An ‘Argentinizing’ project. Education and anniversaries in Patagonia and Río Negro (1908-1930)

Abstract

The consolidation of the Argentinian national State took place between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Consecuently, the procedure of nationality construction started and the State undertook the task of defining and implementing national identity, and of keeping the patriotic spirit alive. The task was arduous and the country’s territory immense. In the case of the National Territories, autonomy and legal entities directly under the central government, the argentinizing strategy became more relevant. With a very heterogeneous population, remote and often isolated, it was essential to root in these regions the love to the land and the attachment to the nation. In this sense, the article aims to study the symbolic practices which, through formal education and patriotic ephemeris, achieved the integration of the national territories to the national project. With this purpose, we will focus on the Patagonia region and Rio Negro governorate during the fi rst decades of the 20th century.

Key words: nation State, Argentinization, National Territories, patriotic education, ephemeris.