Historia de Pancho Lugares
Historia de Pancho Lugares (English: History of Pancho Lugares ) is a verse tale by Luis Pérez in 472 verses. It was published in 1830 in the El Gaucho newspaper edited by Luis Pérez .
shape
The 472 verses of Historia de Pancho Lugares are divided into 117 rhymed stanzas, i.e. H. a stanza has been lost. It is the penultimate stanza.
content
The protagonist of the storytelling is a guardiero , i.e. H. a person from Guardia de San Miguel del Monte. Guardia del Monte, in turn, is a place that was founded on a chain of fortresses on the border between Argentina and the land of the Pampas or "Pampas Indians" and is now located in the province of Buenos Aires .
Verses 1-4
The protagonist Pancho Lugares, who is also the narrator, announces that he will describe his life as a gaucho from the banks of the Río Salado .
Verses 5-20
He is the son of Juana Contreras 'and Pedro Lugares'. When he was twelve he learned to read and write because his parents wanted it that way. At the age of 15 he enlisted in the military and served in the company of Captain D. Juan Chano. After training to be an animal tamer, he found a job as a peón at Rosas .
Verses 21-48
One day he went to Guardia del Monte in his free time to get drunk. A non-commissioned officer in the army had meanwhile gone to the place where he was. The sergeant asked for his papers. At that time, a law of October 10, 1815 was in force, according to which everyone who does not have their own land must carry a paper issued by the employer and certified by the local judge, otherwise one can be accused of vagrancy and this with five years of military service is punished. Since the protagonist had forgotten this paper at home, he was taken away by the NCO for compulsory recruitment.
Verses 49-64
First, Lugares was brought to the Plaza Retiro (Retiro Square) in Buenos Aires, where the forced recruits were gathered. After two days, which he had not been provided with food or drink, he was taken to the Río de la Plata with the other recruits . You would have to go to the other bank of the river, i.e. H. to be brought to today's Uruguay .
Verses 65-76
Pancho Lugares complains that neither he nor the other conscripts have been peacefully asked to do military service. After all, they are all patriots. He praises the leaders of the gauchos and their comrades-in-arms.
Verses 77-96
The crossing took the whole night. When they reached the other bank of the river, their hair was shaved. A captain then selected the best among them. Lugares was lucky because he was assigned to the cavalry.
Verses 97-116
Lugares tells how it came about that he was assigned to the cavalry. First he and his rivals were sent to the front on horseback. There he and his rivals should have caught half-wild horses with a lasso. After Lugares captured a horse, he returned to the quarters and was assigned to the cavalry there because of his skills.
Verses 117-128
Since he had been assigned to the cavalry, he thought of deserting. Escape would have been easy for him. The only obstacle was the Río de la Plata. That's why he decided to stay with the squad until he had completed his task.
Verses 129-140
Pancho Lugares had served in the cavalry all along. He took part in the battle of Ituzaingó (1827). In this battle the Argentine army defeated under the command of Carlos de Alvear the Brazilians, in turn, of Peter I were headed. After this battle he took part in other campaigns.
Verses 141-146
After Argentina and Brazil made peace, he and the other conscripts returned to Buenos Aires.
Verses 147-156
In Buenos Aires, he and his comrades were taken to the Recoleta district. Horses were brought to them on November 30th and on December 1st they were allowed to take part in the Lavalles putsch ( mayor atentado ) against Dorrego, which took place in 1828. Since, according to Lugares, two years have passed since the event, the description takes place in 1830.
Verses 157-208
Since Pancho Lugares did not agree with the coup, he deserted. In Morón, now part of the greater Buenos Aires area , he had ridden back to his employer, from whom he had once been snatched by forced recruitment. The latter received him in a friendly manner, provided him with food and asked the village about the outcome of the coup. The news that Dorrego and Rosas have fled the Unitarians is an occasion for Lugares to praise Rosas. Rosas, according to Lugares, can summon a large crowd with a single scream.
Verses 209-284
The gauchos had ridden to Navarro to support Rosas in the battle of the same name (December 1828). When the troops had a strength of 1,100 men, Rosas began negotiations with General Lamadrid on Dorrego's orders . Lugares describes how Rosas went to Dorrego after the negotiations and reported to Dorrego. At the trial, Rosas suggested that Lamadrid be appointed representatives of both sides, i.e. H. to appoint both the Unitarians and the Federalists. However, Lamadrid refused to comply with Rosa's demands. Rosas therefore suggested to Dorrego to retire in order to gain time and increase the army in order to be able to outnumber Lavalle and Lamadrid. Lavalle could not use force to silence the people because they would defend themselves. While Dorrego and his master retreat, he and his men will distract Lamadrid.
Verses 285-356
As soon as Dorrego and his men had left, Lamadrid had attacked in Navarro. However, Rosas was able to successfully distract him. There had been skirmishes all night. At Navarro, Rosas called Lugares to him. Rosas had told him to inform him about Dorrego's troops. Lugares did as he was ordered and finally made a report. Rosas could not believe that Dorrego had not withdrawn with his troops as agreed, had checked that everything was going well and that Lugares was right. Rosas had confronted Dorrego, told him the support was on its way but had not yet arrived, and the same applied to the weapons. Lavallke, on the other hand, is well equipped and ready to attack. Against the background of this situation, Rosas absolved himself of any responsibility for the outcome of the action.
Verses 357-400
Dorrego kept his troops waiting for Lavalle's. The former's troops were divided into four divisions, each led by commanders (José María) Pinedo, (Juan) Izquierdo, (Gervasio) Espinosa and (Antonio) Ramírez. In addition, the "Indians" had allied themselves with Rosas. Another delegation was led by the commandant Federico or (since he was born in today's Germany) Friedrich Rauch, who was later murdered (1829) by the leader of the Ranquel.
Verses 401-464
Pancho Lugares describes the battle between the Unitarians and the Federalists. The Unitarians, under Lavalle's command, had succeeded in encircling the federalist divisions. Only the Pinedos division had managed to evade the encirclement, but they too had to withdraw in the end. The same was true for the "Indians". Because of the poor equipment, tactical mistakes and the poor organization of the federalists, they were exposed to great dangers. Despite the hopelessness of the fight, men would have distinguished themselves like a certain Don Parodi. Pancho Lugares promises that he will describe the outcome of the battle. However, this description is missing.
Verses 465-468
This stanza is missing.
Verses 469-472
Lugares boasts that he has always fought alongside Rosa and that he has always stood firm for the cause of the federalists.
Further information
- The surnames Contreras (the protagonist's mother) and Chano (the captain under whose command the protagonist served in the army) establish a continuity with the dialogues by Bartolomé Hidalgo in which Jacinto Chano and Ramón Contreras talk to each other.
- Guardia del Monte is a town in what is now the province of Buenos Aires. In the Hidalgos Diálogo patriótico interesante (1821) a place of the same name in Uruguay is mentioned. It is the home of the gaucho Ramón Contreras.
- Pancho Lugares is brought to Uruguay with the other conscripts to fight in the war against the Brazilian Empire (1825–1828)
- The troops, which were withdrawn from Uruguay after the peace with Brazil, were used by the Unitarians for the coup against Manuel Dorrego (1777-1828). Dorrego, one of the leaders of the federalists, was governor of Buenos Aires until then. With the coup a federal Argentina, which under his government tried to give a constitution to a congress in Santa Fe , was prevented.