Juan Moreira: la transformación de un gaucho cuchillero en personaje de ópera italiana

Abstract

Juan Moreira was a real person, though some life circumstances and actions attributed to him have never happened. He was a quarrelsome man who confronted the authorities of his community. Eduardo Gutierrez wrote about him and due to the idealization of his life, Moreira is now cited as the prototype of the “gaucho”. A theatrical script was written based on Moreira’s life. The play was so successful and the character so popular that he soon became an opera character. At that time, the opera was one of the major artistic expressions of Western culture. This article describes the process through which Juan Moreira became not only the gaucho’s prototype but also an opera character.