La guerra gaucha (novel)
Encyclopedia
La Guerra Gaucha is the first book, outside of his published poems of the Argentine
writer Leopoldo Lugones
(1874-1938) which he wrote in 1905. It is a book of stories about the gaucho
guerrilla war they fought, commanded by Martín Miguel de Güemes
, against the Spanish
royalist
during the Argentine War of Independence, between 1815 and 1825. It is written in the fictional gaucho slang
of the time and it is difficult to understand for anyone not versed in it. The strengtth of the epic nature of the stories made it a very successful book. Based on this book, years later in 1941, it was adapted to the screen for the film La Guerra Gaucha
, directed by Lucas Demare
, with a screenplay by Ulyses Petit de Murat
and Homero Manzi
and with starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone
, Ángel Magaña
, Sebastián Chiola and Amelia Bence
, among others.
to see the actual places where the battles took place and to record the oral traditions of the locals. The book is therefore very descriptive, spending a ot of time in the descriptions of the nature and landscape of the area.
In Lugones' stories (different than later in the film), all the heroes are anonymous, trying to fortify the idea of a "people in arms".
since January 1, 2009 (Article 5 of Argentine Law #11,723).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
writer Leopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Lugones Argüello was an Argentine writer and journalist.-Early life:Born in Villa de María del Río Seco, a city in Córdoba Province, in Argentina's Catholic heartland, Lugones belonged to a family of landed gentry...
(1874-1938) which he wrote in 1905. It is a book of stories about the gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
guerrilla war they fought, commanded by Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...
, against the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
royalist
Royalist (Spanish American Revolutions)
The royalists were the American and European supporters of the various governing bodies of the Spanish Monarchy, during the Spanish American wars of independence, which lasted from 1808 until the king's death in 1833...
during the Argentine War of Independence, between 1815 and 1825. It is written in the fictional gaucho slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
of the time and it is difficult to understand for anyone not versed in it. The strengtth of the epic nature of the stories made it a very successful book. Based on this book, years later in 1941, it was adapted to the screen for the film La Guerra Gaucha
La Guerra Gaucha
La guerra gaucha is a 1942 Silver Condor award winning Argentine historical drama and epic film directed by Lucas Demare and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone, Ángel Magaña, and Amelia Bence. The film's script, written by Homero Manzi and Ulyses Petit de Murat, is based on the novel by...
, directed by Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer prominent in the Cinema of Argentina in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s....
, with a screenplay by Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat was an Argentine poet and screenwriter.He wrote the script for La Guerra Gaucha with Homero Manzi based on the 1905 novel by Leopoldo Lugones....
and Homero Manzi
Homero Manzi
Homero Nicolás Manzioni Prestera, better known as Homero Manzi was an Argentine Tango lyricist, author of various famous tangos....
and with starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone was an Argentine film actor.He is best known for his roles in the 1940s in the classic film La Guerra Gaucha and Todo un hombre for which he won the Silver Condor award for Best Actor....
, Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña was an Argentine film actor who appeared in some of Argentina's notable films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.He was married to Nuri Montsé-Filmography:#Hotel de señoritas...
, Sebastián Chiola and Amelia Bence
Amelia Bence
Amelia Bence is an Argentine film actress.-Career:Born as María Amelia Botwinik, Amelia Bence is one of the divas of the Golden Age of the Argentinian cinema...
, among others.
Characteristics
To write the book, Lugones travelled to Salta ProvinceSalta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
to see the actual places where the battles took place and to record the oral traditions of the locals. The book is therefore very descriptive, spending a ot of time in the descriptions of the nature and landscape of the area.
Stories
Some of the stories from La Guerra Gaucha are:- "Juramento": moved by his love for a patriot widow, a young royalist officer deserts to align himself with the rebels.
- "Carga": describes a combat action where the gaucho guerrillas raid the Spanish camp using horses in a wild run with ther tails on fire.
- "Al rastro": one lone gaucho drives a horse cart full of gunpowder to make it explode against a royalist battalion, then fighting with the survivors until his death.
- "Dianas": A village priest, disguising himself as a royalist, rings the church bells to tell the patriots about the Spanish movements.
- "Alerta": A patriot weaver is raped by the Spaniards, and a messenger boy is murdered.
- "Sorpresa": About a gaucho militia captain who could read and write.
- "Un lazo": About a man that can "communicate" with horses and know their secrets.
- "Güemes": About Salta's caudilloCaudilloCaudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
Martín Miguel de Güemes, commanding general of the gaucho militia.
In Lugones' stories (different than later in the film), all the heroes are anonymous, trying to fortify the idea of a "people in arms".
Author's rights
Leopoldo Lugones died in 1938, thus his work is public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
since January 1, 2009 (Article 5 of Argentine Law #11,723).