Martin Fierro

The Gaucho Martin Fierro (1872) is a lyric epic poem written in praise of the gaucho way of life at a time when gauchos were looked on as curiosities or nuisances by the European-dominated Buenos Aires society. At the time, the gauchos were being swallowed by industrial and agricultural progress and manipulated by contending political parties. Hernandez's primary purpose was to inform people about the vanishing culture of the gaucho. Although the first part of the poem portrays the rebellion against society's mistreatment of the gaucho and its restrictions on his freedom to roam as he saw fit, the second part has a more didactic tone and urges a reconciliation; but one which necessarily involves the gaucho's acceptance of landowner hegemony. This poem became the voice of the gaucho, but it has also been adopted by all Argentines as an important part of their national tradition.