona Julia apain.

and threatens to punish hi,-a if he disobeys.

- Ar-rieta., Higtoria det la literature argentine, IV, ~ ""

102

In an effort to haip her son forget the married paisa-

nlta. Dona Cruz enlists the services of one of her hired

peones. gaucho Ferraya. She sends Pantalion and Ferraya to

other districts to buy cattle, or simply c-n errands, The

two become inseparable companions, and apparently devoted

friends. T reculto, que a 1 cabo ds un mes, Pantalion y

Ferraya ya erart de los mas aaigos."12 However, their friend-

ship is superficial and couplately different from the true

gaucho friendships, as is subsequently revealed. Pantalion

becomes a fighter and a drunkard. In addition to these

vices he also begins gambling at cards. Lynch describes

very meticulously the long carl game at which Pantalion

loses over two thousand pesos,. At first Pantalion wins

large sums of money, but as the gane continues and his

drunken stupor increase;?, he loses it all, in addition to

going in debt. That saae evening Ferraya wins several

thousand pesos. When Pantalio'n asks his friend to lend him

some money, he refuses. A fight ensues, and since Pantalion

is quite drunk, Ferraya gives him terrible beating,,

Don Pedro, who witnesses the incident, lends Pantalion

some money and upon the Tatter's request takes h.lm to his

own home Instead of La blanquia'at because Pantalion was

afraid of his mothsr. Pantalion13 head is bandaged by DoSa

Julia who takes e.xcellerit care of bio, and he stays for

12 Benito Lynch, El romance de un gaucho (Buenos Aires,

1933 5 * P. 72.

• . ' 1 0 3

several days at La JulJLa, the estancla cf Don Pedro and

Dona Julia. While Don Ve3ro Is gens on one of his usual

escapades, Paiatal I on confesses to Dona Julia his great love

for her, but she scorns the whole idea and continues to

treat him as a platan!o friend.

Like all other gaueho writers discussed in this thesis,

Lynch makes frequent use of comparisons and cetaphors drawing

them from the pampas» This is especially true whten he des-

cribes the physical characteristics of Dona Julia. "Sus

ujanos tan del lea das pareclan al rucverse dos de ecas marlpo-

sas blancas que por prinsvera juegan revoltiando cobra lop

pastes. "13

When Pantalloot's mother finds out about her son's

debts, she sells all her cattle and repays the loan. "Her

philosophy of d.ebts Is, "liaides debe nada a naides, si no

i* >t { ^ *

qui ore paaar verguenza." •

Pantalion, still afraid of his mother, goes to work

at the estancia Los resalest where he continues his associ-t

ation with gauohos of ill repute. V*hile Pantalion Is aivay,

Dona Cruz becoi/iea very I'll, arid since no other aid is avail-

able, one of the workers asks Dona Julia to cooie and take

care of his patrona. Upon hearing of his mother's Illness,

Pantalion. return? hoc..© and it seews that he and Dona Julia

begin to understand each ether better. Dona Julia asks

15Ibid, p, 1 Qii-„ p. 137.

XQ'I

#

Pantalion to stay at La Julia while she; is looking after

his mother. Doris Cruz is at first unaware that Dora Julia

is at her house, but when she bacomos well and realizes that

Dona Jtilia has been staying with her, she. becomes very angry

and orders her out. of the house. After Dona Julia convinces

her that she was simply trying tc help, Dona Cru« regains

her composure and listens, but still refuses to renew the

friendship which previously existed between then* t

When Pantalion finds out the way his mother treated

Dona Julia he again refuses to ga~ and live at La bisnquiaja „ 4

Upon the death of his godfather, Pantalion returns home and

begs his mother to become friends with Dona Julia. Although

mother and son are pleased to be together, their relationship

is rather cold. Dona Cruz, just as emphatically as before,

orders her son not to visit Dona Julia. However, Pantalion

disobeys her command, said goes to see his beloved. Dona Cruz finds out that her son did not obey her and is extremely

i provoked. She waits for Pantalion to go to sleep and then

ties him securely to the bod, and gives him a terrible and f

humiliating spanking. The following day Pantalion leaves,

and for the. first time, without his mother's blessings.

