MARTÍN FIERRO FOR STUDENTS · THE RETURN · 1879
Canto 27 Explained: Picardía Condemns Unpaid Frontier Service and Abandoned Soldiers
A source-linked English study guide alongside José Hernández’s original Spanish poem.
What happens in Canto 27?
Picardía recounts his service in frontier militias, which he attributes to the hostility of an officer. He describes unpaid labor, missing uniforms, punishment, withheld supplies and men discharged without resources or proof of service. In his account, returning gauchos face poverty and threats of arrest. He argues that the government should pay the men it recruits and closes by linking patriotism to care for fellow countrymen.
Original verses: three passages worth studying
The following stanzas are taken directly from the repository's original-text corpus, without modernization. Explanations elsewhere on this page are interpretation, not translation.
Siempre el mesmo trabajar,siempre el mesmo sacrificio,es siempre el mesmo servicio,y el mesmo nunca pagar.
Y ya es tiempo, pienso yo,de no dar más contingente:si el Gobierno quiere gente,que la pague y se acabó.
Y he de decir ansí mismoporque de adentro me brotaque no tiene patriotismoquien no cuida al compatriota.
Main characters and voices
Picardía, the first-person speaker; soldiers in frontier militias; officers and officials invoked in his critique; families affected by service.
Literary themes to identify
Military exploitation and unpaid wages; rural poverty; obligations of government; patriotism and solidarity; the speaker's critique of power.
Gaucho vocabulary in context
milicias (militias); contingente (drafted group); estacas (punishment involving stakes); recao (riding equipment); paga (pay); leva (draft).
What to notice in the narration
The canto presents Picardía's account of abuses, not an independently verified military payroll. His criticism echoes Martín Fierro's earlier frontier experiences. The closing principle that patriotism requires protecting compatriots deserves close comparison with the specific deprivation reported.
Reading-comprehension and discussion questions
- Why does Picardía say he was sent to the frontier?
- What forms of unpaid work and deprivation does he describe?
- What happens to soldiers when they are discharged?
- What reform does he demand of the government?
- How does the last stanza redefine patriotism?
Support answers with details from the original canto. Different interpretations may be justified if the quoted passages and narrative context support them.
Sources and further reading
Primary source: José Hernández, La vuelta de Martín Fierro (1879), Canto 27, reproduced from the site's structured Spanish corpus. Summary and questions are original English educational commentary, not quoted authorial explanations.
Original canto · Summary of both parts · Character guide · All study guides