Llanero

A llanero (Spanish pronunciation: [ʝaˈneɾo], plainsman) is a Venezuelan or Colombian herder. The name is taken from the Llanos grasslands occupying western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The Llanero were originally part Spanish and Indian and have a strong culture including a distinctive form of music.

During the wars of independence, Llaneros served in both armies and provided the bulk of the cavalry during the war. In 1819, an army of Llaneros, led by Simón Bolívar and José Antonio Páez, defeated the Spanish with a surprise attack when they crossed over the Orinoco plains and the Andes mountains.

Prior to Spanish settlement in 1548, the Llanos were occupied by indigenous groups. Andalusian monks established settlements close to Native American villages and accomplished conversion through a mixture of persuasion and force.

The Spaniards started to graze cattle on the grasslands of the llanos and the Llanero were originally a mixture of Spaniards and Indians. Indeed, Llaneros still use many terms dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. From 1640 to 1790, outlaw slaves lived in cumbes, or outlaw slave communities, and intermarried with the Llanero.

By the end of the 18th century, the region exported 30,000 mules a year to the Antilles and salted meat for the 1.5 million slaves there and in Cuba. There were 1.2 million cattle in the area by 1815.

When the Wars of Liberation started, the Spanish enlisted the Llaneros, playing on their dislike of the criollos of the independence movement. Bolívar realized that the plains were critical to success in the wars of liberation – they offered freedom of movement, as well as the capacity to feed his army.

He therefore sought to enlist the Llaneros to his cause and gradually succeeded by enduring the same hardships as they did – the Llaneros called him culo de hierro – or "iron " – for his endurance on horseback.

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