Encubados

Breckenridge 2026

THE CONFLICTIVE ONE

The Gaucho in its origins: A symbol of resistance and national identity

"The Conflictive One" rescues the gaucho as a symbol of freedom and cultural resistance. Born from the Spanish, Creole and indigenous mix, the gaucho was a free man of the pampas who lived by his own codes, self-sufficient and far from power structures.

This figure was inherently conflictive. Despised by the elites as "lazy", the gaucho became the antithesis of the landowning oligarchy. His existence was a fundamental resistance against capitalism that sought to strip him of his land and autonomy. The gaucho was "The Conflictive One" by nature: his existence challenged the established order.

Today, facing uniformizing globalization, "The Conflictive One" gains new relevance. The gaucho reminds us to defend local identity against exclusionary forces. Our sculpture pays tribute to that unbreakable spirit, reminding us that the true wealth of a people resides in their history, courage and love for freedom.

Sketch

Who We Are

We are a group of friends who decided to form an Argentine snow sculpture team that has been representing Argentina for over a decade in the most prestigious competitions in the world.

Since 2014, we have traveled to different parts of the world bringing our artistic and cultural vision through monumental snow sculptures.

This year we added Ignacio Cardiello to our team and all his stoneworking experience from the city of Olavarría.

Facundo Ribeiro

Sculptor and visual artist

Alejandro Albornoz

Sculptor and graphic designer

Ignacio Molina

Apprentice sculptor, IT support and beekeeper

Ignacio Cardiello

Sculptor and visual artist

They were also part of encubados and deserve recognition!

Federico Igea

Professional photographer

Jair Zuta La Rosa

Monumental architect

Our Art

SNOW SCULPTURE

Snow sculpture is an artistic discipline that works with monumental blocks of compacted snow, around 3.5 meters high by 3 meters long (and sometimes even larger). They are tons and tons of pressed snow powder that become our "blank block".

Unlike ice sculpture, here the raw material is compacted snow, not transparent blocks of frozen water. From these large volumes we begin to carve exclusively with hand tools: saws, shovels, chisels and other hand tools, since the use of electric or combustion machines is not allowed.

From this physical and artisanal work, carried out outdoors and as a team, monumental sculptures are born that exist only for a limited time, until nature transforms them again.

Our Journey