 During the 1880s, he became known as "el poeta del Paraná" (the poet of Paraná river).He wrote poetry with gaucho themes, but using cultured and educated language.He was heavily influenced by contemporary French poetry, and became well known in Argentina for his poem "Santos Vega", an ode to a gaucho-troubadour, a type of composer and performer known in Argentina under the name of "payador".