The Last Gaucho

THE LAST GAUCHO

THE LAST GAUCHO

A photobook by Chelín Miller

Prologue

Gauchos have roamed the Argentine pampas for centuries. Brave and patriotic, living simply off the land, working on cattle ranches and moving freely as nomads ‘sin amo y sin dios’ (with ‘no master and no god’).

I went back to my home-country, after over 20 years living abroad, and I saw with fresh eyes how much it has changed. Today’s gauchos have been forced to evolve. They are becoming an endangered species, a vanishing culture. The new global order and economic reality impinges on even the most deeply rooted national symbol.

This book is part of my final project for the course MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London. It accompanies a large cyanotype print toned with yerba-mate – portrait of Don Nonna, and a short film with Don Nonna reciting a gaucho poem.

In this project I use old methods and new techniques that are available to the photographer, as a metaphor of the changing, globalised world that adapts old traditions to the latest technologies, new habits and modern life-styles.

The book itself has three interwoven themes: transient traditions, hospitality and hope in the next generation. The people I had the pleasure of interviewing for this project are hard-working ‘paisanos’ (people of the land), whose craft and skills are slowly being replaced by mass-produced, cheaper, imported goods. In the town of San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires province in Argentina, tradition lives on and forms a essential part of the inhabitants’ everyday life.

I have a passion for hand-crafted things, and I also wonder at new technological advances that make everyday life so much easier. I make photographs digitally, and convert them to contact negatives in order to print toned cyanotypes. By using yerba-mate, the local herbal infusion drunk in Argentina, my image is immersed in the land itself and it becomes a part of it. There is something magical about holding a print in your hands. And nothing more rewarding than hanging it on your wall.

As I work on this project, at home in cold, wet England, nostalgic memories come to mind: of the bright sun on the pampas, the eternal blue sky; people’s laughter, ‘mates’ shared and friendships forged. I value the paisanos’ perseverance, the hardships they overcome and their tenacity to carry on.

Chelin Miller, England, Autumn 2016

The last Gaucho in the global village

At the heart of Argentine culture is the gaucho, the solitary figure celebrated in song and literature for hundreds of years…

Nomadic horsemen have wandered the pampas as early as the 1700s, when wild cattle overpopulated the grasslands. In the 18th century, when leather was in high demand, gauchos arose to clandestinely hunt the huge herds of horses and cattle.

The word ‘gaucho’ was used to describe the free spirits, inseparable from their horse and knife. Over time, when extensive portions of grasslands were settled and commercial cattle-rearing began, there was less room for the gauchos to roam. As their way of living changed, the legend of the gaucho grew.

The gaucho lifestyle started to fade in the 19th Century, as an increasing number of European settlers arrived bringing new agricultural methods with them.

Advancement and progress began leaving the gaucho behind and according to the purists, gauchos in their true sense don’t exist anymore – what we have now are ‘paisanos’. Now it’s up to the younger generations to keep these traditions alive.

Over the last decade, Argentina has become the third largest exporter of soya in the world, mainly to China. Land that was mainly used for cattle pasture is

being planted as well, cattle are being fed instead at American-style feedlots, helped by government subsidies. It’s a aster turnaround for ranchers taking advantage of booming world soya prices.

The impact is already felt at the heart of rural life, the small town of San Antonio de Areco is a focal point for the local tradition. Our main character, Don Nonna, worked all his life in cattle farms herding horses and cattle, making leather goods and looking after the farm. But things are changing, and now all of the good land goes to soya.

As result, gaucho traditions and skills will die out.

But some say that for the younger generation, the changes in agriculture are saving rural jobs: on grassland, three men can manage the cattle, but on the feedlock more people are needed: managers, vets, nutritionists… The lonely tough guy, the hero of the 19th Century novel: the fighter and poet is having to change with the times.

Now that view is changing as ranchers herd their cattle into feedlots. Breaking with a history of cattle roaming the plains, feeding on grass and herded by gauchos, many farmers are looking to increase efficiency and free up land for the profits of grains. Historically one of the world's leading beef producers and an agricultural powerhouse, Argentina has ridden a boom in soyabean prices in recent years to become a top global soya exporter.

