Many people are familiar with the gaucho culture of Argentina and Uruguay. The same culture thrives in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. In fact, people who come from this state – like Maria – are known as gauchos (pronounced ‘ga-OO-shos’) or gauchas.
This is our nephew Fabricio, presiding over an event at his horse-training centre.
(Vento Negro belongs to Claudia, Fabricio’s charming and accomplished partner.)
A pair of contestants compete in a paleteada. The idea is to keep the calf in between the two riders (after he runs out of the chute) for a certain length of time and distance.
This is just one of the buildings where the horses are trained and stabled.
There is a lot of fascinating horse tackle hanging from the walls.
I attempt to make friends with some of the horses.
Needless to say, we also like to make friends with the dogs of the house.
We enjoy the hospitality of Maria’s elegant and warm-hearted sister Zequinha and her partner, the affable and uber-generous Candinho. Candinho is clutching another gaucho staple, a gourdful of maté tea. Wherever in the world you find gauchos, you’ll find maté.
Another vital aspect of gaucho culture the art of churrasco – that is, BBQ. Luquinha, an employee of the stables, tends to an inferno-fueled grilling of carne for the workers.
We’ve been eating Homeric amounts of meat since we’ve been here. Fabricio and Candinho prepare another feast in the house.
This is not a good place to be if you’re counting your calories.
We visit César and Circe, two of Maria’s oldest friends, where we are treated to excellent Argentinian wine and more superb churrasco.
In Fabricio’s apartment in a hi-rise building, the charcoal BBQ facility is standard. (We also saw this in certain buildings in South Africa.)
Sight or Insight of the Day
We go out for a restaurant meal at a location close to the airport. On display is a vintage VARIG DC-3.
This appeals to my amateur interest in civil aviation. VARIG at one time had the same flagship airline status for Brazil as Pan-American Airlines had for the United States. (You have to be a certain age to remember either of these airlines.)
VARIG is an acronym for Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense, that is, Rio Grandean Airways. It’s interesting that an airline that began in a state that was not the pre-eminent state in the nation grew into a global airline.
Similar to QANTAS, the Australian flag carrier that began life as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services in the remote outback, far from the more populated states of Victoria and New South Wales.
And of course, the DC-3 itself has a glorious history. To quote Wikipedia:
‘Perhaps unique among prewar aircraft, the DC-3 continues to fly in active commercial and military service as of 2021, eighty-six years after the type’s first flight in 1935.’