Pampas can be easily seen from airplanes and satellites. The guitar-shaped forest in the lowland of Argentina took more than seven thousand cypress and eucalyptus trees, and extends to over a kilometer. The mere thought of the grand size and design of a forest shaped like a musical instrument with trees carefully planted is astounding. The story behind Pampas, though, is heartbreaking and heartwarming all the same.
The guitar-shaped forest was planted by farmer Pedro Martin Ureta and his four children. The story goes that once, when Graciela, Pedro’s wife was flying in an airplane over Pampas she looked down only to be met with a forest that, through some trick of nature, looked like a milking pail. Having always loved the guitar, Graciela confided in her husband that she wanted them to plant a forest on their land that looked like the instrument.
Unfortunately, when she was carrying their fifth child, Pedro’s wife suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Shortly after, she passed away. The thought of his wife wanting a guitar-shaped forest stayed with Pedro Martin, and thus, some years after recovering from the immediate trauma of the loss, the farmer planted every single tree of the forest with his children.
Eucalyptus trees make the six strips of the guitar, while the body and the star-shaped sound hole are cypress trees. The most heartwarming part is that even though Pedro took years and years to reach the guitar shape, he has only seen the forest in pictures – he has aerophobia. He could not, and did not care to reap the results of his creation; Pampas is a tribute to his wife, a memoir in his memory, a celebration of her life.
If you fly over the Pampa region of Argentina, remember to look down. You’ll be met with the grand sight of Pampas and reminded of the power of true love.
You will also love Oregon’s smiley face forest.
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