Sao Nicolau to Venancio Aries on horseback

Every year in September, Gauchos in Rio Grande do Sul gather to commemorate the Farroupilha Revolution  which started on the 20th September 1835 and ended 1845. A revolt against the Portuguese crown, unfair taxes on the states principal product, charque, (air dried meat).

The rebels were known as farrapos ("tatters", "rags") after the fringed leather worn by the gauchos.

They declared the Rio Grande do Sul, the Republic of Piratini, and similarly the rebels in Santa Catarina also declared the Republic of Juliana independent.

The towns around are named after many of the leaders of the revolt, Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi, Caxias do Sul after the Duke of Caxias, Dom Pedrito.

The story of the revolution was retold in a wonderful TV series, Casa das Sete Mulhers. (House of the Seven Women, the seven women of the Bento Gonçalves family ).

   

The revolutionary flame is kept alight during the year at a nominated town and then there is a calvagada or horse ride to take the flame to the their home towns.

These rides can be several hundred kilometers and take several weeks to do.

I accompanied this one which started in the western town of Sao Nicolau, supposedly where the first cattle and sheep were brought into the country from Argentina. 

We rode through the very beautiful and historic area of the Missions where Jesuit monks were during Spanish Colonial Period in the 17th century. During the Jesuits era, agriculture and arts thrived and all the local Gurani population benifited. They built many beautiful churches or Reductions.

 However politics got involved and the Portuguese government had the Jesuit order suppressed.

The most famous Reduction being San Ignacio in Argentina, first built in 1610. 

The Catedral de Sao Miguel Arcanjo at the town of Sao Miguel das Missoes, Rio Grande do Sul, is a beautiful example of the construction. 

It has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage.

We passed by several of the ruins as you can see from the photos

The ruins in Sao Nicolau were being reconstructed

Not much was left of the ruins

Taking out the beer wagon

Putting it all together

Ola, that goes over there!!

The Venancio Aires boys

The Venancio Aires boys

Girls at the evening festive show

The Venancio Aires boys

Playing the gaucho music

The Sao Nicolau Patron

The traditional dances

The traditional dances

The traditional dances

Andre Kothe leading the group out of Sao Nicolau

Riders from other towns gathered to get the flame.

The land we rode through was very productive, large mechanized farms heavy red soil with crops of soya, corn, canola wheat.

An old graveyard on the way

Beer stop

Pipi stop

Pipi stop

Cigarette stop

Arriving at the first nights stop

Jacare Gauer

Our dear friend Jose Schuh RIP

Flowers on the way

Canola fields

The brilliant colour of the canola flowers

Davi in the canola field

The whole group and the beer wagon

A birds view of the fertile land

Ruins of the mission, São Lourenço Mártir built 1690

Sao Lourenco Martir ruins

Ruins of the mission, São Lourenço Mártir

Ruins of the mission, São Lourenço Mártir. The tree may have been growing 300 years.

Ruins of the mission, São Lourenço Mártir

Graveyard of the mission, São Lourenço Mártir

Ruins of the mission Sao Miguel Arcanjo. Sao Miguel dos Missoes

Ruins of the mission Sao Miguel Arcanjo

Ruins of the mission Sao Miguel Arcanjo

Found in the ruins of the mission Sao Miguel Arcanjo

Rest time

Are you tired old horse

Dressing the pig for dinner

Jose Schuh with his new friend

Saddling up

Bigolini driving the beer wagon with a passenger

Folk came out to greet the riders at every little town

The whole family, Grandfather, son, daughter and granddaughter

The road becomes steeper as it winds through the hills

Country store stop for refreshment

Jacare Gauer chatting with the store owners

The store owner with Jacare and Jose with refreshing beers

Watering the horses

Looking down at the road to Nova Palma

A country farm house along the way

Sundown

Crossing the old bridge

Watering the horses at Nova Palma

A welcome chimarrão tea

Young Gaucho

The girls and boys learn to ride early in life

Parading through Agudo

Chuva de Ouro, golden rain creeper seen all along the way

The cook hard at work

Stirring the beans

Caring for the horses

Passing an Ipe Amarelo tree which blooms in spring

An Ipe Amarelo tree in Dona Francisca town

Agudo in the distance

On the flat valley heading for Vale do Sol

Sundown

Ipe Amarelo

Farm houses on the way

Our musical cook

An old wagon wheel by the side of the road

Bigolini and Andre Krothe

Any shade is welcome and the bus stop will do

A young Argentina guy shows our cook how to do it

Cooking up lunch

Ipe Amarelo

Bringing in the flame to Venancio Aires

Jacare Gauer

A tired Bigolini presenting the flame to the Mayor of Venancio Aires.

Arriving in Venancio Aires after two weeks in the saddle and 513 kilometers ridden

Mayor Dettenborn

Davi

The end of the ride