Argentina may be famous for its pampas (lowlands), ranching, beef, and of course gauchos (cowboys, such as the one above and those in the video below). But fewer people are aware that these characterize its much smaller next door neighbor Uruguay, to an even greater extent. In fact, unlike Argentina, here the pampas cover practically 90 percent of the country beyond the coast and capital Montevideo, and the gaucho tradition and culture is if anything a more defining aspect of national history.

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