Among the reasons why Dona Crus is so set against her

son's attentions for Dooa Julia are her religious convictions. j f /

" • *.cuando uno uabe qu?. al^un dla va a tenor que dar cueuta

a Dios de sus atos.n*5 Religion is a guiding force in the

^Ibid, p. 370,

103

life of Dona Cruz aril the fear of God plays an important

role in her daily activities. Not so with her son, who on

a certain occasion tells his nether that he was not aware

that it was a sin to "be in love with a married woman. i

' "While Pantalion is gone, Don Pedro dies fo3.lowing a

short illness brought about "by his excessive drinking.

Dona Cruz sends word. to her son to cone back, and when he

hears the news, he isaediately prepares for the journey

home. In his eagerness to be with Dona Julia he cruelly

spurs his horse and rides the poor animal to the point of

exhaustion through the heat of the day, Jinally, the horse

can only walk: and Psntalio'n in his desperation and madness

stabs his horse and continues the rest of the trip on foot

shouting} "Y he de lie?.? r, no mas* Y he de llegar.a^6

After running several blocks he seeias to hear the gallop of

a horse but in the darkness of the night he cannot see any-

thing. He runs a fev: more yards and this time the galloping

is very distinct. He turns around and is convinced that he

sees his own horse, with blood dripping at the sides, coming f

towards him. The following morning Pantalion is found dead

at the side of the read, presumably having died from fright

and exhaustion, although trie author leaves it to the reader';

imagination to decide whether he had indeed been attached by

a vengeful hone.

l6Ibi(l, p. 499,

106

E l r o m a n c e d e u n , -aucho i s L y n c h 1 s mos t a m b i t i o u s

novel, a n d i s c o n s i d e r e d by many h i s mos t o u t s t a n d i n g . The

force of t h e dialogue i s s u c h t n s t a t t i m e s I t s e e a s t h a t

the novel is v r r i t i n g i t s e l f T h e g a u c h o l a n g u a g e u s e d

t h r o u g h o u t t h e n o v e l c r e a t e s a n s t a o s p h e r e w h i c h , t o t h e

average Argentine accustomed t o h e a r i n g g a u c h o t e r m i n o l o g y ,

seems to p i c t u r e t h e development of t h e a c t i o n * L y n c h " s

g r e a t e s t fault, mos t c r i t i c s s e e n t o a g r e e , i s h i s c a r e l e s s -

1 P n e s s i n t h e choice o f x-rords*

No g a u c h o work i s c o m p l e t e w i t h o u t sorae p a r a g r a p h s of

a d v i c e o r philosophy, and B1 rogo.DC. a d e u n g a u c h o i s no

e x c e p t i o n * ^ " I f e i d s s ee guano n i ma lo , l o q u e hay e s , que

t o d o crlstlano, t i e n e mas o t ienoa su parte o desperdicio,

como e l an imal , que s e c a r r i e s , cofto e l ; - : apa l lo que S3 e l i g e

pa e c h a r e n e l puchero.H~®

One of t h e m o s t u n u s u a l f e a t u r e s of t h i s n o v e l I s t h e

c h a r a c t e r of t h e p r o t a g o n i s t , who unliKS t h e g a u c h o of l e g -

ends and roc iance ^ d o e s n o t p o s s e s t h e u s u a l h i g h q u a l i t i e s

w i t h vjhich t h e g&ueho o f l i t e r a t u r e h a s b e e n a s s o c i a t e d , t

P a n t a l l e n i s d u l l , u n i n t e l l i g e n t , a n d l a z y » 2 1 "Los g a u c h o s

- ^ I u i b e r t , " V o i c e of t h e I Jew G a u c h o , " p* 9*

l 8 I b l d , p . 3 1 .

