PRINT CULTURE, COLLECTIVE IDENTITY, and NATIONALISM in URUGUAY and ARGENTINA William Garrett Acree
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FROM READING TO REALITY: PRINT CULTURE, COLLECTIVE IDENTITY, AND NATIONALISM IN URUGUAY AND ARGENTINA William Garrett Acree, Jr. A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (Spanish). Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by: John Charles Chasteen Stuart A. Day Juan Carlos González-Espitia Alejandro Mejías-López Alicia Rivero © 2007 William Garrett Acree, Jr. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT WILLIAM GARRETT ACREE, JR.: From Reading to Reality: Print Culture, Collective Identity, and Nationalism in Uruguay and Argentina (Under the direction of Stuart A. Day) Uruguay and Argentina are two of Latin America’s most complete examples of how the intersection between print media and collective identities developed. Today visitors to the capital cities of Buenos Aires or Montevideo cannot help but notice the deep roots of written culture that are visible in the city centers. It is no surprise that these two countries have the highest literacy rates in Latin America, which has been the case since the late nineteenth century. The intriguing questions are these: How did literacy, written culture, and the clear public concern with writing and reading become both so widespread and integral to identity in these two nations? What makes the connection between print, the public sphere, and politics in the Río de la Plata unique? “From Reading to Reality” addresses these questions by providing a panoramic view of the development of Rioplatense print culture from the arrival of the first printing presses at the outset of the wars of independence in the early 1800s, to the first centenary celebration of independence in 1910. The chapters consider a range of print media and how they were received during the three key moments in this story, beginning with wartime newspapers and symbolic repertoires where the first attempts were made at patriotic poetry, moving to the phenomenon of popular gauchesque newspapers and verse used to politicize popular classes at mid-century (a form of popular literature not seen elsewhere), and concluding with a detailed look at lessons in patriotism and motherhood students learned in textbooks at the turn of the twentieth century. This study underscores how iii print culture in the region became part of daily life for all Uruguayans and Argentines, reshaping forms of communication, and how it took root in these two countries more effectively than anywhere else in Latin America. It is a 100-year tour that enables the reader to understand a unique relationship between print, power, and the public sphere that emerged along lines where statesmen and the novels they wrote played only a marginal part. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research for this project was made possible by a Dissertation Completion Grant from the Graduate School at UNC Chapel Hill, a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Education, generous exploratory and dissertation research grants from the Institute of Latin American Studies at UNC (ILAS), and a Dana Drake Dissertation research travel award from the UNC Department of Romance Languages. I was also fortunate to receive several travel grants from ILAS and my home department that allowed me to present different stages of this research at conferences. Without this financial and institutional support, this study would—simply put—not have been possible. My committee members have each helped me in their own way, and what I can say here only expresses a fraction of my gratitude for their support and guidance. Stuart Day has exercised a sharp editorial eye. He granted me the freedom (which I greatly appreciate) and consistently encouraged me to take this study in the directions I felt it needed to go. Chapter by chapter Alejandro Mejías-López has kept me on my toes about points that needed to be incorporated or considered more in depth, and Juan Carlos González-Espitia talked through ideas and arguments in their beginning, middle, and end stages. And John Chasteen, while in the history department at UNC, took me under his wing. He read enthusiastically each chapter as it was completed and challenged me not only to craft more effective arguments, but also to improve my style of exposition. I am also thankful to him for putting me on the path to studying Uruguay (and for introducing me to many Uruguayans) and print culture as v a regional phenomenon rather than a national one. In addition to becoming close friends of mine, these four people have made my graduate experience at UNC an outstanding one. Other people have also been supportive and helped me in this endeavor in various respects. María Salgado offered very helpful comments on the proposal of this project, and she supported me in multiple grant applications. Members of the Latin America through the Nineteenth-Century Working Group in the UNC-Duke Consortium of Latin American Studies provided helpful feedback on chapter 1, and my friends Mike Huner, Alex Borucki, and Jean-Philippe Barnabé read and commented on chapters 1 and 2. Patricia Vargas at the Uruguayan Fulbright Commission introduced me to several faculty members at Uruguayan universities and gave me numerous opportunities to talk about my research with Fulbright Fellows and members of the Commission. Colleagues in Buenos Aires and Montevideo likewise gave me opportunities to talk about this project: Juan Manuel Palacio at the Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos at the Universidad de San Martín, Susana Monreal at the Universidad Católica in Uruguay, Elida Lois, Julio Schvartzman, and Claudia Román in Buenos Aires helped me formulate new ways of thinking and talking about Rioplatense print culture, and offered suggestions regarding sources and collections to consult. And Ricardo Marletti was always eager, even at age eighty, to help me navigate through archives in Montevideo. I owe a great deal of thanks to Marc Meyer, too. He’s the one who first inspired me to become a teacher and embark on a life in academia. And when I failed the freshman writing exam, he was the one who laughed, patted me on the back, and said, “Are you kidding me? That’s a bunch of bull shi-!”—an expression of great encouragement. My mother gave me the gift of her creativity and enthusiasm. While she never really understood exactly what it was I spent so much time studying for the dissertation, she was always vi genuinely interested in the project and has been a source of never-ending support. And I’m indebted to my wife Ceci for putting up with me and cheering me on (which she rightly points out from time to time). I am thankful, as well, for the help and goodwill I received from the staff at the Museo Pedagógico José Pedro Varela, the Biblioteca Pedagógica Central, the Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda, the library at the Facultad de Humanidades, and the Museo y Archivo Municipal in Montevideo, the Biblioteca Nacional de Argentina, the Archivo General de la Nación in Argentina, and the Instituto Bibliográfico Antonio Zinny in Buenos Aires, as well as several other archives where I worked in both Uruguay and Argentina. A handful of philatelists from both Montevideo and Buenos Aires also kindly granted me access to their private collections. Lastly, I appreciate deeply the many Uruguayans and Argentines, ages six to eighty- four, friends, strangers, and family members, who simply and sincerely wanted to know something about what I was studying and who helped me understand what reading and writing mean to them. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................x ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................................................xiii INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 The Study of Print Culture, Identity, and Nationalism in Latin America and in the Plata........................................................................................................... 15 Marking the Path from Reading to Reality................................................................ 24 Chapter I. WORDS, WARS, AND PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS: THE EMERGENCE OF RIOPLATENSE PRINT CULTURE......................................................................... 29 Words and Wars of Independence ............................................................................. 35 Print Culture, Public Places, and Patriotic Parties ..................................................... 49 Revolutionary Symbolic Repertoires......................................................................... 58 II. WORDS, WARS, AND GAUCHOS: LASSOING PRINT CULTURE AND CATTLE CIVILIZATION..................................................................................... 74 Branding Property and Political Identity ................................................................... 80 ¡Viva la Confederación Argentina! ¡Viva Nuestro Ilustre Restaurador de las Leyes! ¡Mueran los Salvajes, Asquerosos Unitarios!...................................... 98 Untying the Lasso: A Culture of Print at the Crossroads......................................... 118 III. SOWERS OF ALPHABETS ......................................................................................... 129 Education, Social Crisis, and the Need for Literate Citizens..................................