September 27, 1999

Vanishing Gaucho Lifestyle Featured in Photo Exhibition

On October 7, the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture will open an exhibition of photographs by Beth Wald, entitled The Gauchos of Patagonia.
The gaucho has long been a romantic and historic symbol of Argentina, but the only place that the guacho culture survives in any traditional form is in the wilderness of Patagonia. And even there, the old estancias are being abandoned to the wind, and only a few historical accounts exist to document the lives, the stories, the images of these people.

Colorado photographer Beth Wald has travelled extensively in Patagonia. Her project, supported in part by a grant from the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture, is to document the disappearing lifestyle of the guachos.

Wald will be in Banff for the opening, which takes place at the Professional Development Centre at The Banff Centre at 7:30 pm. She will also be presenting a seminar on her project at the Banff Mountain Book Festival in early November. The exhibition continues at the Professional Development Centre until November 30.

Debra Hornsby, Marketing and Communications Manager,
  Mountain Culture, The Banff Centre
phone: 403-762-6446, fax: 403-762-6277,
email: debra_hornsby@banffcentre.ca
Web site: www.banffmountainfestivals.ca