16 February 2024

The Gauchos: A Life in Patagonia

“To live in the countryside you don’t have to be a coward”, Martín Rivas, one of the baqueanos or gauchos who work at Estancia Cerro Guido, told me. Today, we will tell you about the life of the Magellanic baqueano.

In the morning, after breakfast, I wanted to go and share with the baqueanos or gauchos who work at Estancia Cerro Guido. I know where to go, they are always in the stables, fixing the ropes, priming mate or any other daily work of country life.

A little shyly, I enter the stables and see the horses resting in the corral. All huddled together, they watch me walk towards the house where the baqueanos spend most of the day.

I enter and am greeted by Matías who, listening to milongas, is sitting next to the Patagonian stove which, with its different fire compartments, is multifunctional. If you have one in your home, you have a stove, a stove and an oven.

Matías is braiding leather that they use in different manufactures such as handles for knives, ropes for the horses, collars for the dogs that accompany them day by day, or for any other use they want to give it.

The baqueano has been there since 7 am. The gauchos’ working day starts at dawn and ends at dusk, there is no rest, there is always something to do. Whatever the daily chores, he has to be there.

I sit down next to him and he starts to brew mate. As I drink the cup, I ask him about his life in the countryside. “I’ve spent my whole life in the countryside, since I was a kid,” he says as he turns over the water in the kettle.

“Life in the stalls is hard, often alone.” Matias stays in the stalls for much of the off-season, accompanied only by the dogs and animals in his care. “Sometimes I get pissed off, but what can I do, it’s the job I chose”.

“To be in the field, you don’t have to be a coward,” he says as he sips his mate. “Imagine you’re at night, in the wee hours of the morning and the dogs start barking, what do you do? Nothing, you don’t know what might be out there.”

I try to configure an image in my head of the loneliness and darkness of the stalls where you only have gas light. That deafening silence that surrounds your body and you know that there is no one else but you in the place where you are standing. Evidently, it’s not a job for everyone.

Tourism and the Baqueanos

Today, tourism represents a large part of the economic wheel of the Chilean Magallanes and Antarctic Region. With pristine landscapes such as the Torres del Paine and unique native fauna, it has become a very visited area by travelers from all over the world.

In this way, motivated by the Patagonian essence, tourists show interest in the culture of the region. Thus, the gauchos or baqueanos open the doors of their work place to welcome those who want to know more about their life and work.

“It’s good that they want to get to know our work,” says Andy Baldevenites, one of the baqueanos who works at Cerro Guido. “There are always tourists who are interested and who want to share mate or go out on a horseback ride,” he adds.

Get into the Patagonian Essence

At Estancia Cerro Guido you will get into the essence of Patagonia, meeting people like Matías who have spent their lives in the countryside and before him, a family preceded him.

You will have the opportunity to tour our fields with the baqueanos on horseback, where you will ride through the beautiful landscapes of our Estancia, besides enjoying a good mate and chatting with them.