Chilean folklore

thumb|upright|200px|Gaucho from Argentina, photographed in Peru, 1868 A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol mainly in Argentina and Uruguay but also in Paraguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, southern Bolivia, and southern Chile. Gauchos became greatly admired and renowned in legend, folklore, and literature and became an important part of their regional cultural tradition. Beginning late in the 19th century, after the heyday of the gauchos, they were celebrated by South American writers.

Bolas or bolases (: bola; from Spanish and Portuguese bola, "ball", also known as a boleadora or boleadeira) is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Bolas were most famously used by the gauchos, but have been found in excavations of Pre-Columbian settlements, especially in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples (particularly the Tehuelche) used them to catch 200-pound guanacos and rheas. The Mapuche and the Inca army used them in battle. Mapuche warriors used bolas in their confrontations with the Chilean

Mexican outlaw (1829–1853)

thumb|A painting depicting a chonchon. The Chonchon ( from ), also known as the Tue-Tué, is a mythical creature found in Mapuche religion, as well as in the folk mythologies of Chile and southern Argentina.

thumb|200px|Payada in a pulpería by Carlos Morel (painter)|Carlos Morel thumb|200px|Juan Arroyo, Argentine payador, thumb|right|200px|Payador playing in his rancho,

character from Spanish and Latin American (especially Chilean, Mexican, and Guatemalan) folklore that typifies the rogue, rascal or trickster.

thumb|300px|Pihuicheñ of the Mapuche

thumb|300px|Ngúrúvilu of the Mapuche