Idioma:

First Analysis of Phenotype and Temperament of CAFIB in Argentina

CAFIB, about to complete four decades of uninterrupted work for the benefit of the genetic improvement of the Fila Brasileiro, keeps its international expansion. After last year, when we set our flag in Uruguay and, this year, by carrying out analyses in Germany, Poland, Belgium and Italy, we celebrate now the beginning of improvement actions of the breed on “Plata” land. The First Analysis of Phenotype and Temperament of CAFIB in Argentina, November 11, 2017, was stage to a historic farm in the city of Gualeguaychú, in the province of Entre Rios, so named because it lies between the courses of the Paraná and the Uruguay Rivers and that along with the provinces of Missiones and Corrientes, forms the region named “Argentine Mesopotamia”. It is because the Greek word Mesopotamia - that designated the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and was considered one of the cradles of civilization - means exactly that: “between rivers". The city that hosted our event owes its name to its location on the left bank of the Gualeguaychú River, which is a tributary of the Uruguay River; it is about 240 kilometers north of Buenos Aires and only 25 km from the border of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.

The toponymy - onomastics that studies the origin and evolution of the names of places –  is never peaceful and always relies on multiple versions. Gualeguaychú is no exception to the rule and, although the most accepted etymological origin for this toponymy is “Y yaguari guaçu”, which in guarani language means “River of the Great Jaguar”, there are two other theories, which suggest “Cave of the Wild Pig (or Hog)”, “Slow-moving Waters”, “Cave River” and "River of the Wells".

The European colonization started in the 17^th century and was marked by bloody conflicts with the indigenous tribes who had lived there since pre-Hispanic times and whose members, made slaves and victims of extermination campaigns, ended up by being wiped out in the 18^th century. The ancient city - founded in 1783 with the name of Villa San José de Gualeguaychú - today bases its economy on agricultural production (especially soy cultivation) and tourism (leveraged by Carnaval).

In Argentina, as in Brazil, football (soccer) is a national passion and Buenos Aires is a world record holder city in number of stadiums, with its 18 arenas. There, Diego Maradona is worshipped and considered the best player of all times, even above our unbeatable Pelé. The sum of victories of the “Platas” in World Cups, Olympics, achievements at the America's Cup, the World Cup Sub-20, Intercontinental Cup and the Libertadores of America, makes Argentine “fútbol” the most praised in the planet. But, in addition to the boots and the ball, the “hermanos” can also do the “samba” and Gualeguaychú stands out internationally as a result of cultivating another tradition strongly associated to Brazil, because they are proud to be considered the fosterer of the third largest Carnaval in the world, only behind vice-champion Venice, in Italy, and of course, our ultra champion Rio de Janeiro. Gualeguaychú has the first and the largest Corsódromo (equivalent to the Sambódromo in Brazil) of Argentina, opened in 1997, with a capacity for 40 thousand people. It is considered a place of worship, as if it were a sacred temple, and is the stage of the greatest show in the open in that country.

In the genetic improvement of domestic animals, it must be highlighted the importance of the great farming show of Palermo, or Exposición Rural de Ganadería, Agriculture and International Industry, organized by the Sociedad Rural Argentina in Buenos Aires, traditionally inaugurated by the President of the Republic, in this year of 2017 commemorating its 131^st edition; and, also, the formation of the breed of the riding horses called Anglo-Argentine (or simply Argentine) and the breeding of excellent equines for the polo game, sport in which they are proud to count on the best players and the best teams in the world.

Within the dog-world scope, a common curiosity in several cities of Argentina, mainly in Buenos Aires, is the large number of professionals called “pasea perros”, or dog walkers.  They need to get the certifying credential that enables them to carry out the activity, valid for one year, issued by APRA (Environmental Protection Agency) and, of course, pay the corresponding fare. These picturesque characters, who can be seen on sidewalks and plazas leading up to 20 dogs, should be careful, know the name of each animal, have the ability to avoid fights between them and, also, not to let the leashes become entangled among up to 80 paws (in addition to the two legs of the walker).

Forty five km south of Gualeguaychú, the secular Estância La Nélida, which hosted this First Analysis of Phenotype and Temperament of CAFIB in Argentina, has belonged, since 1880, to the Irigoyen family and since the headquarters, surrounded by very large old trees, preserves the original furniture and decorations; upon entering the mansion, we have the impression of taking a dip into the past. Ramiro Irigoyen, who manages the property today, is enthusiastic with Fila Brasileiro and Rio de Janeiro Carnaval, having, along with his brother Martin Irigoyen, come several times to Brazil to participate in parades on the Avenue. Along 800 ha there is a range of the farm crops of soybeans, corn, wheat and sorghum, in addition to the fertile pastureland - which has already sheltered dozens of polo horses, sport in which Martin stood out -, and where today are raised cattle from breeds Angus, Brangus and Hereford, in addition to horses from breeds Criollo and Caballo Peruano de Paso.

