Huaso in chilean rodeo

A huaso (feminine huasa, although the term china is far more commonly used for his wife or sweetheart, whose dress can be seen in cueca dancing) is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the Argentinian or Uruguayan gaucho and the US cowboy. Image File history File links Caballo_chileno. ... Image File history File links Caballo_chileno. ... Natonal champions of 2006 In Chile the Rodeo is the second sport but practiced, after soccer. ... The cueca has been declared the official national dance of Chile since September 18, 1979. ... Motto: Spanish: En Unión y Libertad (English: In Union and Freedom) Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino Capital (largest city) Buenos Aires Spanish Government Federal republic  - President Néstor Kirchner  - Vice President Daniel Scioli Independence From Spain   - May Revolution 25 May 1810   - Declared 9 July 1816   - Recognized 1821 (by Portugal)  Area... Gauchos taming horses in Corrientes Province, Argentina. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... The classic vision of the American cowboy, as portrayed by Frederic Remington A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. ...

Huasos (plural) live in Chile's central valley and ride horses (Chilean Horse) and typically wear a straw hat called a chupalla. They also wear a poncho called a manta or a chamanto (although this is generally reserved to land owners, as it is much more expensive) over a short Andalusian waist jacket, as well as tooled leather legging over booties with raw hide leather spur holders that sustain a beautiful long shanked spur with 4" rowels, and many other typical garments. horse, see Horse (disambiguation). ... The horse breed known as Chilean Horse is virtually unknown outside of the meridional South America despite being the oldest registered native American breed, the oldest registered breed of Iberian origin, the oldest registered horse breed in South America and the oldest registered stock horse breed in the Western Hemisphere. ... Typical Andes poncho in a flea market in Genoa, Italy A poncho is a simple garment designed to keep the body warm, or if made from an impermeable material, to keep dry during rain. ... Chile, similar to a poncho and woven in silk thread and wool. ...

Huasos are an important part of Chilean folkloric culture and are a vital part of parades, fiestas, and holidays. The dancing of the cueca in which the coy china is courted by the persistent huaso, both traditionally attired, is de rigueur on such occasions. Culture of Chile. ... The cueca has been declared the official national dance of Chile since September 18, 1979. ...

In Chile the term huaso or ahuasado (in a huaso way) is also used disparagingly to refer to people without manners or lacking in big-city experience.

Etymology

Huaso in traditional dress; image details at http://contentdm.nitle.org/u?/realia,176

Various theories are commonly advanced: from the Quechua huakcha (hispanicized as huacho) meaning orphan, not belonging to a community, hence free and homeless, an important aspect of the huaso/gaucho myth, or alternatively from the Quechua huasu, meaning either the back of an animal, or rough and rustic. Moreover the word guaso/a is used in Andalusian and American Spanish with the last sense. It appears that a form of folk etymology has operated to conflate the contrasting identities of the huaso, viewed as both a free horseman (implying some wealth and nobility) and an unsophisticated country bumpkin. Both senses can be observed in Chilean usage. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1184 KB) Chilean cowboy. This rider prepares to participate in the May 21 celebrations in the city of Vicuña. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1184 KB) Chilean cowboy. This rider prepares to participate in the May 21 celebrations in the city of Vicuña. ... Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... Folk etymology or popular etymology is a linguistic term for a category of false etymology which has grown up in popular lore, as opposed to one which arose in scholarly usage. ...

External links

• Huaso Postcards
• Huaso photographs (text in Spanish)
• http://www.huasochileno.cl/
• http://www.pro-ohiggins.cl/libro/cuerpo/3_2_4.asp