If there is something that has left its mark on the identity of Uruguay, it is the "Gaucho," whose presence accompanied the great events that shaped and forged national independence. The Gaucho is a typical figure of the eastern plains. It originated from the beginning of the colonization of the lands, as a mixture of different cultures and ethnicities that resulted in the Gaucho. At the beginning of the colonization, the lands of the Banda Oriental (current territory of Uruguay and part of present-day Argentina) were inhabited by the Charrúas, the Chanás, and the Guanás. The first settlers who entered these lands were not very enlightened individuals and were very skeptical of the authorities of the Metropolis, which facilitated the blending of cultures and ways of life. The clash of these cultures resulted in the creation of a new way of life. Gauchos hold a romantic place in the popular imagination of Uruguay, as does the meat from the cattle they masterfully herd in bucolic plains and low mountain ranges.
