Apart from his horse, the gaucho only possesses that which his belt can carry: an impressive, artfully engraved knife, some money and his own name, so people know who he is. - Estancia La Mimosa - Buenos Aires - Argentina

The boleadoras were the gaucho's first weapon with which he infallibly forced an ostrich (Ñandú) or a bull to the ground within thirty meters. - 1976

The time of conquests, when new, free and uninhabited plains opened up behind every hill, is over ... - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

The gaucho's wife hardly shows up, except at some village festivals or when going to church on Sundays. - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

In the province of Buenos Aires, the Troperos drive cows and calves to the Estancia La Mimosa. - 1975

In the province of Buenos Aires, the Troperos drive cows and calves to the Estancia La Mimosa. - 1973

Here we are in the estancia known as Villa Maria. This large estate belongs to the province of Buenos Aires. It is the day of the remate, an important event in the life of the Argentinean pampas. The owners of the estancias sell some of their best cattle at public auction. Each participant will then be invited to a big meal. The preparation of this meal is not a simple task, due to the large number of guests who arrive at lunchtime. Meat is included in every meal, both in the country and in the city. A soup was offered to the participants. The empty plates form an impressive heap on the grass of the meadow. Beef quarters were attached to long metal stakes and placed in front of the embers of the fireplace. It is the asado, a typical dish of Argentinean cuisine, which delights tourists as much as the locals. This asado will be accompanied, as it should be, by delicious wines produced in the country. - 1973

The remate is in full swing in the Villa Maria estancia (Buenos Aires province). The event takes place inside a circular enclosure around which all the participants have gathered. The participants did not hesitate to travel several hundred kilometres to get to the remate. Most of them took a small plane to facilitate their travel. The large estates of Patagonia and the pampas are equipped with an airfield. Private planes allow fast connections between the estancias. They also make direct connections possible between the most remote estancias and the nation's capital. During the remate, the horned beasts are sold at public auction. The owners take their animals around the enclosure several times under the critical eye of the participants. The auctioneer leads the sale. He too is a great cattle connoisseur. Bulls are sold by piece or in pairs. In other cases, the owner gets rid of a whole lot of animals. Each remate is a feast, which is accompanied by a meal offered to the guests. - 1973

Hundreds of cattle have been brought by the gauchos from their pastures to the estancia. They are then loaded onto trucks bound for Liniers in Buenos Aires. Cows from almost all Argentine provinces can be seen at this assembly point. The herds pass in front of the experts in dense rows. You can recognise representatives of the Hereford, Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus, Holando and Cruza breeds. An estimated 15 000 to 18 000 head of cattle are sold every day. - 1973

Aberdeen-Angus cattle, Estancia El Cardal, Ayacucho, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. - 1975

The "volteadores" throw the calves to the ground and hold them under the bite of the glowing metal. - Estancia La Mimosa, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

Folk festival of the doma at the headquarters of the Palermo agricultural cooperative (Buenos Aires). On Saturdays and Sundays, gauchos from the province and nearby areas come to produce in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The doma is a kind of rodeo. The rider wants to stay in the saddle as long as possible. The horse is blindfolded until the moment it is released. It makes every effort to throw the rider off. - 1973

Clear, bay or chestnut, Argentinian horses are generally of the "Criolla" breed, descendants of horses of Berber origin, which the first Spanish conquerors brought with them and which pushed into the wild in the vastness of the pampas. “Found” in Patagonia by Emilio Solanet, they are now raised as pure as possible on his Estancia EI Cardal. - Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

Every gaucho knows how to master the lasso, even if today's methods no longer require it. Incidentally, these traditional skills also determine the somewhat self-evident hierarchy on the estancias. - Estancia El Cardal, Ayacucho, Buenos Aires Province. - 1976

Every gaucho knows how to master the lasso, even if today's methods no longer require it. Incidentally, these traditional skills also determine the somewhat self-evident hierarchy on the estancias. - Estancia El Dorado, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1976

The boleadoras were the gaucho's first weapon with which he infallibly forced an ostrich (Ñandú) or a bull to the ground within thirty meters. - Estancia La Mimosa, Province Buenos Aires. - 1976

Except for the animals intended for breeding, all young stallions are castrated, as geldings are more tolerable, calmer and more persistent. The gauchos are only too happy to leave the painful operation to the vet, as they have a much closer relationship with horses than they do with cattle. - Estancia La Catalina, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

If the gaucho has more than the bare necessities, he soon becomes the head of a large family. Far from all the comforts of civilisation, the gaucho is also a naïve painter. He leaves the cooking, the cleaning, the weaving to his wife. - Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

If the gaucho has more than the bare necessities, he soon becomes the head of a large family. Far from all the comforts of civilisation, the gaucho is also a naïve painter. He leaves the cooking, the cleaning, the weaving to his wife. - Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1976

Although the first ray of sunshine usually sees him at work, the gaucho still finds time for socialising in the evening. Prepared and enjoyed with a "sacred" ritual, the bitter, slightly caffeinated mate makes you forget fatigue and pain. - Estancia La Mimosa, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1976

Mastering his horse in any situation brings the gaucho "glory and honour", and so he puts his skill to the test again and again in the most diverse games and competitions. The rules of these competitions vary depending on the region, and for the huasos, as the gauchos are called in Chile, style counts as much as the result. - Doma in Buenos Aires - 1973

