It is via the National Route 40, the renowned pathway crossing Argentina lengthways that I reach Chos Malal, a small town in the far North of Patagonia, in the heart of the province of Neuquén. Former capital of the Territorio del Neuquén until 1904, the city has since lost its importance. Nearby lies the Provincial Park of Tromen, named after the volcano that dominates the region.

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In the shade of this sleeping giant which rises to nearly 4000 meters, time seems to pass slower than elsewhere. Vast and wild horizons offer a striking view over the rivers that have sculpted the region, all this painted over the background of the mighty Andes. I am on my way to meet Ceferino, a 46-year-old gaucho, who will be taking me into his home and providing an insight into his way of life as a Centaur of the Pampa: half human, half horse.

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In the present day, the gaucho is one of the most important cultural icons of Argentina. But ironically, this was not always the case. These former vagabonds were formerly seen as cattle thieves and smugglers living on a margins of society. They later became a legendary symbol of lawless freedom and courage, a rebel reminiscent of “Che”, mirroring the often tragic history of their country. The Argentinian identity was built on this romantic figure and the myth of the “Argentinean man”, often through many ideological manipulations.

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Simultaneously a true symbol of national identity and a myth built around the sacredness of a once despised sociotype, the traditional Argentinean gaucho now faces other dangers. Threatened on one side by the increased demand for soya and industrial-scale cattle farming on one side, and on the other the rural exodus of the younger generations, the gauchos’ way of life is now in danger of extinction.