Q'orillasos of Chumbivilcas

A group of ranchers from the rural south of Peru, known as q'orillasos, pose in front of a semi-covered tiered structure; in the background is a eucalyptus forest.
In the centre stands a man in bourgeois clothing, possibly the owner of the hacienda lands, inhabited by the q'orillasos. Many of them sport the characteristic clothing of Hispanic origin with trousers, waistcoats, spurred boots and chaps, a band belt, shirt, and wide-brimmed hair. They carry the lasso, a classic working tool for catching and taming cattle.
It seems that the word 'qorilazo/q'orillaso' derives from the union of the Spanish lazo with the Quechua word quri (gold), meaning 'golden lasso', by which these Andean cowboys are referred to by extension. In common imagery they are attributed with an adventurous spirit, courage, virility and a certain disregard for rules. They are also traditionally dedicated to cattle stealing, which is part of the social-economic system developed in the Chumbivilcas area (D. Poole, Landscapes of power in a cattle-rustling culture, 1987).
Several musical instruments (charangos, horns, flutes, bombo-type drums and trumpet) suggest the presence of a band made up of the q'orillasos themselves, which suggests that the portrait was made on the occasion of a particular event.