ohn-Konne th L e s l i e , *3 Lai l e a o a r n p e s t r e s c u l a s obr&s de B e n i t o L y n c h , w H e v L s t a I b e r o a ^ e r l c a n a , XVII ( J a n u a r y 1952) 331-335. ' ~ """ ~ ~ - *

2 0 L y n c h , S I r c ^ a n o f r d e u n j a u c h o , p„ 110« *7 -AA TO? iota*, H i s t o r la. aje l a l i t e r a t u r e a r ^ r e n t l r j a , I V , 1^5 •

10?

de Lynch estan corao pre3tiglades de pequenez y de hurnildau „

No tlenen esa ari stoeracia rural de Dor? Segundo, ni la exu-

berancia lirica de Martin. Pierre.

If SI romance de un gaucho is an attespt to give a

-realistic picture of the gaucho, Lynch has far from succeeded,

The plot is implausible, a m the actions of Pantalion cer-

tainly do not characterize the gauehes, either of the present

or the past. While Lynch treats of love and eaotions he

continues the trend set by previous outstanding gaucho poets

and. novelists, in that he abstains from delving into the

erotic aspect. El renanoe de un g9ucho la the only major

gaucho work where love and death, joined hand in hand, play

a predominant role, "Sin explorar lo sexual ni lo trucu-

lento, ha sabido hermanar el sracr- con la. auerte, motivos

alrededor de los cuales gira la vida sobre la tierra„n?-3

One of the chief strengths of SI romance de un gaucho

lies in its entertaining aspect, whence stems its popularity,.

However, it failed to achieve the literary stature of .Don

Segimdo Sombra. Manuel Pedro Gonzales in his book, Travec--

torla del £au,cho v GU culture, gives an excellent expla-

nation as to why no gaucho poem ore novel has surpassed

Martin Fierro, and Don Se;?un3o Soisbra, respectivelyt

o o „ .. / . Torres-Hiooeco, Grandes novjslistas de la America

Sola, p. 123. * — — - ~

' Gorwan Garcia, ha novela erc .rrtlra (Buenos Aires. 1952), p. 152. " ' '

106

"A1 perf ecd.onar el poeaa gauchesco, Ksrnanclez lo a oto',

destruyendo asi toda posibilldad de superacion. Lo miawo

paso con Guiraldes .

oh : ^Manuel Pedro Gonzales, Trayectorla del ,?;aucho £ c_u

cultura (La Habana, 19^3)» P» 22". ' " " ~~ *

ChAP'ISR X

CONCLUSION

The two leading literary critics of Argentina, Rafaoi

Alberto Arrieta and Ricardo Rojas, both cf whoa have written

-a multi-volume history of Argentine literature, consider

Santos Vega. Fausto. Martin Flerro. Juan i-'i. ore Ira. El caca-

M Laucha, Don Seg-undo Sjyubra., and 51. romance de im

jgauchc ns the aost representative non-dramatic literature

written by Argentine writers. That these works are the aoot-

outsfcaa&iag literary contributions of gaucho poetry and

fiction is further attested by the National Untvarslty of

La Plata in Argentina, which lists a-uorig its literature

subjects one naned Literatura trsucr sca, del Rio de la Plata,

The course includes the seven books before aentioned K^ich

the University considers the most important arid worthy of

study,1 Although the total production of gaucho poetry and

fiction includes scores of other works, they are not con-

sidered to be of significant merit,2 and therefore have not

been Included in this thesis,

1 -•Abetter from xSlfrxede jsuite*, student at Univorsidc-

Kaclonal 5e la Plata, Nove&bor C, 196?,,

Nichols, The Gei-cho, pp. <S-6.c,

109

110

In an Investigation of gaucho literature it is desirable

to consider the similarities and the differences which are

found in the works with which, the investigation is concerned.

Among the ciany similar characteristics are those dealing Kith

the literary style. All of the works, except Juan More Ira,

are written in language which reflects the gaucho mariner of

speaking. The author of Juan Horelra chose not to follow

this practice but even he could not abstain from occasionally

using gaucho terminology*

Since the authors were not gauchos, they wrote merely

what they had observed during their association with theio.

