CHE RETÂ

CHE RETÂ is a publishing project that aims to explore part of the rural and popular universe of the Argentine Littoral and investigate the relationships between individual and territory, between culture and environment. How can the particularities of the territory be represented in the culture of the rural people? What traces of that culture can be found in the landscape?

CHE RETÂ is a project led by Argentine photographer and journalist Jerónimo Rivero, who spent four years traveling through the Argentine Littoral (the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes, and Entre Ríos) in search of stories that delve into the relationship between individuals and their territory, between culture and environment. The questions he poses are: How can the particularities of the territory be represented in the culture of rural men and women today? What traces of that culture are left in the landscape?

The project was made possible thanks to the Creation Grant awarded by the Argentine National Fund for the Arts (FNA) in 2021 and 2022, along with other institutional support.

CHE RETÂ means "my land, my homeland" in Guaraní, the native language of the territory. The stories in the photobook offer a reflection on and a construction of meaning around the role of rural and popular culture—specifically in the Argentine Littoral—in the face of the advance of contemporary and globalized production practices and ways of life. In remote areas, on dirt roads and isolated hamlets, deep in the countryside, we find expressions of popular culture that, in their own way, act as symbolic spaces of resistance against power struggles and transformations in the material characteristics of the landscape today.

"Subtle reflections emerge on the passage of time and its impact on popular culture, on ancestral struggles to assert a politically undervalued territory in conflict with the traditionally urban central power, on the place of humans in a specific and unique environment and their interconnection with nature, on a relationship that fluctuates between collaboration and exploitation by humans, on religion and the construction of myths and popular beliefs, on violence and the lack of reciprocity among humans—in short, on survival." —Plataforma "Común", project curators.

Fieldwork: The fieldwork took place over 35 weeks, in different phases, through visits, interviews, participant observation, and photographic documentation in the region, always coordinated with local municipalities, supporting institutions, and local figures. In 2018 and 2019, work was conducted in the province of Entre Ríos, in rural areas such as Victoria, Nogoyá, Gualeguay, Maciá, Federal, Villaguay, Chajarí, Aldea San Antonio, Los Charrúas, and Pronunciamiento. The work continued throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021 in the province of Corrientes, in rural areas like Curuzú Cuatiá, San Luis del Palmar, San Miguel, Empedrado, Concepción del Yaguareté Corá, Chavarría, Mercedes, and Mburucuyá. In 2021, the fieldwork extended to the province of Chaco, with support from the UNCAus Department of Culture and local municipalities in areas such as La Tigra, Quitilipi, Avia Terai, Pampa del Indio, San Martín, Las Garcitas, La Leonesa, and Basail. Additionally, with support from Argentine National Parks, work was carried out in Iberá National Park (San Nicolás Gateway) and Mburucuyá National Park (both in Corrientes), as well as in Chaco National Park.

Photographic specifications: All photographs are analog and taken directly, resulting from hand-crafted photo-chemical processes. Kodak Tri-X 400 film was used and edited in duotone, thanks to the work of Tony Lockett. This traditional technique seeks to convey the idea of slow time, almost frozen, resisting change. The unique textures achieved aim to contribute to the construction of the representation of the rugged landscape and rural life in the Argentine Littoral.

The photo essay is accompanied by texts from poets Claudia Masin (Chaco), Evelin Bochle (Corrientes), and Ferny Kosiak (Entre Ríos), who provide a local and poetic perspective on the territory and introduce the three chapters of the photobook. The graphic editing and back cover text were done by Nicolás Pousthomis (Cooperativa Sub), the design by Ramiro Galeliano (National University of La Plata, Buenos Aires), and the digital development of the images and graphic production were handled by Tony Lockett.

Photobook Specifications:
The photobook is divided into three chapters, each expressing, in its own way, specific aspects of the territory. Each chapter is introduced by a representative poet from the provinces where the project took place.

The texts were created using mechanical and artisanal methods, written with an Olivetti Studio 45 typewriter from the 1980s, the same decade the cameras (Nikon FM and FE) used to capture the images were made. The writings were later scanned. The result is a completely mechanical and handcrafted production that contributes to the reflection on rural life and its rhythms, in contrast to the immediacy and rapid pace of cities and contemporary digital and communication processes.

First edition of 250 copies.
Printed by Proietto & Lamarque
José Mármol 2131, Buenos Aires
October 2023

Format: 150 mm wide x 210 mm high (closed)
Interior: 152 pages on 130g coated paper
81 photographs printed in duotone
Cover: 350g Silk Illustration paper with matte lamination, 85 mm flaps
Printed using traditional offset printing
Sewn binding