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The Gauchito Gil (lit. 'Little Gaucho Gil') is an Argentine folk saint, folk hero and cult image in folk Catholicism and neopaganism, one of the most significant figures of the country's popular religiosity of the 20th and 21st centuries. According to the most widespread legend, he was a real gaucho of the mid-19th century born in Mercedes, Corrientes, generally called Antonio Mamerto Gil Núñez, who became a bandit and was later executed for deserting a militia. However, there are no records that support his historical existence, and the stories surrounding his cult have been transmitted through oral tradition, which has given rise to different versions of the legend.

History and legend
Although the legends surrounding the Gauchito Gil claim to be based on a real historical person, the evidence indicates that he never existed and is a legendary character. The absence of the Gauchito Gil in the main texts about Argentine folklore of the early 20th century suggests that his cult did not exist at that time, or that it was very small. He does not appear in the 1897 work of Daniel Granada, nor in that of Juan Bautista Ambrosetti of 1917, who traveled the Littoral and did give an account of other folk saints of the region such as San La Muerte and San Son. Although these sources are not conclusive, Granada and Ambrosetti are the most important authors who wrote about the folklore of the region between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the time when the cult of the Gauchito Gil is supposed to have arisen. Most notably, the Gauchito Gil is not mentioned in the extensive government survey of 1921 called the Encuesta del Magisterio. Better known as the Encuesta Nacional del Folklore (Spanish for "National Folklore Survey"), it was the most extensive and ambitious project to survey and collect folkloric tales and practices from all over the country, and has been a highly valued archive since then. Researcher Andrés Salas claims that the earliest published notice about the Gauchito Gil is in a book of 1906, whose author identifies him as Juan de Dios Giles, born in Mercedes to Uruguayan parents.

The first mentions of the Gauchito Gil by researchers or travelers who passed through the Mercedes area did not appear until the second half of the 20th century. One of the oldest known is from an article about San La Muerte written by Emilio Noya, published in newspaper El Litoral in 1968.

Veneration


According to a 2019 national survey on religious beliefs and attitudes carried out by CONICET, 23% of the Argentine population believes in the Gauchito Gil. The number is highest among Catholics, where it rises to 30.8%, while it is lowest among Evangelicals, with 9.4% believers. The survey also showed that 10.3% of irreligious people believed in the Gauchito Gil. Belief in the folk saint decreased compared to the results of the previous 2008 survey, where it reached 30%.

The Gauchito Gil's day is celebrated on January 8. On that day every year, at least 300 thousand people gather at the Sanctuary of Gauchito Gil a few kilometers from the city of Mercedes. His santuary in Mercedes also features a replica of the tree where he was supposedly killed.

The typical image of the Gauchito Gil, disseminated through multiple photographs, postcards and bulletins, attributes to him the attire of the stereotypical gaucho popularized at the end of the 19th century, not that of a gaucho of the period in which his legend takes place. He is depicted with a rolled-up shirt, breeches, chiripá, sash, neckerchief, headband holding his hair, botas de potro and boleadoras. Other versions incorporate the use of bombachas (instead of breeches), boots (replacing the botas de potro), a low top hat with a small brim, and a red poncho.

https://perio.unlp.edu.ar/ojs/index.php/question/article/download/3216/2748/12359

Church recognition
Despite being venerated by many Catholics, the Gauchito Gil is not recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, and church leaders have been divided on whether they should accept or reject the phenomenon. A trend among Argentine churchleaders that seeks to reconcile the Church with folk beliefs has gained ground, something that has been supported by Pope Francis.

I understood that I had to be present in spite of my doubts and inner resistances (...) I stood in line with the pilgrims, white priest's shirt and straw hat. When they realized that I was a priest they began to ask me to bless them, their relatives, their sick; they presented me with photographs of their relatives and objects of devotion so that I would also bless them... Many wore the Rosary around their necks... Then I said to myself: 'these are our people, they are children of the Catholic Church'".

https://www.corrienteshoy.com/interior/dia-de-la-cruz-gil-el-obispo-invito-a-encontrarse-con-el-amor-de-cristo.htm