Writing in gaucho: the milonga that is neither nostalgia nor a story from the past. “The identity construction of the gaucho in the songbook of José Larralde

Abstract

This paper analyzes the identity construction of the Pampean gaucho through the songbook of José Larralde, exploring how his milonga articulates labor and social issues of rural workers. From a sociological and anthropological perspective, the study examines the tensions between civilization and barbarism in the formation of Argentine national identity, drawing on authors such as Jauretche, Mosello, and Lins Ribeiro. It is argued that Larralde’s work not only recovers rural memory but also re-signifies it to challenge power structures and contemporary inequalities. In this sense, the milonga functions as a space of resistance and reivindication, where the gaucho is not merely a figure of the past but a symbol of the struggle for workers' dignity. Thus, the analysis suggests that identity representations in folklore can contribute to the formation of a critical collective memory in response to hegemonic narratives.