The gaucho in Uruguay and his contribution to literature

Abstract

This paper attempts to present the appearance of the gaucho in eighteenth century Uruguay and his contribution to the literature of this country. In this territory, known in colonial times as Banda Oriental, where the frontier between two empires was not always well defined, emerged a group of people linked to the pastoral work and especially their trade at the border with Brazil. This was a group of people characterized by their cult of liberty, for their fearsome appearance and their sometimes reckless attitude. They had a particular way of dressing, as well as fame for their joy and conversation. Their songs and stories, passed down from generation to generation, led to the emergence of a literature that reached the book once the printing press came and expanded in the country.  Gaucho literature often allows us to reconstruct the lifestyle and values of the original wandering inhabitants of our meadows. We must point out that it shows not only the gaucho’s view of himself but once the oral book is transformed into written book in the late nineteenth century, it began to express the image of the educated and ruling classes of the country had of the gaucho.