The image of a gaúcho – the cattle rancher, or his employee, wrangling in the vast fields of the state of Rio Grande do Sul – is invariably associated to two things. First, the mate – or chimarrão -, the hot bitter infusion of a special type of dry, crushed tea, sipped from a cuia, a calabash gourd. The second is his horse.
This wonderful series of images by Eduardo Amorim portray rodeios and daily life in several municipalities of the Southern state: Bagé, Pelotas, Esteio, Santa Vitória do Palmar. This amazing photographer has loads of pictures that you can appreciate on Flickr.
having been a cowboy in Minas Gerais……they were never called Gauchos…that’s a term only for those in the south ( obviously because of its proximity to Argintina)
We ( both Paulistas e Mineiros )were either called a cavaleiro ( horseman ) or a peao ( bronc rider ).
In the North East = vaqueiros.
and believe me when I tell you …if you called any of those guys “gauchos” you’re headin’ for trouble.
Just thought you would like to know
Thanks, Macaco Maldito (by the way, love your nickname!). Funny, I expected some reader to complain that I didn’t mention that all people born in Rio Grande do Sul are known as gaúchos, too… Yeah, you are right, this is a Southern tradition, and that’s why I stated in the opening phrase that they are from Rio Grande do Sul (and, yeah, thanks for pointing out: also neighboring countries Uruguay and Argentina). Only, they pronounce it gáucho, with the accent in the A.