The multiple functions of criollo, gaucho and indigenous symbols in La historieta Patoruzú, 1936-50 : the conflicts of Peronism, nationalism, and migration

McAleer, Paul Robert

Abstract

This article considers the comic book, Patoruzú in light of the cultural expressions of Argentine criollismo between the 1930s and 50s. It begins by examining the political and class conflicts that informed the meanings of criollo symbols, and how Dante Quinterno’s creation interacts with them. Perón’s political organisation, for example, constantly resorted to discourses and images of a gaucho and rural nature in order to propagate the ideals of nationalist corporatism. From one perspective, the drawings, storylines and characters of Patoruzú articulate the arguments set forth by Perón in his battles with neo-colonial and oligarchic forces. However, as Cohen (1995) and Hall (1980) argue, mass-media products and popular national symbols are dialogic; they enter into a dialogue with different competing discourses. Thus the comic book is also analysed in respect of the different and conflictive uses and potential interpretations of criollo symbols. One such conflict, it is proposed, resides in the understudied effect of modernization and urbanisation on the rural criollo migrants, who moved to the provinces of Buenos Aires in large numbers in the 1930s. The comic book, therefore, is not simply understood as an expression of Peronist ideals, but as a footprint of the complex political and identity conflicts of the period.

Citation

McAleer, P. R. (2018). The multiple functions of criollo, gaucho and indigenous symbols in La historieta Patoruzú, 1936-50 : the conflicts of Peronism, nationalism, and migration. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 27(2), 253-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569325.2017.1402753

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 18, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Dec 11, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 3, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 12, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Latin American cultural studies
• Print ISSN: 1356-9325
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9575
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 253-270
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569325.2017.1402753
• Keywords: Criollismo, Peronismo, Patoruzú, Migration, Class and identity conflicts
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/453181
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569325.2017.1402753
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=cjla20