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Hoy es polvo de tiempo y de planeta; Nombres no quedan, pero el nombre dura.

Fue tantos otros y hoy es una quieta Pieza que mueve la literatura.

- J L Borges

Today he is dust of time and planet No names remain, but the name still lasts.

He was so many others and today he is a quiet piece moved by literature.

- J L Borges

Next page: Jorge Alberto Nonna, born in 1942. He spent all his life working on the land in estancias (ranches).

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Cattle ranching is an essential part of the Argentine economy. It is deeply ingrained in the national psyche. At the heart of the culture is the gaucho, the solitary figure celebrated in song and literature for hundreds of years, who became greatly admired and renowned in legends, folklore and literature. They are an important part of their regional cultural tradition.

These photographs were taken in San Antonio de Areco, a small, traditional town 120km from the capital, Buenos Aires, which still keeps the old ways alive.

Right: Cattle ranchers parade their livestock at a rural festival in San Antonio de Areco.

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A ‘paisano’ (man of the land) rides his horse in ‘Parque Criollo’, a renowned location for rural festivals. In the distance and old ranch and a water mill.

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Los años van carcomiendo todo tu techo de paja, y a manera de mortaja el verdín te va cubriendo, tus paredes van cediendo aunque no así, los horcones, y la cocina de peones es lo primero caído, porque la ausencia ha sentido de guitarras y facones.

- Gualberto Gregorio (Charrúa) Márquez ‘El Rancho Abandonado’

Time eats away Your thatch roof And like a shroud Moss slowly covers you up Your walls are leaning in Although the wooden posts are still standing The labourers’ kitchen Was first to fall Because the absence is felt Of guitars and belt-knives

- Gualberto Gregorio (Charrúa) Márquez ‘The Abandoned Ranch’

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Gaucho Nonna wearing his distinctive trousers, elegant belt and knife (facรณn), Spanish vest, poncho, flat-brimmed hat and lassoo .

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The gaucho is both a sentiment and a reality; he is the past and the present. That hero of the 18th Century cattle drives, that talented rider in the capture of wild cattle, in the next century willl go on to become the foreman or head of the ranch.

- Elsa Insogna

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‘Tropilla entablada’ is a string of around 10 horses, usually of similar fur, that follow ‘yegua madrina’, the lead mare. This tradition was created back in the days when the land was not populated and ‘reseros’ (drovers) had to take many horses over long distances. The mare carries a bell, so that all other horses forming her group follow her - animal instinct. Much skill is required to control the mare and its string of horses.

Right: The string, ‘tropilla’, is resting, before they all go off following the mare.

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The gaucho today epitomises the man of the countryside, extremely talented in all aspects of his work, strong, loyal, haughty, energetic, attached to the land, proud of his ancestry.

Don Nonna worked all his life in cattle farms herding horses and rounding up cattle, making leather goods for his own use and looking after the farm.

When he retired, ‘el gaucho Nonna’ moved with his wife, ‘La Juana’, to a house in the town of San Antonio de Areco. Here, he continues to make leather articles and tools that are essential for horse-riding and other cattle-ranching activities.

Right: Life on the land has been left behind, Don Nonna moved with his wife, La Juana, to a house in the small town of San Antonio de Areco. In his small workshop, Nonna makes leather goods and lives a quiet life.

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There is an air of nostalgia when you walk along the old streets of San Antonio de Areco, one of the most traditional towns on the pampas. It has a charming atmosphere and picturesque colonial streets. Every now and then you seem to be taken back in time, as an old car drives by.

Because of its close distance to the capital, Buenos Aires, it attracts many day-tripping porteĂąos (residents of Buenos Aires) who want to escape to the peaceful countryside and romantic atmosphere.

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All his life, gaucho Nonna lived and worked on estancias (ranches), enjoyng the freedom of the vast pampas and overcoming the hardships that came with that life-style. Today, the view from his doorstep has changed from infinite grasslands to a stark brick wall.

