Pampas and Gauchos (By Xander)

The Pampas are huge flat grasslands that occupy parts of the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, and Cordoba. The Pampas also occupy much of Uruguay and the Southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The animals of the Pampas (that we saw) include jack rabbits, nandu (pronounced nyandoo), cattle, horses, armadillos, owls, and birds like hawks, special Argentine Vultures, and a small bird with a very long tail.

Nandu

Vaca

Another "species" that lives on the pampas are the gauchos. Gauchos are the original cowboys of the Argentine pampas. One thing that categorized them apart from other cowboys was their saddles. First of all, they didn't use a horn or pommel (the thing at the front of the saddle that you can hold onto with your free hand while you ride). Also, instead of using one big leather saddle, they used multiple layers of blankets with a sheep skin on top held together by straps. We (Americans) commonly call their style of riding "Indian Style".

Gaucho Saddles

Guacho y Caballo

They were also equipped with a few typical clothing and tools as well as some items that are unique to guachos. For a hat, they use a beret. They also wear a cravat (scarf) with a symbol attached. A long sleeve dress shirt, pancho for cold weather, jeans, boots with boot covers and alpargatas (special slippers) were other articles of clothing that gauchos use. Alpargatas were traditionally made with a rope sole and canvas body, but the type that is modernly used has a gum sole and canvas body. Some tools they use include a facon (long knife), a whip, and a boleadora. A boleadora is a strip of leather that forks at the end with two heavy rocks on either side of the split, and one lighter rock on the end of the non forked side. This would be swung around and then released towards their target of a nandu or cow/bull. It would then tangle the animal's legs and they could do what they desired to it (most likely eat it).

Boleadora

A traditional Gaucho meal is an asado (barbecue). There are two fire pits dug into the ground. One of them holds the wood that turns into coals to cook the meat. They use a very hard wood that is native to Argentina that burns very hot and long. Once the coals reach a certain size, they are shoveled into the second fire pit. The second pit has a parrilla (grill) approximately ten inches above the hole. You slowly cook the meat for about one hour before eating it.

Parilla