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Vol. 8 Nº4 págs. 627-631. 2010 https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2010.08.053 www.pasosonline.org Opiniones y ensayos The hidden face of the Patagonia Argentina Patricia María Méndez National University of Patagonia (Argentina) [email protected] Introduction organization seems to be supported by the profuse information and bibliography on The Patagonia is well-known in the these topics and the disclosure of the same world mainly through the tourist promo- in the media aimed at a broad audience. tion. This promotion emphasizes its natu- Result numerous the publications which in ral beauty and foments/promotes the idea diverse media provide information on the that it is a place sheltered from the pre- natural characteristics and the prehistory datory action of (the) man where “nature of Patagonia. Also, in the last twenty years undresses its secrets and shows its mag- has considerably increased the literature nificence in their entire splendor” (www. pertaining to its rich history. But many patagoniaturistica.org.ar/). In relation to issues related to the culture of its inhabi- this concept of the Patagonia, the tourism tants have not yet been addressed despite agencies offer to the visitors activities of its great importance. One of them is the one adventure, eco-tourism, rural tourism, that refers to the current existence of the etc. and some cultural attractiveness such indigenous peoples of Patagonia and their as those related to the paleontological fin- way of life. The majority of the inhabitants dings, with their extinct native population of the Republic of Argentina (and, of cour- or with the Welsh colonization and its craft se, the rest of the world) ignores that in the productions (Forte, 2007). The main geo- present, much of the rural areas of Patago- graphical locations visited are some coas- nia are populated by aboriginal people, be- tal areas such as Port Madryn and Punta longing to the peoples tehuelche y mapuche. Tombo, where it is possible to know the rich Perhaps this ignorance is related to the lack fauna of the area, and the Mountain range of research into the matter and also with the of los Andes, where it is feasible to enjoy enactment of an idea throughout the twenty beautiful landscapes and to practice some century (through school books and different activities as skiing and fishing, mainly. media) according to which the Indians in For its part, the cultural attractions are Patagonia Argentina were exterminated in in museums, tea houses and places in the the late nineteenth century. cities or close to them that have been adap- The fact is that today, those who visit and ted for the tourist visits, as well as in some even those who live in coastal and cordille- natural sites with cave paintings near the ran areas of Patagonia, ignore the existence main routes. of these people who inhabit the rural and This notion of Patagonia and its tourist inhospitable areas of the region, notwiths- © PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-7121 628 The hidden face of the Patagonia Argentina tanding that they were born in these pla- des the high plain of the plateau of the ces, and that their ancestors have resided Somún Curá and also its near perimeter. in Patagonia since prehistoric times. This This plateau is located between the me- article will show some cultural and eco- ridians 66 and 68 West and the parallels nomic aspects of some of these residents, 41 and 43 South, covering 25,000 Km2 its living in north-central region of the Pro- high surface, of which 15,000 km2 are in vince of Chubut. It also describes the main the Province of Black River and 10,000 features of this largely unknown territory km2 in the Province of Chubut (Capua, 2007). The prevailing climate is arid de- sert marked by sharp temperature varia- tions and constant daily dry environment. Winds are frequent and intense predomi- nating from the western quadrant. Rain- falls are low (less than 200 mm annually) and descend from west to east along the topographic profile, which in turn varies from 700 meters above sea level up to 40 meters below it. The soil is barren, rocky and fosters the development of a shrubby steppe (Caminos, 1999). Image 2. The north-central plateau of Chubut Province. Due to the characteristics of this geo- graphical area and also by its limited infrastructure, the exploitation of na- tural resources is restricted, almost ex- clusively, to the sheep exploitation and to lesser extent goats, with an extensive production system. This production is ca- rried out by two sectors clearly differen- tiated: the middle - large producers and small farmers or smallholders producers. The medium - large producers do not live in their economic units. They offer as the main product the fine wool type obtai- ned mainly from the Australian Merino Image 1. Provinces of Patagonia argenti- breed. The small producers, on the con- na. trary, reside in the area and their lives- tock inventories are much lower than the which lies at the heart of Patagonia, inten- previous ones, being the number of its li- ded to publicize this reality and contribute vestock less than three hundred animals to its valuation. (Acebal, 2007). These small producers are mainly The north-central plateau of aborigines, who work next to their fa- Chubut Province milies and reside in the lands that were granted by the Argentine National Sta- From the physiographic point of view, te to their ancestors after the “Conquest the north-central Province of Chubut inclu- of the Desert”2 (Finkelstein, Gavirati y PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(4). 