31 January 2011. "Ojos limpios como el chingolo..." Eyes as clear as those of a sparrow. A line from a song by José Larralde, La Noche del Peludero...
The chingolo--a small bird, zonotrichia capensis--capensis originally referring to an African origin, on the Cape of Good Hope--which appears to have been a mistranscription of Cayena, the capital of French Guyana, the p replacing the y...and a birthplace in the Americas...
The head of the chingolo is gray, with prominent black stripe, and a smaller bonnet of gray. The throat is white, with a collar "de color canela..." Cinnamon. The back, brownish, with patches of black. The chest is brown, "con reflejos de pardo..." "A combination of colors and shapes that make it a very pleasing creature..."
The local names for the chingolo vary from province to province. Ycancho in the north of Argentina; cachilo in the east. Chuschiú in Córdoba. Vichi in Tucumán. Marumbé in the language of the Guaraní. Kiken in Tehuelche. And in Mapuche, chincol...
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A man, singing, in the evening, Volga, vidalitá...
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