The poetic novel by Ricardo Güiraldes, ‘Don Segundo Sombra’ (Shadow of the Pampas) is the fictional portrayal of a world that is no more. He portrayed the passing of the virile herdsman of the pampas, and in doing so foretold the advent of the modern, faceless man of today.

Just like in the 19th the gaucho was trampled under by progress, the advent of globalisation and new agricultural and cattle-farming technologies are changing gaucho’s transient traditions.

Hoy es polvo de tiempo y de planeta; Nombres no quedan, pero el nombre dura.

Fue tantos otros y hoy es una quieta Pieza que mueve la literatura.

- J L Borges

Today he is dust of time and planet; No names remain, but the name still lasts.

He was so many others and today he is a quiet piece moved by literature.

- J L Borges

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Welcoming hospitality

One of the characteristics of life in the Argentine pampas is the hospitality of its people. Everywhere you go, friendly faces will greet you, and genuinely welcome you to their land.

One afternoon we went to the farm of Don Figueroa to buy duck eggs and other farm products. All the meat sold directly from this family-run farm is organically produced. As we went in, Figueroa greeted us with the biggest of smiles and said:

“I’m sorry I couldn’t see you this morning, but I was getting married.”

And that is how welcoming, easy-going and relaxed everybody is in San Antonio de Areco. We went to Figueroa’s kitchen, sat down for a while and shared some ‘mates’, while the kittens demanded cuddles and a little motherless lamb came in to be bottle-fed by Figueroa’s teenage daughter.

It felt like a scene from a surreal film, a timeless journey to a simpler way of life.

But life on the pampas is not always easy and times are changing. Global demand for soya crops, mainly for cattle feed, have a further impact on the agricultural habits in Argentina. High crop prices mean that land that was previously used for cattle grazing, are now used for soya, forcing cattle-ranchers to change centuries’ old traditions and adopting American-style feed-locks.

The price of beef has sharply and consistently gone up in recent years, and the diet of Argentine population is changing. Whereas before it was normal for many families to consume beef twice a day, and the typical weekend ‘asado’ consisted mainly of beef cuts, high prices have made beef consumption less accessible. Other types of meat are taking the place of the so-far favoured beef, and demand for pork and game is on the increase. Pig business is booming on Figueroa’s farm, and he can hardly keep up with the demand for pork.

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Right: ‘El mate’ [’mate] is Argentina’s national infusion. It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of ‘yerba mate’ in hot water, served in a cup-like gourd with a metal straw called ‘bombilla’.

The mate is shared and passed around, as a symbol of hospitality and friendship.

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Figueroa on his farm, surrounded by pets on a quiet afternoon, when everybody sleeps the ‘siesta’.

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At Figueroa’s kitchen, he shares mates with us, we do business, talk about this and that, while cuddling pets and bottle-feeding a motherless lamb.

He apologises: ‘Sorry I couldn’t see you this morning, I was getting married.’

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Argentina’s recently elected reformist president has so far been a mixed blessing. Mr Macri allowed the currency to float in December 2015 and exporting became more profitable. But domestically this has not been so favourable and for now the Argentine population are trying to adjust, consuming less beef, changing their eating habits.

“Beef is becoming a luxury, and customers are watching their wallets”. The traditional, national weekend dish has seen the introduction of a newcomer: the less expensive pork.

Land prices are also on the increase, a plot of land in San Antonio de Areco has increased over 200% in the last few years. The landscape remains peaceful and idyllic, the flora and fauna continue to florishh despite the rapid increase in weekend visitors and tourists who want to enjoy the romantic way of life without the hardship of working on the farm.

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One spring morning, the sun shines through the leaves of a camphor tree, where a family of hornero birds have built their mud nest.

Hornero (Furnarius rufus) is the national bird in Argentina, also known as red ovenbird.

The nest is built in the shape of a mud bread oven, to avoid predators stealing their eggs.

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Water and vegetation were scarce when the settlers first arrived from Europe to this land. Over the centuries, the vast grasslands were planted with trees for shade and windmills were constructed to provide water for cattle and human consumption.

