the second section of "facundo" explores the life of its titular character, juan facundo quiroga—the "tiger of the plains". despite being born into a wealthy family, facundo received only a basic education in reading and writing. he loved gambling, being called "el jugador" (the player)—in fact, sarmiento describes his gambling as "an ardent passion burning in his belly". as a youth facundo was antisocial and rebellious, refusing to mix with other children, and these traits became more pronounced as he matured. sarmiento describes an incident in which facundo killed a man, writing that this type of behaviour "marked his passage through the world". sarmiento gives a physical description of the man he considers to personify the "caudillo": "[he had a] short and well built stature; his broad shoulders supported, on a short neck, a well-formed head covered with very thick, black and curly hair", with "eyes ... full of fire".