abstract:The Chacarera is a dance and music originating in Argentina. It is a genre of folk music that, for many Argentines serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the Tango. A dance form played by contemporary musicians as soloists or in small ensembles of voice, guitar, violin and bombo drum, the Chacarera is often legitimized by its “origin” in the remote province of Santiago del Estero. It is also the product of a romanticized construction of national identity projected by urban cultural institutions and disseminated through the mass media.