In this typically rural property it is also established the Litoral Ñaró Kennel, established from a partnership between Ramiro Irigoyen and Lucas Quinteiro. These two breeders had started their work with what they thought was the Fila Brasileiro, about 15 years ago, in their kennels Morada Yagua and Belleza Rara. As time went by, they became aware of the problems that the breed had undergone as a result of mixed breeding and the falsification of pedigrees and decided to start over from scratch, to breed the real Fila Brasileiro, in accordance with the philosophy of CAFIB. And now they took a major step in the genetic improvement of the Argentine stock with the performance of this Analysis of Phenotype and Temperament.

The event was organized by Ramiro Irigoyen, Lucas Quinteiro, Zenón Gustavo Cousillas and by Uruguayan Daniel Balsas. Last year, Ramiro and Lucas attended the First Analysis of Phenotype and Temperament of CAFIB in Uruguay, organized by Daniel in Canelones, a few kilometers from Montevideo. This year, on “Plata” land, in addition to the organizers, there were also exhibitors from Buenos Aires, Wheelwright, Concepción del Uruguay and Luján. Twenty six specimens were enrolled, but three could not attend; and, of the 23 analyzed, six were rejected for failures in temperament. The enrollment and evaluation of the specimens were conducted by judges Mariana Campbell, Jonas Tadeu Iacovantuono, Giovani Éder de Carvalho and Américo Cardoso dos Santos Jr., accompanied by his wife, Cleide Cocito Cardoso dos Santos, who helped out with the secretarial tasks. After evaluating the stock, the Best Male and the Best Female of the Analysis were selected, respectively: Faraon of Borguetto belonging to Mariano Arbiza (Concepción del Uruguay) and Saga Piedras de Afilar, belonging to Rivero Daniel Alberto (Wheelwright), both from Argentina.

In closing, the organizers handed over a beautiful plate to the judges of CAFIB, thanking their presence at the event and the strong commitment to the genetic improvement of the authentic Fila Brasileiro. And, at night, they closed the event with a sumptuous dinner, which honored the fame of the “Plata” cuisine. It is worth remembering that Argentina produces and exports the best dulce de leche in the world, in addition to claiming the invention of this delicacy; but the most traditional sweets in the country are the alfajores, produced from various recipes, by more than 100 trademarks and whose consumption there reaches the impressive mark of 6 million units a day. In fact, several Argentinean dishes can be prepared in countless specific ways, such as the matambre (from Spanish: “mata hambre”, or hunger killer), which is a cover of meat removed from the region of the rib and seasoned and stuffed according to different formulas, with cold cuts, sausages, cheese, onion, green pepper, cooked eggs etc.; or chimichurri, traditional gravy, that accompanies the meat or can be savored with bread, made with olive oil, wild marjoram, garlic, red pepper, black pepper and several other spices.

This hearty barbecue, which was served to us that night, was a delicious fatty meat, roasted in live coal, skillfully prepared by Zenón, who had already demonstrated his remarkable chef master skills the night before, when he served us a “guiso criollo”, typical dish, also produced from the most varied formulations, combining different types of meat, sausages, tubercles, beans, lentil and much more.

CAFIB is thankful to everyone that, in some way, contributed to the success of the event: Ramiro Irigoyen and Lucas Quinteiro (Litoral Ñaró Kennel), Daniel Balsas (Piedras de Afilar Kennel), Mariano Arbiza (Kennel of the Bemba), Carlos Schor (Kennel Fazenda Naon), Daniel Rivero (Brave Llano Kennel), Zenón Cousillas, Agustina Dellacasa, Patrício Claypole, Mauro Auriti. And the organizers extend their thanks to the veterinarian Gustavo La Rosa, to the performer Manuel Alvarez, to the distributor of the feed Old Prince, Francisco Albonico, and to the company Porco Magro.

With this event, CAFIB, about to close its 2017 Calendar, accounts for 44 dogs analyzed in five countries: Poland, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Argentina, in addition, of course, to the usual Analyses of Phenotype and Temperament held in Brazil.