2010 ISSN 1695-7121 Patricia María Méndez 629 Novella, 2005). They are villagers of scar- leading to overgrazing and a progressive ce resources whose farming operations degradation of soil. are considered ‘subsistence’ because their In addition, smallholder producers are areas of land and the quality of them are not organized into associative systems inadequate to develop productive practi- which favour the marketing of their pro- ces. For this reason men usually are the ducts. This implies that the only possibi- labor supply for large farmers of that area lity of market access is almost always via mainly serving as farmhand, which will the ‘bolicheros’ or owners of small stores increase their family income. of general goods, where the commercial re- Some of these families inhabit rural lationship is always detrimental to small areas in a dispersed way; others live in producers. Therefore, to the low profitabi- locations, towns, villages, schools, agri- lity and gradual degradation of natural re- cultural pastoral colonies, municipalities sources of small economic units are added or rural communes. Their trade, political, to unfavorable conditions for marketing civil and sanitary relations take place in their products, characterized by usury, small towns and rural communities that and the absence of public policies that constitute the administrative and service allow to improve the situation. office there. These centers are Gualjaina, All these factors lead to the gradual Paso de Indios, Aldea Epulef, Cushamen, impoverishment of the indigenous fami- Colan Conhué, Dique Florentino Ameghi- lies and to the transference of his econo- no, Gan Gan, Gastre, Lagunita Salada, mic units to hands of estate owners and Las Plumas, Los Altares, and Paso del merchants. Due to it, the economic and Sapo y Telsen. All these settlements are population panorama that can be observed linked together by numerous tracks, dirt at present in the plateau center - north of roads, some consolidated gravel roads and the Province of Chubut is a rural migra- a single paved road -the national number tion of these families to the big cities of the 25 road - which crosses the region from Province and an increase in the quantity west to east. Many of these roads remain of population in the strata defined as poor since prehistoric times, when they were and indigent (INDEC 2001). passing through by the ancient inhabi- tants of Patagonia. At present, the cha- The ancestral knowledge: an alter- racteristics of some of them make difficult native for the survival or even impossible the traffic during the winter, causing many villagers are isola- In the context described, the women ted. These situations often become critical who integrate the families of the small if we take into account the humble living producers develop their activities: carry conditions in these families, most of who out household chores (carrying water from lack of a basic service telephone and do not nearby streams to their homes, gather fi- have health services that may give them rewood in the countryside, caring for sheep, emergency relief. cook, make cheeses from milk of sheep and Land ownership in this region pre- goats, clean their homes, wash by hand the sents strong differences: the large and clothes of the whole family, etc.) care for middle producers are owners of properties their children and make weaves with the clearly differentiated one from another, raw material they obtain from their ani- each constitute a single exploitation that mals or their neighbors. functions on a land area of exclusive use. These fabrics (commonly referred to as Smallholder producers, by contrast, are native or “mapuche” crafts) are made from mostly occupants of public land with pre- the knowledge and practices that have carious occupancy permits and many of more than four years old and have been their lots lack a clear division: in some lo- transmitted through many generations of calities, such as Epulef Village, the tenu- Indian women. For centuries, they used re is communal and therefore indivisible; the wool and hair of the guanaco to make while each producer maintains a delimi- garments for the personal warm clothes of tate area of pasture, the properties are not their husbands and sons, for the saddle- fenced.

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