Llanero

Its ethnic origin dates back to the union of the Arawaks, Andalusians, Canarians and to a lesser extent the slaves brought by The Crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

The way of working and being comes from the current Apure and Barinas states of the Venezuelans who adapted and modified Andalusian customs, and then exported them to the New Kingdom of Granada.

In the 16th century, the first herd was introduced about twenty-five leagues from the city of Calabozo by Cristóbal Rodríguez along with eleven families from El Tocuyo.

The natives of the region, that is to say, the Achaguas, the Yaguales, the Arichunas and Caquetíos (Arawak family) were already almost destroyed by a war that lasted eighty years before the conquest, so that evangelization and its eventual miscegenation was given without much trouble.

At the end of the 18th century, the region exported 30,000 mules a year to the Antilles and sacrificed meat for the 1.5 million slaves there and in Cuba.

Due to the hostile flora and fauna of the plain, these adapted to combat it, so it was frequent the taming of alligators, bulls and pimps with their different utensils such as rope and knife.

This continued habit of riding, arches the legs and feet in a characteristic way, and accredits them fame of good horsemenVery few people in the world are better riders than the Llaneros of Venezuela, excepting perhaps the Gauchos of Buenos Aires, equally skilled than these in their dexterity where they show beautiful feats in horsemanship, due to their work in the field of which they are accustomed since childhood.

Their horses, moreover, are so well adapted to the different tasks of their profession that beast and man seem to be the same being.At the beginning of the independence process, the plains were an indispensable region due to its rich livestock and agricultural resources, and for having above all many strong, fast, disciplined riders, accustomed to a harsh environment.

The plains (as the Andes), due to its difficulty of transportation, were an abandoned area compared to the others in the Captaincy General of Venezuela, this caused its inhabitants to develop their own way of life apart from the rest of the population, with their own codes, but it was also a canton with many qualities that would be used by the different Caudillos on duty to raise montoneras.

The main causes of the union of the llaneros with Boves was the repression made by the republicans towards them, the capture of black maroons who had escaped in the skirmish of the First Republic, the recruited peons and slaves, among others.

As the Portuguese Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins (1845-1894) said about the Iberian devotio Neither Boves nor Morillo managed to achieve the dominance of the llaneros, they were men like General José Antonio Páez, Manuel Cedeño, José Gregorio Monagas, José Antonio Anzoátegui, Francisco de Paula Santander, Ramón Nonato Pérez, Juan Ángel Bravo, Juan Mellado, Manuel Camacaro, Juan Nepomuceno Moreno and the Liberator Simón Bolívar (the Llaneros called him culo de hierro – or "iron buttocks" – for his endurance on horseback).

Páez, el centauro de los Llanos, the clarified citizen or the Taita was a man of the people, of humble and Canarian origin but above all llanero; Raised as one to become an excellent spearman, cabrestero, baquiano and leader, he made an image in the plain until he became caporal.

El futuro general, Páez, que, aun siendo ya caporal en el Hato de la Calzada, estaba muy a disgusto con sus superiores, hizo causa, con los sediciosos, y a la hora que se formó el alboroto fue él el primero en levantarse, tomar la lanza y dirigirse al lugar donde la negrada daba gritos y hacía gestos de rebeliónThe Braves of Apure or the Páez lancers, an army of llaneros made up of all classes, including the Negro Primero, a black maroon turned llanero of great caliber, were crucial in several battles, such as that of Las Queseras del Medio, in which 153 Paez llaneros lancers under the tactic "Vuelvan Caras" defeated with only 2 deaths 1,200 Spanish riders, giving a quantity of 400 casualties to the royalist side.

The llaneros were also of vital importance in the campaigns of Urica, Swamp of Vargas, Boyacá, the batlle of Junín, the battle of Ayacucho and Carabobo, which were decisive for the republican side.

These caravans, which are very reminiscent of the eastern one, were commanded by the cabrestero, among them and of equal importance, was the cook, the doctor, a physicist, and obviously the different cowboys and baquianos.

Unlike cattle in North America or Europe, that of the plains was not accustomed to human contact due to not being wired, which made the herding more complicated.

If a large river blocks their way, they have to guide the herd and the cattle to pass this current; the bonguero, with his bongo -type of canoe- transported the merchandise and some llaneros.

[2] Due to the great biodiversity of the plain, we have a large number of animals and flora that make this environment quite exotic and unique for dressage.

Here are some: Lancero, Banderita, Guapetón, Corozo, Esmeralda, Cacique, Pluza de Garza, Bayoneta, Lucero, Torito, Bellaco, Caney, among others.

The alligator was hunted as a game and also for being an obstacle, usually with the falseta it is immobilized, but its skin, being so hard and resistant, it has to be nailed with the knife at specific points such as under the legs.

Upon revealing their position, the llaneros would hunt them down, and the other eels flee the field to make way for the riders and cattle, and the horse recovers instantly, with no repercussions from the incident.

During the winter wet season, the Llaneros have to drive the cattle to higher ground as the poor drainage of the plains means that the annual floods are extensive.