Reseña

Archaeology and history are closely intertwined disciplines. While the former necessarily involves exploration, discovery, fieldwork, and the imagination required to reconstruct structures and past events, the latter demands investigation –the effort to explain and interpret– which in turn requires systematic research and careful study of all available sources.

In both fields, new knowledge often emerges only after long journeys, persistent questioning, and the patient pur-suit of understanding the past and the present –asking countless, fundamental questions before daring to venture any quick answers.

The Vaquero Heritage of Baja California Sur, the remarkable work the reader now holds, stands as a notable achievement in historical archaeology –an original, exceptionally well-documented and richly illustrated study. Based on years of experience, it offers valuable insights into the origins, the evolution of traditional leather crafting and the adaptation of the montura, the unique equipment of the riders, and the distinctive attire of the vaqueros sudcalifornianos.

Its author, Fermín Reygadas Dahl, has devoted many years to researching this subject –exploring various archives and libraries, examining the objects and components of local material culture, while personally observing the inhabited landscapes of the sierras. Through countless journeys and long conversations, riding alongside vaqueros in the rugged lands of the southern peninsula, he has documented and reinterpreted one of the most interesting living traditions that still endure in the ranchos of Baja California Sur, which gave rise to the buckaroo tradition of Western North América.

Jorge Álvarez Fuentes