Hormiga Negra

Gutierrez' account of the life of the gaucho Guillermo Hoyo (known as Hormiga Negra) has some of the same charm as his Juan Moreira in its account of 19th Century Argentine life, though it lacks the sense of near-cinematic tragedy that made Moreira so moving. Hormiga Negra starts his life as an outlaw early, when he has to sneak his beloved away from her mother, which leads to various adventures, mostly on the wrong side of the law. Despite eventually settling down, he returns to drinking and making trouble, which eventually lead to new troubles just as he is trying to go straight. Where Moreira was a good man reduced to banditry through injustice, Hormiga is a more ambiguous figure, his courage offset by his impetuousness.