If you are not familiar with the gaucho story of Martin Fierro, then you are missing out on a piece of Argentinian history. The poem came first and later developed into a film of the same name and looks at the social struggles of the gaucho (cowboy) and how the story’s character became an outcast. But don’t worry, I’ve not seen it either, so let us begin a humorous assumption about what these seemingly two fine pieces of art offer to those interested in a world of social media and superhero movies.

We now escape reality and provide you a twist on the film made by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson and the poem by Jose Hernandez.

Fierro the Movie

The film, based on the poem, tells the tale of a rebel cowboy named Martin Fierro and his like in Argentine Pampas a number of centuries ago. The movie portrays the cowboy being outcast by all sides of society. The alienation of the society around him didn’t make him think that perhaps a career chance was perhaps necessary to conform to more meaningful labor. Plus being a ‘rebel’ isn’t going to get anyone popular unless you’re James Dean (who have an expo about him in this museum, at the same time than this casino expo).

So, why is this one of Argentina’s most important stories? Well, it’s a retrospective of the times. You have a society trying to move on from its not so glamourous past and raise the spirit of its new-found independence. To be fair, given the circumstances, if some schmuck that has a rebellious attitude is going to get in the way of the many just for his benefit, then you can see why he wasn’t an everyone’s Christmas card list.

But are we missing something here, was the character the very symbolism of the argentine independence and that no matter what, society never will allow anyone to be truly free?

Deep stuff, but does it really all matter, you can glamorize, you can criticize but the fact is the cultural shift was never going to appease everyone and look where Argentina is today, pop Argentina into Google and hey presto, the football comes up first. We’re somewhat straying from the film, so a quick review: Angry man, misunderstood, some knife fights, no R-rated material, meh, it’s no Sergio Leonie masterpiece, but then this was a mirror to society, but then so is Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Fierro the Poem

If you are ready to read a 2500+ word poem then your nuts! I’m passing on this one, way more interesting things going on in my life right now, like creating mindless blogs (you’re welcome). If you want to learn about Argentina’s independence and the events surrounding the 1800s then this is a poem of great importance that managed to capture it all through the eyes of a character that gave up freedom and identity, saw changes in government, abuse and neglect and political arrest.

The book was translated into nineteen different languages, at the price of suffering to millions of children around the world that would have to study this for homework.