Gaucho Adventures In Uruguay

Experiencing The Old West In The Southern Hemisphere

- Darley Newman

 

As a sudden rainstorm swept over us, I hunkered thankfully into the wool poncho that ranch owner Jorge Zuasnabar had lent me for today’s early morning cattle work. I had come to his working estancia (ranch), El Charabón, to learn firsthand about gaucho life in Uruguay, and to discover if the legendary gauchos of my imagination still existed.

Uruguay’s economy is largely based on cattle production, making the daily tasks of the gaucho essential. As I moved the herd with the gauchos, I felt like I was stepping back to a simpler, more natural time. When Fernando, one of El Charabón’s gauchos, trotted and then loped towards a breakaway cow, I knew that I was seeing the real deal.

Uruguay, a small South American country bordered by Brazil and Argentina, has an ideal climate for cattle ranching and beef production, and along with that, a celebrated horse culture. Along the three-hour coastal drive from the capital city of Montevideo to El Charabón, horses populate the fields and graze by nearly every yard. Men ride horseback alongside the roads, work cattle with horses, and even children drive horse-drawn carts.

In Uruguay, ATVs and trucks haven’t replaced steeds; the gauchos on the estancias still use horses to get things done. The gauchos and their mounts work long days outside, with the sense of pride and freedom— as with their American counterparts—that goes along with this type of work. Like our North American cowboys, the gauchos devote themselves to working with and protecting the ranch’s livestock, treating sick cattle, moving stock from pasture to pasture, and more.