A Thunder in the South: Rubén Patagonia

 Rubén Patagonia's voice has been described as thunder that cracks the earth. His singing, combined with current musical instruments and his imposing presence, makes it possible for Rubén to  return to flesh the past stories of the  native Patagonian peoples on stage. 

Ruben is  descendant of  Tehuelches  . His birth name is  Rubén Chauque . While he flourished as a musician, people began to call him by his pseudonym, Rubén Patagonia, emphasizing his belonging to the region. Today, Rubén expresses himself seriously about his stage name: “I understood over time that  it was a great responsibility and a real honour to receive this offering from our people, something that I never imagined, but it happened, and that it was born from a popular construction.” 

 He was born in Comodoro Rivadavia ( Chubut ) on July 2, 1956.From a very young age music accompanied his childhood in Cañadón Perdido , the rural area near the city of Comodoro where he grew up .   He attended high school in Sarmiento Chubut, in the valley of the river Senguer.   And that's when he began to be part of  music  groups of various styles, including national rock  and folklore, but also “dance music” . In the late 1970s Rubén met different references of Patagonian music where  he found the sounds to start talking about his identity .  He assumed folklore as a legacy,  as the opportunity to join the cultural movement able to sing and tell about the regional landscapes, about grandparents and grandmothers aonikenk, selknam and  Mapuche .

A multifaceted artist

Since then,  Rubén has worked for the rights of indigenous peoples, claiming their origins.His musical repertoire includes ancestral original styles and rhythms ( kaani ,  loncomeo ) and  also songs by Patagonian authors such as Epuyén González or Milton Aguilar.Currently, he has published 9 record works and various activities along with music references such as León Gieco, Almafuerte, Los Garcrimas, Bersuit Vergarabat, La Renga and Lito Vitale. The singer has been able to link the ancestral to the  national rock ,  which he considers part of his history and identity.In this way, Rubén Patagonia has been able to open spaces for popular music and Patagonian identity to communicate and be visible . 

 It should be noted that Patagonia has also participated as an actor in national and international films and series.Among many other appearances, in 2000 he appeared in the film El camino del filmmaker Javier Olivera .  Years later, in 2011, he worked in  the miniseries El Echarri , alongside Pablo Echarri, Lito Cruz and Paola Krum, among other renowned actors.

But, while Rubén stands out for his musical and acting career, it is no less important to talk about his work as a  social activist . The artist usually gives talks and lectures on  native cultures . And he insists that  it is necessary to tell the history of our peoples  and that the original communities are true  guardians of memory  in those stories. In this sense,  the singer also militates with his music, taking care of the original legacy and reclaiming it .

In the context of the coronavirus and the harsh historical and economic reality, Rubén Patagonia invites  from its social networks  to solidarity with different indigenous communities, not only Patagonian, but also from other Argentine regions.  Because Patagonia's struggle transcends the limits suggested by its name. 

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