ARGENTINE LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY
Difficult as it may have been to describe Buenos Aires, it is still
more difficult to describe the people. Of all the men and women who
reside many years in foreign parts few gain more than a superficial
knowledge of those with whom they come in daily contact, for the
qualities necessary to gain such knowledge are very rare and their
exercise is difficult and often inconvenient. If, then, old residents
learn little, the hasty visitor is at a much greater disadvantage, and
especially in the case of a Spanish nation, for Spain has a touch of
Orientalism, which tends to seclusion in family life.
In Argentina, as elsewhere, the ladies of the better-class families do
not appear freely in public, although the old-fashioned principles,
which did not allow them to go shopping without an escort, have been
somewhat relaxed. But the English or North American comradeship
between man and woman is quite absent, nor do women attempt to compete
with men in business or games. As is well known, the family in Spanish
or French nations fills a much larger space in the life of the
individual than is the case with England or the United States. The
family exercises a more watchful care over its young members, who on
reaching maturity do not slip away as easily as is the case with
Anglo-Saxons; indeed, they hardly form fresh families, but rather seem
to supersede the older members and become themselves the heads. Under
such a system it is natural that considerable supervision is exercised
over the women, but the marriage usage is less rigorous than in
France, and the unions are rather of affection than arrangement; the
practice may, perhaps, be described as a mean between that of England
and France. South American views as to the ethics of relations between
men and women differ very widely from ours, and a discussion of the
subject would be unprofitable. The Argentine women have a reputation
for beauty and they dress very well, but, though graceful and
attractive, they cannot compare in fairness with their sisters of
Peru.
The kindness of the elders to children is an admirable trait, and it
is rare to see harshness or ill-treatment of the little ones, which
are such distressingly common sights in English streets, but, at the
same time, the tendency is pushed too far, and the spectacle of tiny
children at very late hours supping at restaurants must, at the risk
of incurring the reproach of insular prejudice, be pronounced
unedifying. It can hardly be beneficial to the children themselves.
The young Argentine would certainly be the better for more discipline,
and English residents are, for that reason, disposed to make any
sacrifice to send their children home to be educated.
The Argentines are fond of festivals and religiously keep the chief
holy days. Not long ago the carnival was celebrated with much licence,
but it is now becoming insignificant, and it can hardly be regretted
that an occasion for much horseplay and even crime is waning.
[Illustration: MAR DEL PLATA.]
Dancing, masqued balls, and gaieties of all kinds are, of course,
extremely popular, and for the ordinary evening entertainment the
cinematograph seems to hold the field almost without a rival. In
up-country towns the larger cafés have fine cinematographs, which are
viewed free by all who pay for refreshments, and the most exciting
adventures are portrayed with wonderful vividness. In Mendoza the
enthusiasm is so great that some cafés, which have insufficient
accommodation for the plant, stretch a sheet across the principal
thoroughfare, and, arranging chairs and tables in front, invite their
patrons to see the show. This practice of bringing the show to the
spectators to be viewed at their leisure and in comfort certainly
appears more reasonable than ours, which is to drive people to
uncomfortable music-halls and deny to the public-house, the proper
place for recreation and refreshment, all attractions except such as
are alcoholic.
It is probable that the life in country towns is somewhat dull. A
horse can be bought and kept fairly cheaply and, in general, the
country affords good riding, but there is little shooting or hunting.
Every considerable town has a nice Club and the English members are
numerous, coming in every evening to drink a whiskey-peg after tennis
in Anglo-Indian fashion; but there must be considerable lack of
variety. It would be desirable for Provincial Governments or private
individuals to encourage rational diversions, for, as before remarked,
the tendency to concentrate in Buenos Aires is dangerous. Besides
physical exercises, such institutions as literary societies, debating
clubs, lectures, and the like would be very salutary, both from the
valuable training they afford and the opportunity for foreigners and
natives to mix together for their common advantage.
[Illustration: RACECOURSE, LA PLATA.]
