About The South

Brazilian gaúchos have more in common with Argentinians and Uruguayans than they do with people from São Paulo or Rio.

When their neighbours became independent, the gaúchos sought freedom from the rest of Brazil, but were defeated in 1845.

Nowadays, most Brazilians from the south are descendants of the European immigrants who settled in the late 19th century.

Gaúchos are Brazil's cowboys. They're tough, resilient, uncouth and uncompromising. They even play football with their jodhpurs on. Gaúcho da Fronteira, or Cowboy of the Frontier, is Brazil's most famous gaúcho musician.

• IV GAÚCHO DA FRONTEIRA, Musician:
  A gaúcho is someone who lives in this region, who works the land, works with cattle, and the clothing they wear is typically jodhpurs.
  
  This gaúcho man is essentially a happy man because he lives in a beautiful region. (SINGS) Our music has something which the Europeans brought over when they colonized Brazil. But it also has roots in the tango from Argentina and the milonga from Uruguay. It's a mixture of European and Latin American influences.

Curitiba, the winning city