“Gaucho primero, después hombre, después negro”. Identidad y relaciones en la pieza teatral El gaucho negro

The semantic of the word "gaucho" has been attributed with many meanings in different fields of study and artistic productions. The word's new signification and etymology and the gaucho participation in the economic development of Argentina, among other questions, have been the subject of dispute since the first studies about Independence until today. The play The Gaucho Black of Claudio Martínez Payva, premiered in 1927 at the National Theatre in Buenos Aires, revealed a series of problems, such as: the link with foreign settlers, the construction of identity through the gaucho figure and the relationship with black people. This study provides new tools to analyze the Rioplatense society and culture in the early Twentieth Century