As a result there are.some inconsistencies in the descriptions

of daily gaucho activities; there is a lack of uniformity

in the various phonetic renditions of gaucho pronunciafclon;

and the jargon which they popularised in their works is

quite oftea artificial. All of them, except Eduardo Gutie-

rrez, are guilty of distorting in their phonetic re-presen-

tation the pronunciation of many words. In many instances

they expressly deforced them in order to give them flavor

suggestive of the Indian dialects. Another error coaaon to

all of thea, with varying degrees of frequency, is the use

of learned words which would be unfamiliar to the gauchos,3

There alao are occasional attempts at waking* their writings

seem historical by assigning real names to people and places,

^Pouliada, Pauhi.de 3 id Sorg. pp. 149-150.

1X11.

All of the worses have a significant amount of ccsttua-

brlsta el era ant s, and are of particular value for their

descriptions of the herdsman and his way of life on the

vast Argentine pampa. The daily and special chores, food,

- living quarters t amusements, quarrels, tools, and other

aspects of daily life on the pampa are presented as essentia*!

parts of the narration.

A very striking similarity anong the representative

gaucho works is the tendency of their authors to moralize or

philosophize. Even Fausto, vrhJxh won its acclaim for its

entertaining nature, has several paragraphs through which Bel

Campo attempts to teach a lesson. Although each author's

motive for writing may ba different, it is apparent that

they all seek: to inform their readers while diverting them.

Another characteristic which all ths works discussed

in this thesis have in common is the frequent UJS. of figures

oi speech,, The two most common are metaphors 8nd. S1.D3I.6S*

As might be presumed, most of then are taken from the gaucho,

m m , the animals, or the things with which the gaucho

comes in contact in his daily life and thus is "bast ac-

quainted with.

Faithful to the romanticized and idealized conception

of gaucho life, none of the authors describes tne gaucho as

a domestic or sedentary being. Although historically it has

oesri snovn thut many gauchos settled down and livt'l 'i.crn-:il

112

family "lives, the gaucho cf Uteri tare has always beer,

described, as nomadic.

Religion plays an insignificant role in the life of

both the gaucho of history, and the gaucho of literature®

The gauchos unquestlcnlngly accept the traditional Idea of

the existence of God, but at no time J s He a guiding force

in their actions. They are nominally Catholic as a result

of their- environment and tradition, but they apparently have

neither specific nor profound religious convictions.

Every work included in this investigation treats of

the thenie of friendship. "SI gaucho llama ba hernia no al coni-

panero o al anigo y no era una simple palabra. Otras veces

le dscfa "cunado." Esa amis tad solia anudsrse en pare jag,

corao lo denuncla la literatura gauche sea. In Santo a

there is the friendship between Rufo Tolosa and the story

teller. In Martin Fierro, Cruz and Fierro search for a

common destiny, and in Fausto. Polio addresses Laguna as

cunsdo. Moreira and Julian share both dangers and mis-

fortunes 021 several occasions in Juan Moreira. and in 21

casaglento de Laucha there Is s short friendship between

La uc ha and Ciprlano. Fabio and Don Segundo share an en-

during friendship in Don 3egiuj3_o Sots bra. Pablo expresses

very clearly the gaucho philosophy of frierii ship. "Dos

hoabres suelsn salir de un peligro tuteandose, coao una

Arrleta, His torla de la literatura argentlaa. IV,

• - .., • ,: , ' • 113

pareja despues del atoraso. Although the friendship be--/

twsen Pantalion and Per ray a in El vornanee de un gaucho

-lacks depth and iseaning, the fact that the two are for a

time almost inseparable conforms to the established pattern.

