Diego Maradona in the last World Cup (photo: Globovision)

Argentines are no strangers to furry faces. Long, wide, dark, light, thin, curly, straight and twisted beards crowd the streets as well as the history books.

We at the Argentina Independent decided to take a deeper look, bringing you a round-up of the country’s greatest whiskers.

To compile this list, each beard was analysed with three elements in mind.

First, we judged the look. Size, shape, colour and originality all played a role in who made the cut.

Secondly, we took into account the position the men held while they had their beards. It can be difficult for anyone to be taken seriously with a furry beast growing out of his face, far less a president.

Lastly, the notoriety of the beard itself was important. Although football legend Diego Maradona grew a beautiful salt-and-pepper beard, few people associate him with it.

With these guidelines in mind, it is our pleasure to introduce the Top 5 Beards of Argentina.

Eduardo Rinesi

Tiempo Argentino has referred to him as “the political expert with the long beard.”

Eduardo Rinesi takes the top spot (Photo: Victor Santa Maria)

A quick internet search finds adult bloggers lamenting, “when I grow up (?) I want to have Rinesi’s beard, but what trouble it must be to maintain it.”

With thick, dark bristles that rival those of Socrates, the political scientist Eduardo Rinesi takes our top spot.

Rinesi has managed to garner great success despite (or because of) his grand beard. He is the rector of the National University of General Sarmiento, and has penned quite a long list of books.

Born in Rosario, Santa Fe in 1964, Rinesi has had lots of time to groom his luxurious facial hair. According to Tiempo Argentino, he hasn’t shaved since he finished his “colimba”, the year-long military service that was obligatory until 1995.

Ernesto “Che” Guevara

Che Guevara and Castro and a bushy beard (Photo: Wikicommons)

Che’s organic scruff is by far the skimpiest beard on our list, but it is also the most well-known.

“Guerrillero Heroico” – that oh-so-famous photo of Che – was named a symbol of the 20th century and the world’s most famous photo by the Maryland Institute College of Art. The Victoria and Albert Museum says the picture has been reproduced more than any other image in photography.

How popular would that image be if the Argentine revolutionary had been clean-shaven?

Not only is the image printed on T-shirts, but the beard has been copied around the world. Guevara’s life became a symbol – and a part of that symbol was the beard.

What university would be complete without its crew of wannabe revolutionaries, all sporting red-star hats and their own versions of Che’s face fuzz? El Comandante may have been killed in Bolivia 45 years ago, but his beard will live for years to come on the faces of rebellious youth.

Julio Argentino Roca

Julio A. Roca, former argentinean president (Photo: Wikicommons)

According to a Latin saying, “Barba non facit philosophum”. The beard does not make the philosopher.

But could a beard make a villain? Perhaps.

Take former president Julio Argentino Roca, for example. Sure, as president he started a civil registry, made primary education free, and oversaw a state-controlled economy that boomed. But while sporting his Van Dyke of Evil – which you can see on the $100 bill – Roca terrorised the Argentine countryside as part of the Conquest of the Desert. His policies led to the killing and displacement of thousands of indigenous people in the 1870s.

During his second run as president the Residency Law was passed, allowing trade union leaders to be expelled from the country. Remember that obligatory military service our top beard Rinesi served? That was Roca’s doing. That puffy white chin was top dog when the conscription law was enacted in 1901.

Martín Fierro 

If a beard didn’t exist, can it make the Top 5 list?

Sure.

While it never really had a place in time nor space, Martín Fierro’s beard lives in the minds of millions who have read José Hernández’s poems El Gaucho Martín Fierro and La Vuelta de Martín Fierro.

The gaucho Fierro was forced to leave his impoverished-but-romanticised lifestyle when he was drafted to serve at the border. He deserted and tried to return home. Difficulties ensue.

Fierro was an immediate success when El Gaucho came out in 1872, and the two poems together have been called Argentina’s equivalent to Dante’s Divine Comedy. 

