La Estancia Cinacina

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Sunday - A day at the Estancia La Cinacina

This morning, 6 of the Linguatec Students met for a day excursion with our teacher Sylvia to an Estancia in the Pampas region! The 120 km trip took about close to 2 hours on the minibus, but was very much worth it. We arrived in the little pueblo of San Antonio de Areco around noon. San Antonio de Areco is the symbolic center of the Gaucho culture. Every year in November, Gauchos from all of Argentina gather here for a festival celebrating their nomadic lifestyle and ancestry. The Gaucho is the cowboy of Argentina who, until about the late 19th century, used to live a free life, beyond the law, living of the land and cattle, only loved by his horse! However life changed when estancias were settled all over the Pampas, and the Gaucho become more of a farmhand then a free-riding spirit. Nevertheless, their amazing horsemanship, chivalry and folklore is now enjoyed by many tourists, like ourselves this weekend, at the Estancia La Cinacina and in so many estancias across Argentina. When we arrived, we were greeted with empanadas and vino tinto, then went for a stroll around the estancia. Some chose to ride the horses, others went for a ride in the wagon or a walk until the bell rang for us to return to the main house for a feast of beef of various cuts and more vino! Following the meal, we were entertained by folklore dancers and musicians and then headed back outside into the heat to watch the gauchos in a riding competition! The gauchos gallopped down a lane at full speed, standing in the saddle with the goal to “speer” a tiny ring which is hanging of a rope across the riding lane! Amazing to watch. If the rider gets the ring off the rope he presents it to a female spectator in exchange for a kiss.
After all the festivities and a last drink of Mate we returned back to B'sA's in the early evening!

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