Love plays a very minor role in all of the works

except El ro^mice de un c-'.iucho. All of the authors before

Lynch pay little attention to women in their works, and

there is no mention of love, Only Pantalion in the before

mentioned novel feels the need"to discuss love, T de ahi,

que pa mi modo e ver, el amor es una cos a muy distinta. De-

be ser algo tan grande que por juerza ha de estar pu enciaa

de todas esas mezquindades."6 The gaucho of literature was

no lever, except of freedom® Although he was neither brutal

nor callous in his treatment of ivc:'.en, he was not romantic

or* sentimental in his attitude toward, them, preferring to

believe that they existed merely for his occasional enjoy-

ment or for the performance of domestic chores, traditionally

left to the iveaker sex. There is no appreciable element of

erotlcJ S.T in all of the WORKS in question,, "El eroticismo

apenas asoma en la llteratura gauchesca. Para el paisano

errante y de vida - a la inte;aperle, virilmente ruda, Is mu-,? f m

jer ere tabu, o un accidents y nada mas."'

1 « -Oulraldss, Don Se^uMo Sorobra, p» 116, £ uLynch, El romance of. un ;->auchp, p. 200.

'Arrieta, Hisjjcris de la lit era turn ardentina, IV, 1,37,

. 134

None of the vrorks attempt, to glorify the gaucho tnalo.

On the contrary, they stress the undesirable results and

the evil consequences which arise out of leading a violent

or treacherous life. The early gaucho works romanticized

the ordinary gy.uchos, the protagonists of their stories,

portraying them with far better qualities than they actually

possessed.

A transition may be observed in the works published

between the appearance of Santos Vega (1850) ana that of

El romance do an gaucho (1930)• In this eighty year span

the gaucho image experienced a gradual degradat3.cn. In

Santos Vega, Ascaeubi simply tries to show the consequences

suffered by a .gaucho malo, without exploring the feelings

of the characters in M s poea, Del Canpo goes a step fur-

ther by being the first gaucho poet to explore the psycho-

logical effects u,x>on the individuals involved in Fausto. t

Hernandez achieves an artistic blending of many literary t

elements in Hart In Fler.ro and thereby elevates the gaucho

to heigh to until then unknown in gaucho literature. J uan

Eprylra received relatively less fane because It was pub-

lished toe soon after Martin. fflerrc. and to a large extent

repent sri in prose auch of what Hernandez had said in his

pce:n. By the time the next, gaucho novel was wri tten, K1

case ml en bo de Lau cha by Roberto J* Payro' the gaucho image

had sunk to trie lowest point.- Fro a the legendary romantic

i:ero he became a pfcaro who did not even own a horse.

£*2)

With the appearance of•Don jg egunAo 3pmbra In 1927 the

gaucho image was restored to a position of eminence. Al-

though Guiraides continues the idealization of the Argentine

cowboy, he clearly shows, as the title of his novel Implies,

that Don Segundo was the gaucho that was about to vanish

from the scene forever, becoming a shadow of the past.

El romance de ua ggucho vividly portrays the gaucho

in his decadent stage. He no longer has any of the admirable

qualities for which his predecessors were known and is com-

pletely dominated by woaen, a condition which emphasizes

his loss of masculinity, and of his status as a true gaucho.

Only, in Santos, Vega, Martin Pierre, and Juan More Ira,

is there an appreciable theme of social protest. These

works specifically censure the legal, political,, and social

den: crimination against the gaucho, and point out the abuses

of the law enforcement agencies „ By 1906 when the next

major gaucho novel was published, the. conditions just nton-

ticne3 hlJd been generally remedied. The gaucho was being

as sialia ted into the urban society, losing his Identity an

a gaucho and gaining ths full benefits cf Argentine citi-

zenship v.\ich he and hi* forefathers had been denied for

several generations .

Even though the gaucho is disappearing from the scene

forever, he persists in literature as a spiritual force.

His legend has become a national symbol that inspires

courage, self-r-olianco, arrt patriotism in every school

116

child, and that gives the -European lacaigrant and his off-

spring a sense of nationality that raalces them true citizens

of the new world. The gaucho still exists—as a way of

life, a personality, a state of mind, a thing of the people-

and his influence extends into raany facets of Argentine

life.

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