But where would he be without his beard? In the Pampas with a cold face.

Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem elected president in 1989 (Photo: Wikicommons)

You could argue that Carlos Menem’s sideburns were not an official beard, but the presidential chops measure up in terms of size, quality and recognisability. There was more hair in his skunk-coloured cheek decorations than some men find on their heads, putting these puppies on our Top 5 list.

First elected as governor in 1983, Menem’s sideburns were the most visible part of his flamboyant style. Elected as president in 1989 and serving in office until 1999, “las patillas” slowly shrunk into a muted state – but his attitude did not.

At the turn of the millennium, the former president started to scoot around in a red Ferrari, married a Miss Universe model, and fathered a child in 2003 at the ripe old age of 73. Corruption charges have littered his résumé over the last decade, along with a recent obstruction of justice charge related to the 1994 Jewish community centre bombing in Buenos Aires.

These days, Menem’s jowls are bare – but pictures will always stand as proof of the former president’s fancy facial hair.

Preparing a mate (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Good masculinity can be hard to find.

Which, in part, is what led entrepreneur Jed Rothenberg to create the Man Tour – a guided look at four hand-picked and carefully researched sites that take in some of the time honoured facets of Argentine male existence.

For some, the words “Man Tour” might suggest crude masculine glory. Factor in the element of travel and, in a city like Buenos Aires, this could quickly generate toxic levels of machismo and platonic sentimentality.

Intended for small groups, this particular tour is tailored for travellers seeking a day of activities that will replenish their cheer and offer opportunities to interact with locals in a friendly environment.

While the exact whereabouts of the tour must be kept under wraps, the afternoon begins with a lesson in the customs of preparing and serving mate, Argentina’s traditional tea. After Rothenberg sets the tone with some architectural and political history, this first-stop serves as a great icebreaker for what essentially becomes an afternoon of conversation and camaraderie.

Custom measurements for a custom fit. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

The next stop on the tour is a generations old, family-owned hat shop. Here, tour members get a demonstration of the antique machinery used to fashion hats from rabbit fur, before being offered a measuring service for their own custom-made gaucho or classic top hat.

From here, the tour heads off in the vintage cars of the A-line subte towards the neighbourhood of Caballito for one of the highlights of the day. A local barbershop that doubles as a bar serves tour members Cinzano (vermouth) and soda together with chips, and, one by one, each man receives a classic, straight razor shave. It’s recommended not to shave the day before as this is the closest shave you’ll get, and quite an enjoyable moment of relaxation.

Finally, feeling smooth and refreshed, the group moves on to a cigar bar where a private session has been arranged in the bar’s VIP lounge. Tour members are offered a choice cigars, wines, and liquors to mix and match, all of them top quality and tasty. With a window view of the evening, the tour concludes with casual conversation over cheese, crackers, coffee, and chocolates.

Make no mistake, the luxury here implies a matching price tag. The cost for a single person is US$190, discounted to US$145 per head for groups of two or more. For a male-female couple—and yes, though designed for men, the Man Tour can be a pleasant afternoon for women as well—the cost is US$260. The prices do however, include all refreshments, transportation throughout the tour, the shaving service, and the items consumed at the cigar bar.

Old school shaving experience in style (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

While the cost may out-price some of the younger men passing through the city, the Man Tour is ideally suited for business travellers and father-son pairs together on vacation in Buenos Aires.

Some of the best aspects involve sharing in activities that lift spirits and bring people closer together in more intimate, relaxed environments and, ultimately, the tour succeeds in conveying a reminder that being a man is not all about flexing muscle. The history and scenes of the tour recall a time when the strength of men was measured as much by attention to the fine details of grooming and sociability as being a raucous winner.

For those willing to treat themselves to a memorable afternoon, the Man Tour is an excellent way to rediscover the gentleman inside, or show a son the subtler sides of manhood.