Diálogo patriótico interesante

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Diálogo patrótico interesante (the full title is: Diálogo patriótico interesante entre Jacinoto Chano, capataz de una estancia en las islas de Tordillo, y el gaucho de la Guardia del Monte, or German something like : Interesting patriotic conversation between Jacinto Chano, one of the foremen Estancia on the Tordillo Islands and the Gaucho of Guardia del Monte ) is the first of the three diálogos drawn up by Bartolomé Hidalgo . (German: conversations ). It was published as a brochure in January 1821 and consists of 388 verses.

content

Verses 1-8

The foreman Jacinto Chano arrives on his horse in the village of Guardia del Monte in the east of today's Uruguay and is received by his friend Ramón Contreras, the gaucho of the said village mentioned in the title. Chano comes from the Tordillo Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the Uruguayan coast.

Verses 9-40

When asked about the trip, Chano says that his horse became shy on the way, bucked and then almost jumped into a ditch, but was able to overcome it with one leap.

Verses 41-45

Contreras praises his interlocutor's riding skills, offers him a cimarrón , an unsweetened mate , and asks him for news.

Verses 46-60

Chano begins his speech with an introduction. He tells his interlocutor that he fought on the side of the American liberation movement. He refers to three stages of the liberation struggle of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata :

  • the primera patria (English: first fatherland ), referred to as such by Chano , the phase of the Juntas and revolutionary triumvirates , from 1810 to 1814.
  • the phase of the Directores Supremos , the presidents of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata from 1814 to 1820, referred to by Chano as patria del medio (English: middle fatherland )
  • and the new phase he called esta patria , which began in 1820 with Martín Rodríguez as governor and Bernardino Rivadavia as minister, and which entailed numerous reforms.

In the first two phases he and his sons took part in the liberation struggles and civil wars, in the new phase, he indicates by means of an ellipse , he does not participate in political development - probably out of distrust of it.

Verses 61-68

When Chano pauses to drink mate, Contreras encourages him to continue.

Verses 69-102

Chano laments his fate, which, like that of his fatherland, he sings about from house to house and from town to town. After the ten-year struggle against Ferdinand VII , he wondered what advantages had been achieved as a result. After the liberation struggle, chaos and poverty broke out.

Verses 103-112

Contreras agrees with Chano and tells him to continue.

Verse 113-180

Chano suggests that the independence fighters now fought each other after liberation from the Spanish crown. He also complains that the provinces of the Río de la Plata threatened to fall apart in a dispute. But everyone should be equal and everyone should be judged solely on their merits. As an example, he cites a parable: In the Estancia of Rincón, Sayavedra, a friend of the two interviewees, organized a volteada , a kind of ritual in which the gauchos castrate the cattle, mark them and then celebrate together. At volteada , a young bull managed to tear itself away from the lasso and escape. The gauchos were in pursuit. However, a stranger had managed to recapture the young bull. The owner of the estancia then rewarded the stranger by taking him into service. This, according to Chano, is legitimate, because even if the stranger does not belong to the gaucho troop, the same law applies to everyone. Origin does not matter before the law. However, in accordance with his Rioplatensian nationalism, Chano only cites provinces of the Río de la Plata as examples of origin. In addition to the discrimination based on geographic origin, Chano also talks about discrimination based on social origin. He ironically comes to the conclusion that freedom is only achieved when his horse has learned to speak.

Verses 181-188

Chanos makes a brief affirmative remark.

Verses 189-206

In Chano's opinion, the grievances are rooted in the fact that everyone insisted on their rights and neglected to do their duty. This is the reason for the current power struggles and the dispute.

Verses 207-274

Contreras laments the waste of money. He mourns General Belgrano . His brother met him and from then on Belgrano did not abandon him until his death. Since Belgrano's death (1820), he suggests, the revolutionary army has suffered nothing but hardship. They wandered the country in rags, had nothing to eat or had very bad food. Invalids went away empty-handed because the coffers were supposedly empty. They are therefore dependent on the solidarity of their fellow campaigners, who provide them poorly. Women who lost their husbands in the war are also condemned to a life of poverty. The state of the cities is deplorable. When he rode his horse into a city, it almost sank into the clay soil. He also saw a theater in the city, the construction of which began many years ago, but which is still in ruins. He had heard from the residents of the city that a lot of money had been invested in the theater. The investors would have miscalculated. A friend's ox cart also broke on a newly built road in which a fortune had been invested. In the end, he expresses doubts as to whether the large amount of money that is always mentioned is actually there.

Verses 275-310

Chano claims that much of the money went to Buenos Aires. He would swear that the money was there to finance a large, well-equipped force. Instead of the have-nots, soldiers, officers who suffered from hunger and widows who are threatened with prostitution in their need, get money, useless opportunists swam in money. Instead of those who campaigned for the fatherland being financially compensated for their services, they are exposed to the arbitrariness of these same opportunists.

Verses 311-313

Contreras sarcastically adds to Chano's speech that everyone is equal before the law.

Verses 314-384

Chano is confident that the laws will be made public. Their implementation is still lacking. However, he laments the unequal treatment of gauchos and wealthy people. If a gaucho breaks the law, he is rightly thrown into prison. Instead, wealthy men are treated with indulgence, receive bribes, or they refer to their honor and claim special rights. But he trusts in the reform of the judiciary. He also appeals to the generals of the revolution and the government to put the country back on the right track, and that this should be reflected in justice and the observance of common sense. If evildoers were punished, people who deserved their service rewarded, and war declared on the strife, they would be free people. As a simple gaucho, he asked the Americans for an agreement and did not expect any money for his services because he had no ambitions. Finally, he says goodbye to Ramón Contreras.

Verses 385-388

While Chano rides back towards the Tordillo Islands, Ramón Contreras checks on his herd of cattle.

literature

Text output

Bartolomé Hidalgo: "Diálogo patriótico interesante entre Jacinoto Chano, capataz de una estancia en las islas de Tordillo, y el gaucho de la Guardia del Monte", in: Poesía gauchesca . Biblioteca Ayacucho, Caracas 1977.