In the footsteps of the gauchos

It is via National Route 40, the renowned pathway traversing the whole Argentina, that I arrived at Chos Malal, a small village of the North of Patagonia. Nearby lies the provincial park of Tromen, named after the volcano which dominates the region. Vast and wild horizons offer a striking view over the rivers that sculpt the region, all this painted over the background of the mighty Andes. During one month, Ceferino, a 46 years old gaucho, welcomes me into his home to share with me an insight to his way of life as a Centaur of the Pampa. The gaucho is one of the cultural symbols of the Argentina. The term Gaucho came from the huachu language and means vagabond. The first gauchos were indeed nomads on horseback, who hunted the wild cattle to sell the leather. In 1879, the gauchos were recruited to annihilate the Indians during the controversial Conquest of the Desert. This painful legacy is still to this day a taboo subject for many gauchos. Today, caught in between the increase demand for soya and the large scale cattle breeding, as well as the attract that cities have for the younger generations, the argentine gaucho is now in danger of extinction.