‘Chacho’ Royo, a legendary gaucho from the Salta region


‘Chacho’ Royo, a skilful horseman with huge guardamontes on either side, is seventy-five years old, fifteen of which are shrouded in mystery.

The face of Chacho Royo, a gaucho on the Campo Alegre estancia in the Salta region, reflects the full range of human possibilities: reason, determination, good-naturedness, violence and tenderness. As a young gaucho matrero, a fugitive, Chacho Royo hid from the arm of the law in the Andes for fifteen years. This time deeply moulded his personality. Today, he shows a different side to his character by turning leather into bridles and saddles on his small property. He sells this craftsmanship or generously donates it to his friend Arturo Fernandez. In his hands, the leather becomes a symbol of the transformation of a man who has mastered the extremes of his life and has now found his place in a quiet, fulfilling everyday life. - The photos were taken in 1973 and 1975.



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