Raiding and Ranching in ‘Río Verde, Río Verde’ Michael McGlynn National Taiwan University / 國立台灣大學 Pecus and Bravery (Introduction) As every Uruguayan school child knows, ‘Hernandarias’ introduced cattle into Uruguay. Schools, districts, and streets are named for him in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. Hernandarias de Saavedra happens to be the lineal descendant (great-grandson of the nephew) of the hero of the well- known Spanish border ballad about a failed cattle raid, ‘Río Verde, Río Verde’, Juan Arias de Saavedra y Martel. Hernandarias was governor of the River Plate and Paraguay, and is the one who recognized the gently rolling grasslands of Uruguay as ideal for the kind of extensive cattle ranching his forebears practised at home in Western Andalusia in their business of land acquisition and conversion to livestock farming. Cattle ranching was and continues to be Uruguay’s main source of income, so much so that the early colonial period was called ‘la edad de cuero.’ Even today, the wealthiest class in Uruguay are ranchers, and some of them bear the name Saavedra. Likewise, ranching continues to be a significant part of the Andalusian economy. 1 Given the centuries-long business comprised by raiding, land-grab, and ranching on three continents, the little poem about one successful Saavedra in a long line of raiders, ranchers, and latifundistas snaps into a tighter perspective. The ballad’s native logic and 1 See Zambrana Pineda (2006) for an account of the growth of the livestock industry through the twentieth century, despite industrialization, urbanization (loss of agricultural lands), and foreign competition. Though surpassed by manufacturing, construction, and service (whose chief subsector is tourism), farming and ranching were still a 26-million Euro industry in 2016 (Informe Económico de Andalucía 2016 2017: 32). Viewed from another perspective, we see how significant ranching is: 65% of the surface of Andalusia is dedicated to grazing (Ganadería extensiva y PAC en Andalucía 2013: 4).