Avances del Cesor (Jul 2016)
Ties of the "gauchos". Sociability as a tool for dissemination of tradition in Buenos Aires, 1930-1950
Abstract
In the forties, the growth and expantion of the traditional centers in Buenos Aires were connected with the social ties they had built. The relational networks expanded as the groups consolidated their organizations and the participation of their partners. This article endeavors to explain the relationships inside two of the most influential traditionalist centers in the province of Buenos Aires: "Círculo Tradicional Leales y Pampeanos" of Avellaneda" and "Círculo Criollo El Rodeo" of Santos Lugares. We consider that the traditionalists had a set of variants for preparing their performances, parades, equestrian practices and creole celebrations that contributed to the consolidation of the "gaucho" as a national symbol. The partners, dressed in the gaucho customes, were frequently requested from social clubs, churches, military regiments, worker circles, political groups and municipal agencies for parties, openings and tributes. We analyze the characteristics of these links and the enabling conditions created by them for the reproduction of the tradition. The correspondence and publications of these groups showed mostly a social experience that generated patterns, models and behaviors of the traditionalist practices.