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As the sun goes down, there is peace and quiet. The kind of peace that many people living in big cities search for when they come to visit San Antonio. It is a pastoral idyl that evokes past-times, a simple life, the love for animals and plants, the land and fresh air.

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The people of Areco

San Antonio de Areco is the national capital of Tradition. One of the prettiest towns in the Argentine pampas, it is only two hours’ drive from the capital. Every weekend San Antonio de Areco welcomes day-tripping visitors from Buenos Aires and beyond. Here they can enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and pastoral way of life, as well as various estancias (ranches) offering gaucho festivals and traditional games.

Although gaucho lifestyle started to fade in the 19th Century, local residents in San Antonio de Areco preserve a great number of their traditions.

‘They say it is thae horse that makes the gaucho’.

And so the tradition may continue, passed on from generation to generation.

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‘Tropilleros’, horse herdsmen of the pampas, parade in front of the crowds at a traditional gaucho festival. The show wouldn’t be the same without the unconditional presence of someone’s dog.

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Florencia Verta comes from a family of excellent horse-riders. From a young age she has been participating in international shows, winning many awards as amazon. This aspect of gaucho tradition, too, is changing. Women are acquiring a less submissive role and are allowed to take part in traditional festivals as horse-riders in their own right.

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‘A gaucho without his horse is only half a man’. Dario Verta, one of Areco’s most renowned horse-riders, who has been awarded prizes at national and international festivals.

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Waiting for the herds near the corral. These young gaucho apprentices take a break under the shadow of the trees . They wear traditional ‘paisano’ clothes: baggy, cotton trousers, shirt, tie-scarf, beret, a decorated belt and ‘alpargatas’ the typical flat, textile shoes made to walk around on the land.

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At a weekend show in ‘Parque Criollo’, ponchos are displayed to attract weekend visitors.

Sometimes tourism can encourage the preservation of a place, but far more frequently, tourists inadvertently stimulate an industry at the cost of the local culture. It is undeniable that cultures and traditions evolve and change, but often tourists demand an unchanged vision of the past.

Does a tradition still exist when it is no longer carried on for traditional purposes?

Does a handcrafted leather whip made for the international market have the same meaning as a one made for the use of the gaucho’s personal use? It looks the same, but it’s part of a market economy, not a subsistence economy.

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Waiting for the herds at the corral.

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The future generation of gauchos is watching attentively at a horse festival. From behind the fence the gaucho apprentices admire the skills of their elders.

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We can say that the gaucho has not disappeared. True to himself, he stays firm in his ideals and cultivation of his talents and skills. He knows how to pass these ideals to his children, although time has caused changes in his appearance and his environment.

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I met 7-year old Marcos Castex when he was riding his horse one sunny Saturday afternoon on his way to a Tradition Festival in ‘Parque Criollo’, San Antonio de Areco. At his young age, “Marquitos” already shows a passion and fascination for horse-riding and herding that is worthy of praise. His family support him and accompany him in this passion. Marcos has recently started training to become a ‘tropillero’, a drover. He epitomises hope in the preservtion of tradition and continuity of the old ways.

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Towards the end of this project, I listen to a zamba by Gómez Tejada and Ariel Ramirez and I am wrapped up in a blanket of nostalgic memories.

“Lejos, muy lejos del sol vuelve el recuerdo de allá siento en mis ojos brillar el azul soledad de mi tierra natal.”

“Very far away from the sun Returns the memory of that land I feel in my eyes the bright, lonely blue of my dear homeland.”

Outside, the sun is nowhere to be seen. As I sit here, in my English home, I look through the window and the fog covers the grass and bushes. And I find myself wondering what do I have in common with my relatives in the Southern hemisphere?

People change, traditions change. I'm still getting to know myself, it's a lifelong journey, and I probably won't have all the answers, but on this trip I learnt some valuable lessons: that the simple things in life stay the same for everybody: the love of our family, the comfort of friends, the joy of eating and drinking together, laughter, music, the warmth of the sun, the moon, the stars, singing and dancing, telling stories…

Chelin Miller

MA PHOTOJOURNALISM AND DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY 2016 London College of Communication University of the Arts, London

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