Ponchos in Argentina

Longer before the Spanish conquest, the local people from what later would known as Argentina made refined clothing with wool from tamed llamas to protect themselves from the cold weather.
They used to cover the upper part of their bodies with what we call a poncho: a square or rectangular piece of clothing with a hole for the head that falls onto both sides of the body, sometimes up to the ankles. The different colors came from the vegetable or mineral dyes they could find.

It quickly became one of the essential apparel attributes of the gaucho, they would wear as a piece of warm clothing, a blanket or an accessory when it‘s folded or carried on the shoulder.

Nowadays in Argentina, each region has its own colors, patterns and traditions for weaving ponchos. Usually, ponchos are woven with wool from llamas, alpacas and vicuñas for the most luxurious models, or from sheep, in silk or cotton for the cheapest ones.