El Gaucho

El Gaucho is one of the main characters of the novel "La Distancia Que Nos Separa" by Renato Cisneros.

Renato tells the story of his father who was an Argentinian/Peruvian soldier known as El Gaucho. In the wake of a love loss, Renato introduces the Gaucho, the Gaucho's singular behaviour, and a complex father-son relationship.

Since the birth of El Gaucho who was a son of Peruvian parents who had to migrate to Argentina and then return to Peru, he had a life with many events that would mark his way of being. The son searches for answers after the death of his father and for each step he finds things and events that he never imagined.

As I was reading the book, I found that El Gaucho's life reminds me about the life of my own father. I felt that I identified myself with the son and my father with El Gaucho. Since I grew up being in disagreement with many aspects of my father's way to be like his hardness to express his feelings even with his family and the pragmatism of each day. Thus, even though I understood that his job was important for the family economy, I didn't understand my father's complex being until these days, when I became an adult. Actually, I am sure that I was just judging him for a long time, but fortunately, it is never too late to change patterns.

A few days ago, I read an article about Copernicus and I laughed relating the importance of understanding that the Earth was one of several planets during the Middle age. For Copernicus' time, any different idea was rejected and I think that I was living in my own Middle Age and this book represented a revolution for me, at the same time, a way to approach myself to my roots.

El Gaucho had a life like everyone, but he lived it like nobody, and I am sure that these generation of people are unforgettable, like my father who is my own Gaucho or El Plomo as many people use to call my father's men members since his great-grandfather.