Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The term
che
may have derived from the indigenous language of
Araucanian, which had become the lingua franca among the Indian
bands inhabiting the southern Pampas and the Patagonia in the 18th
and 19th centuries. Following is the explanation of Lucío Mansilla,
who spent much time along the frontier in 1870:
The night was mild and clear, an inviting one for conversation, and
we needed only the starlight and the moonlight to read. I seized the
opportunity to take a lesson in Araucan. Finally I came to under-
stand certain words whose meaning I had sought for some time,
such as the Picunche, the Puelche, and the Pehuenche Indians.
Che
is the word that, depending on its context, can mean “I,” “man,” or
“inhabitant.” Thus, Picunche means “inhabitant of the east.”
Source:
Mansilla, Lucio.
An Expedition to the Ranquel Indians
. Translated by
Mark McCaffrey (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977), pp. 224-225.
son of a Dutch immigrant. José Razzano and Carlos Gardel, sons of
immigrants, in 1917 became the leading innovators in the revival of
traditional “Creole,” or gauchesque, music. This singing duet was
managed by another immigrant's child, Max Glucksman.
Because conformity preserved the social hierarchy, it became a
powerful mechanism to blend the immigrant into Argentine society.
The drama
Juan Moreira
about a gaucho had many successful runs
between 1886 and 1920. No longer did genteel Argentines consider
the gaucho as uncouth, ignorant, arrogant, violent, and lazy—char-
acteristics Domingo F. Sarmiento had ascribed to them more than a
half century prior. Now the gaucho was the source of the imagined
traits of Argentina's national character: compassion, elegance, honor,
loyalty, and generosity. In reaction to the massive immigration of the
period, Argentines suddenly embraced the gauchesque literature of
the late 19th century, especially
MartínFierro.
This 1872 epic poem
by José Hernández depicted the country folk as noble and honor-
able; in turn, the businessmen and politicians from the city appeared
duplicitous and corrupt. As Hernández wrote, “A gaucho'd live in his
home country / as safe as anything, / but now—it's a crime! / things
have got to be so twisted / that a poor man wears out his life / run-
ning from the authorities” (1967, 21). Urban Argentines even became
