Hafenstadt und nationaler Gründungsmythos –

Zur Bedeutung von Buenos Aires als Element des argentinischen Nationendiskurses (19.­-21. Jahrhundert)

  • Astrid Windus

Abstract

Port City and National Founding Myth: On the Meaning of Buenos Aires as an Element of the Argentinean National Discourse, 19th to 21st Century

The article deals with the symbolic function of the port city of Buenos Aires within the 19th century discourse of the Argentine nation. The city was a gateway for millions of European immigrants who entered Argentina in the second half of the 19th century. According to Argentine intellectuals like Alberdi or Sarmiento, Buenos Aires was the cradle of “civilization” and “progress”, thus representing an important element of the national project of a “white” and “European” Argentina. In contrast, the much older history of immigration of Non-European groups to the port city was excluded from these imaginations. The text shows these mechanisms, taking as an example the history of the African immigration to Buenos Aires from colonial times to the 20th century.

Available Formats

Published

2007

How to Cite

Windus, A. (2007). Hafenstadt und nationaler Gründungsmythos –: Zur Bedeutung von Buenos Aires als Element des argentinischen Nationendiskurses (19.­-21. Jahrhundert). omparativ, 17(2), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.26014/j.comp.2007.02.07