ABSTRACT
The Chispazos de tradición' which are showcased here provide the ingredients of an authentic Argentine national identity. By presenting 1930s rural Argentina in this anachronistic way, the Chispazos de tradición series encourages a rediscovery of origins within the present and makes the positive suggestion that the project of nation-building is still achievable at this late stage. The society presented in La estancia de Don Segundo, as in the Chispazos de tradición series as a whole, is largely inclusive. The traditional family is not a pre-requisite for a stable society as adoption and apadrinaje are just as vital for the construction of a happy society. In the Chispazos de tradició series, no reference is made to the potentially xenophobic attitude of the gaucho towards the immigrant as seen in Juan Moreira. In the Chispazos de tradiciónseries, Gonzlez Pulido seizes the opportunity to instruct women as to their moral duties and to demonstrate the consequences of transgression.
