As if gauchos were tuning their guitars before competing in a dance, the same series of notes as open guitar strings are slowly arpeggiated from the beginning. Ginastera, while emulating traditional malambo performance practices, sublimates its musical characteristics in an abstract form. In actual malambo, because the rhythm of the zapateo(foot-stomping) is crucial, the chord progression of the guitar accompaniment is principally a repetition of IV-V-I. Furthermore, as the competition progresses, the zapateo rhythm becomes longer and more complex. In Ginastera's version of malambo as well, starting from simple single notes, the pitch gradually rises, and the number of notes also increases from two-note chords to clusters. On the other hand, the violent clashes of dissonances and the ascending chromatic passages in the left hand are not found in conventional malambo. Through such compositional ingenuity, Ginastera may have sought to convey the excitement and power of malambo, where brave-looking gauchos strike daggers against their boot soles and boldly dance while striking boleadoras(a weapon consisting of two stones wrapped in leather and connected by a rope) against the floor.