one irony of the impact of sarmiento's essay genre and fictional literature is that, according to gonzález echevarría, the "gaucho" has become "an object of nostalgia, a lost origin around which to build a national mythology". while sarmiento was trying to eliminate the "gaucho", he also transformed him into a "national symbol". gonzález echevarría further argues that juan facundo quiroga also continues to exist, since he represents "our unresolved struggle between good and evil and our lives' inexorable drive toward death". according to translator kathleen ross, "facundo continues to inspire controversy and debate because it contributes to national myths of modernization, anti-populism, and racist ideology".