Maté, the daily and almost ritual drink of the gaucho ... - Estancia La Luciana, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In southern Patagonia and especially on Tierra del Fuego and in southern Chile, the climate and vegetation only allow sheep farming. The flocks graze scattered over thousands of hectares of stony wasteland. They are only herded together for three occasions: Disinfection bath, shearing and slaughter. But then the ovejeros, the shepherd gauchos, are often on the move for days with their powerful dogs, keeping in touch with each other with high altitude fires and smoke signals. - Estancia La Luciana, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the past, the gaucho wore all his wealth so decoratively strung on the wide belt: silver coins, a chiselled knife. And a name, so that no one would ignore it... - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the past, the gaucho wore all his wealth so decoratively strung on the wide belt: silver coins, a chiselled knife. And a name, so that no one would ignore it... - Ramos Otero, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In San Antonio de Areco in the province of Buenos Aires, the big jineteadas (rodeos) on Tradition Day attract estancieros and gauchos from all over the province. The competitions are mainly attended by professional horsemen or domadores, who wear leather spurs and "botas de potro", boots made from the skin of the horse's foot. The movements of horse and rider are as acrobatic as they are elegant; falls are frequent and shrewd horses throw themselves to the ground as soon as they mount (picture). The most dangerous game is forbidden today: It involved jumping down from the crossbar of a corral gate onto an unsaddled wild horse, the lead animal of a herd that was being chased through the gate at a gallop. Those who missed were lucky to escape with a few broken bones. - 1975

In San Antonio de Areco in the province of Buenos Aires, the big jineteadas (rodeos) on Tradition Day attract estancieros and gauchos from all over the province. The competitions are mainly attended by professional horsemen or domadores, who wear leather spurs and "botas de potro", boots made from the skin of the horse's foot. The movements of horse and rider are as acrobatic as they are elegant (picture); falls are frequent, and shrewd horses throw themselves to the ground as soon as they mount. The most dangerous game is forbidden today: It involved jumping down from the crossbar of a corral gate onto an unsaddled wild horse, the lead animal of a herd that was being chased through the gate at a gallop. Those who missed were lucky to escape with a few broken bones. - 1975

The ‘carrera de sortijas’, the "ring stabbing". While galloping, the rider has to "take" a ring of about two centimetres in diameter with a small stick. - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the past, the gaucho wore all his wealth so decoratively strung on the wide belt: silver coins, a chiselled knife. And a name, so that no one would ignore it... - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

The gaucho's wife hardly shows up, except at some village festivals or when going to church on Sundays. - Wedding, Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the past, the gaucho wore all his wealth so decoratively strung on the wide belt: silver coins, a chiselled knife. And a name, so that no one would ignore it... - Ramos Otero, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the past, the gaucho wore all his wealth so decoratively strung on the wide belt: silver coins, a chiselled knife. And a name, so that no one would ignore it... - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

The gaucho's wife hardly shows up, except at some village festivals or when going to church on Sundays. - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

"The meat is what is left over when you have nothing left." In the vastness of the pampas, this Argentine proverb still holds true today. Grilled outdoors, the asado is cut right at the mouth as you eat, and the best pieces belong to the guest as a matter of course, whether they are invited or happen to be there. - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

No gaucho who does not know how to strum the guitar and improvise, in verse, a tender or perfidious "payada". - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

"The meat is what is left over when you have nothing left." In the vastness of the pampas, this Argentine proverb still holds true today. Grilled outdoors, the asado is cut right at the mouth as you eat, and the best pieces belong to the guest as a matter of course, whether they are invited or happen to be there. - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

"The meat is what is left over when you have nothing left." In the vastness of the pampas, this Argentine proverb still holds true today. Grilled outdoors, the asado is cut right at the mouth as you eat, and the best pieces belong to the guest as a matter of course, whether they are invited or happen to be there. - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

The “Payador” has to be just as much a poet as a musician and sing about the realities of everyday life in quickly improvised verses ... love, violence, loneliness. - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

The gaucho's wife hardly shows up, except at some village festivals or when going to church on Sundays. The gaucho, accustomed to evenings under the moon and to smoky “pulperias”, has learned to dance the zapateada and the malambo, variants of flamenco, on his own. - San Antonio de Areco, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

Alberto Biocca, President of the Grupo traditionalista of Ayacucho in the province of Buenos Aires, in his Sunday best, with silver-decorated saddle and bridle and gaucho poncho, also knows how to handle the lasso masterfully. - 1976

Luxury harness. - Estancia La Luciana, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires. - 1975

Luxury harness. - Estancia El Ombú, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

Luxuriously harnessed, the gaucho's horse carries on its saddle something to face the elements: knife (“facón”), “boleadoras”, hobbel straps, lasso. The spurs can be wood, leather or chiseled silver. - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

Luxuriously harnessed, the gaucho's horse carries on its saddle something to face the elements: knife (“facón”), “boleadoras”, hobbel straps, lasso. The spurs can be wood, leather or chiseled silver.- Estancia La Luciana, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

Luxuriously harnessed, the gaucho's horse carries on its saddle something to face the elements: knife (“facón”), “boleadoras”, hobbel straps, lasso. The spurs can be wood, leather or chiseled silver. - Estancia Santa María, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

The game is an indispensable part of everyday life for the gaucho. Although certainly more spectacular, riding a young bull is significantly less risky than a game of Truco. The inconspicuous tokens, pebbles or corn kernels amount to the wages of weeks of work. - Estancia El Dorado, Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1976

Various items that accompany the life of a gaucho. - Museo José Hernández, Mar del Plata - 1975

The Pulpería is a tavern, grocer and stage for born comedians all in one and, in these infinite widths, has made a decisive contribution to the development of an independent gaucho consciousness. - Ayacucho, Province Buenos Aires - 1975

In the province of Buenos Aires, the Troperos drive cows and calves to the Estancia La Mimosa. - 1973

Aberdeen Angus cattle on Estancia El Ombú, Ayacucho, Buenos Aires Province - 1975

At Don Emilio Solanet's Estancia «El Cardal», Ayacucho, Province of Buenos Aires - 1975

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