It is difficult to avoid feeling that among the English who live in
Argentina there is a good deal of discontent. While admiring the
country they do not seem very fond of it, and although their relations
with the people are friendly, they do not appear to live on such terms
of intimacy with them as is the case in Chile, for example. There is
probably danger of materialistic views of life growing up; the
Argentine is so busy in laying up treasure that he has little time for
amassing more important possessions. An Englishman at Mendoza
remarked: "These people have nothing to talk about; it's all _uva,
uva_" (grape, which is the staple industry of Mendoza). The fact is
that in a new country the population is too small for the manifold
interests that are required to make up a rich national life. In some
new countries they elect to lounge and eschew all hard work and, in
certain cases, the people, though indolent, are cultivated. In
Argentina the people are hard workers, but they have neglected the
spiritual side of life. At Buenos Aires a beginning is being made to
enlarge the circle of interests, and it would be well if humanising
efforts were made at all provincial centres.
As happens in all money-making countries, there are many examples of
the acquisition of wealth to an amount out of all proportion to the
owner's capacity for using it. Some rich Argentines buy palaces and
convert them into pigstyes, and at pretentious restaurants it is
common to see persons who in appearance and manners are altogether
unsuited to their surroundings. On the other hand, the class of rich
and refined men, with whom luxury loses half its evil by losing all
its grossness, is rapidly increasing, and when time has been found for
intellectual culture it will, no doubt, make great advances. Those who
have had the privilege of being admitted into Argentine families
will bear testimony to their refinement and kindliness.
There is also the life of the Pampa, of which the principal feature is
the Gaucho.[81] This picturesque person has probably more Indian than
Spanish blood in his veins, but he is a staunch son of Argentina and
supplies his country with excellent cavalry. With a complexion of a
light coffee colour, wearing a soft hat, a blanket slit to admit his
head, white breeches, and brightly coloured shoes, he has been called
by a French writer the Gascon of South America. He will not work in
the cities or cultivate the land; he is a horseman and stock-rider.
His favourite food is carne cum cuero--meat cooked with the hide--and
his delight is in that life of the open plain under the open sky, of
which Darwin felt the charm. He, indeed, has given an excellent
description of the Gaucho. The Gaucho has played an important part in
the building up of Argentina, though he himself cares little for
politics and constitutions. Before the Revolution he created the
cattle industry, which has always been a main source of wealth to the
country, and in the revolutionary wars he shared in the triumphs of
the Creoles. Though rather too fond of brawling and gambling, he
belongs to that singularly attractive type which is being rapidly
pushed into the background with the growth of town industries. He has
his own rude poetry and loves to sing his Pampa ballads to the
accompaniment of the guitar. He seems to have absorbed the poetry of
his surroundings, as was occasionally the case with Australian
stock-riders, and in the Pampa the _payador_--a kind of troubador--is
held in great honour. He figures at the fêtes as an improviser, and he
and his fellows are, in approved Sicilian fashion, "_cantare pares et
respondere parati_." Many of the ballads are, of course, unwritten,
but some _payadors_ leave the Pampas and become authors, and thus a
certain number of the wild songs have been translated into print,
but it can hardly be said that the cultured _payadors_ have been
as successful in their work as Sir Walter Scott was with Border
minstrelsy. José Hernandez long ago published an interesting little
collection of this kind--"El Gaucho Martin Fierro."
[Illustration: THE PAMPAS.]
The Gaucho is as hospitable as the Arab of the desert, and, like him,
has the sense of humour and the frank, bold courtesy which is
generally found in the desert-ranger. The modesty of his dwelling--a
mud hut with a few boards for furniture--contrasts with the bravery of
his equipment, for besides wearing gay colours he favours silver
stirrups and as much of the precious metal as he can obtain for the
adornment of his bridle, and though he seldom employs money, he always
is able to satisfy his simple wants. It is inevitable that as
settlements extend the Gauchos will dwindle, but it would be sad if
they disappeared from the Pampas altogether. The greater part of
Argentina has been won from the Indians by their efforts; they have
borne the burden and heat of the day in making the nation, and they
will still be the mainstay of their country when she encounters
trouble. The luxuries of town life are already too attractive to the
young Argentine, and the Gaucho gives a valuable example of the simple
and strenuous life.
FOOTNOTE:
[81] A suggested derivation is from the corruption of an Arabic word,
_i.e._, _Chaoucho_, which in Seville is applied to a cowherd.