The+Chagra

The Chagra
A Chagra is a man in origin from the Andes, especially are located in the highlands of Ecuador. A Chagra is the equivalent of a cowboy of the US or the Drover from Australia. A Chagra is man which shows simple and humble appearance. His dressing has various parts the most common and important part of a Chagra is the ¨poncho¨ which is a big coat that covers from the neck to the waist. Then goes his zamarro which is a like a pant made of the fur and leather of many animals; the dressing also includes a hat of hard canvas or leather. Another part is spurs or ´´espuelas´´ which goes in the boots and is for kicking the horse for it to move. Then there are others parts that vary on the climate of the highlands such as the scarf. Some additional parts, which are not directly on the man is the horse or ´´caballo criollo`` which is a small, agile, and strong horse which is raised to live in the ´´paramo`` or highlands. It’s a simple and unpredictable horse, which is intelligent and unique which know exactly what to do in a cattle managing situation. An indispensable part of this drover is the ´´veta`` which is a long leather rope they use for lacing the animals. Moreover, the horse is ridden with a ´´montura de vaqueria`` or the saddle which holds all around the horse and shows what a true Chagra is. By Martin Eguiguren

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//Chagra’s Daily life//
The day of the Chagra starts when he wakes up early in the morning. It starts with a cup of very hot coffee and warm bread. He gets his Poncho and his Zamarro on and is ready for the chilly weather. He gets his Veta and goes to the paddock and gets his horse. Once he gets the horse saddled up, he is able to get out into the never ending fields. He goes where the cattle is and takes care of them. He gives them salt, moves them to other pastures and cures the sick ones. When he is done, he goes back to the heat of his home and stays by the hearth (the fire place) to get warm. =**//Rodeo//** = = = An event that is not common on the daily life of the Chagra, but still occurs once in a while is the Rodeo. In each farm there are approximately three rodeos per year. The Chagras normally go to rodeos in all the neighboring farms so they work in many rodeos a year. The rodeo starts with the “Bomba” a circle of ridden horses in which the location of each group is planned. When this is decided the group disperses in different directions to round up the bulls. They go up into the highlands and try to collect all the cattle they can. They use a method called “trinchera”, a semicircle of horses that surrounds the bulls. The “trinchera” goes closing and closing until all the bulls get into the corral. Then, the cattle are counted and vaccine, and new calves are marked.

By: Alicia Pérez