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Santos Vega Legend


In remote times it lived Santos Vega, extraordinary "payador" who filled the immense loneliness of the plain with the echo of his songs and the strumming of his guitar. One day, when he was singing his best songs under the huge shade of the ombú, for peasants of the furthest places, a stranger came galloping a beautiful horse, and to everybody’s surprise, he challenged the singer. Santos Vega accepted and his melodic voice ascended in the air as a creeper full of flowers. Everybody heard the poet of the plain, and they believed that his victory was ensured. However the stranger did not get surprised, and when his turn came, holding the guitar against his heart, he began to sing and his voice was of a tune that had never been heard, it was warm and sweet and of a melody that seemed diabolic. The stranger defeated Santos Vega, who felt a painful feeling and so did his friends.

The "payador" Juan Sin Ropa (John Without Clothes) was no more than the incarnation of Lucifer, as only the devil could defeat him. Santos Vega was not seen or heard any more; although it is said that on quiet nights, sadly wrapped in his poncho, riding his tired horse with his guitar holding his back, he crosses the silent plain like a shadow.
The image of Santos Vega has been naturally considered the personification of the Argentine "gaucho". The studies of his person have been so exciting that his real existence is about to be confirmed. Files have been exhumed, long chats have been maintained with old people from Tuyú (Buenos Aires province) that claim to have met him, and according to searchers there is even a tomb that keeps his mortal remains.