Memories of a Pan-American road trip
Who is Gauchito Gil?
In 2011–2012, I took part in the Panamericana Roadtrip alongside 83 classic Volvos. During this journey, we kept a record of our experiences, which we later compiled into the book ‘Panamericana Roadtrip’. This story about Gauchito Gil is one such account. Gauchito Gil is a sort of Argentine Robin Hood and the patron saint of travellers in Argentina. You’ll come across memorials to him all over the country. It’s a remarkable story that I’d love to share with you again on this blog.
The Legend of Gauchito Gil
We don’t come across him on day 1. We’re still in the middle of civilisation, driving from village to village, passing junction after junction. With a distance of nearly a thousand kilometres on Day 1, we’re really doing nothing but eating up the tarmac. We haven’t yet shaken off the illusion that we’ll make it in before dark that day. On Day 2, by contrast, we have a very short and easy drive ahead of us. We leave Viedma at a leisurely pace and continue south towards Puerto Madryn. We soon realise we’re leaving civilisation behind and are introduced to the endless Argentine pampas.
We pass the first memorials. They appear to be dedicated to a local hero. At first, I think it might be a stunt by a local political party. Enquiring at a petrol station, I learn that these are memorials to the Argentine legend ‘Gauchito Gil’. According to legend, Antonio Mamerto Gil Nuñez, better known as Gauchito Gil, came from the town of Mercedes in Corrientes, in the far north of Argentina. He fell in love and began an affair with a very wealthy widow. When the woman’s brothers and the head of the local police discovered this, they accused him of theft. They wanted to kill him. To escape this fate, Gauchito joined the army. Not long afterwards, when the civil war broke out, Gauchito refused to fight against his own people and deserted. From that moment on, he became an outlaw. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, as befits a Latin American Robin Hood.
The miracle of the policeman and Gauchito Gil
Fate eventually brought him back to the local police chief, who had him arrested. Gauchito was tortured and hung upside down from an algarrobo tree. Just before the officer was about to slit his throat, he told the policeman that if he killed him, the policeman’s son – who was seriously ill – would die. If he spared Gauchito’s life, the son would live. The policeman cut Gauchito’s throat without mercy. When he returned home and found his seriously ill son, he prayed to Gauchito. The boy was healed.
The policeman then buried Gauchito Gil with great respect and erected a shrine. The officer told everyone about the miracle. The legend of Gauchito Gil took shape. Every year on 8 January, many pilgrims travel to Corrientes to pay their respects to Gauchito Gil. All across Argentina, you’ll find memorials by the roadside, decorated with many red flags. Gauchito Gil, a true folk hero for all lorry drivers on the endless roads across the Argentine pampas – and now, in a small way, for us too.
More about driving
It’s also possible to organise your own road trip through Latin America. If you’d like to find out more, please take a look at the ‘Driving’ section on our website. Do you have any questions about a unique road trip through Latin America, would you like a bespoke travel proposal, or would you like to arrange an appointment at our office? Please feel free to get in touch with us. Send an email to info@sapapanatravel.nl or call us on +31 73 610 62 04. We’ll be happy to help.
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