Ambassador Frank E. Baxter proudly displays a Tacuarembo soccer team jersey presented by municipal intendant and team president Wilson Esquerra. The town of Tacuarembó in northern Uruguay, has a population of approximately 40,000. It is a tranquil town with sycamore-lined streets, lovely plazas and an interesting museum about the great tango singer, Carlos Gardel.

Ambassador Baxter arrives in Tacuarembo accompanied by family members, friends and representatives of various international organizations. Right: ambassador Baxter with Uruguayan minister of Education and Culture, Maria Simon.

Ambassador Baxter with the president of the Patria Gaucha organizing committee, Hugo Pereda. Right: ambassadors Francisco Purificati, Bernhard Graf von Waldersee and Frank Baxter with U.S. deputy chief of Mission Robin Matthewman. The Patria Gaucha Festival celebrates gaucho culture and traditions with rodeos, parades and folk music. This 3-day event is the largest gaucho gathering in South America with more than 3,000 riders participating in the inaugural parade and several gaucho associations setting up authentic villages that recreate gaucho life as it was in the 1800s.

Ambassador Baxter with Uruguay's assistant secretary of Education and Culture Felipe Michelini and German ambassador Bernhard Graf von Waldersee. Right: ambassador Baxter with Miss Uruguay 2007, Giannina Carla Silva.

Uruguay's Tourism minister Hector Lescano and senator Jorge Larranaga. Right: a replica of a gaucho village near Laguna de la Lavanderas in Tacuarembo recreates gaucho life as it was in the 1800s.