ABSTRACT
As European migrant cultures merged with those of the porteños – natives of the port city of Buenos Aires – the popular creative enterprise of ¿OHWHSRUWHxR was born. Filete porteño is a highly decorative style of painting, incorporating bright
FRORXUVDKLJKGHJUHHRIV\PPHWU\LQWULFDWHÀRUDOERUGHULQJDQGFRPPRQPRWLIV such as the acanthus leaf and gothic script. The ¿OHWHDGR style is now widely used WR DGRUQ DOO NLQGV RI REMHFWV LQ $UJHQWLQD DQG EH\RQG +RZHYHU LW ZDV ¿UVW GHYHORSHGE\,WDOLDQPLJUDQWVHPSOR\HGLQWKHPDQXIDFWXUHRIWKHKRUVHGUDZQ YHKLFOHVLQ%XHQRV$LUHV*HQRYHVHDQGFDQEHFRQVLGHUHG among the earliest examples of Argentine street art.1 Stylistically speaking,¿OHWH SDWWHUQLQJLVDFXOWXUDOK\EULG,WLVVWURQJO\UHPLQLVFHQWRIWKHKLJKO\GHFRUDWHG Roma caravans which entered use in Europe around the middle of the nineteenth FHQWXU\ZKLOHDOVRERUURZLQJGHVLJQHOHPHQWVIURP,WDOLDQJODVVZDUHSURGXFWLRQ Filete can be seen as an expression of the emergent porteño identity – a living and evolving street-based decorative form that synthesises a diversity of aesthetic LQÀXHQFHVLQDQH[SDQGLQJPXOWLFXOWXUDOVRFLHW\
The conservative Partido Autonomista Nacional1DWLRQDO$XWRQRPLVW3DUW\RU 3$1 KDG GRPLQDWHG $UJHQWLQH SROLWLFV IURP WKH ODWH QLQHWHHQWK FHQWXU\ +RZHYHU WKHPDVVLYHLQÀX[RIVHOID൶UPHGPLJUDQWVIURP:HVWHUQ(XURSHLQ the early twentieth century brought pressure for a more open political system. Rival parties emerged to challenge what they perceived to be elitist posturing and DWWHPSWVWREORFNWKHHPHUJHQFHRIFRPSHWLWRUV&KD൵HHZULWHVWKDWDWWKH turn of the century, the Partido Socialista de Argentina 6RFLDOLVW SDUW\ RI $UJHQWLQD EHFDPH WKH ¿UVW SROLWLFDO SDUW\ WR EULQJ SRVWHUV WR WKH VWUHHWV 7KH 6RFLDOLVWVUDQFDQGLGDWHVIRU1DWLRQDO&RQJUHVVLQSXEOLVKLQJFRSLHV of their manifesto as handbills and pasting up to 8,000 posters around public VSDFHVLQ%XHQRV$LUHVLELG+RZHYHUDFRPELQDWLRQRIHOHFWRUDOFRUUXSWLRQ DQG UHVWULFWLRQVRQ VX൵UDJHPDGH LWKDUG IRU WKH6RFLDOLVWV DQGRWKHUHPHUJLQJ SDUWLHVWRFRPSHWHH൵HFWLYHO\RQWKHQDWLRQDOVWDJH(GZDUGV 7KHSDVVLQJRIWKH6iHQ]3HxD/DZLQJUDQWHGXQLYHUVDOPDOHVX൵UDJHDQG
UHTXLUHG PDQGDWRU\ YRWLQJ ,W RSHQHG XS WKH V\VWHP WR D UDQJH RI SROLWLFDO FKDOOHQJHUV $OVWRQDQG*DOOR7KHPartido Socialista, the Unión Cívica Radical 8&5 WKH 5DGLFDO &LYLO 8QLRQ RU 8&5 DQG WKHPartido Demócrata Progresista3DUW\RI'HPRFUDWLF3URJUHVVLYHVRU3'3HPHUJHGDVFRQWHQGHUVIRU control of the province of Buenos Aires, all disseminating colourful campaign SRVWHUV LQ DQ DWWHPSW WR DWWUDFW DQG HQWLFH YRWHUV&KD൵HH QRWHV WKDW LQ 1919, Radical Party leader and ‘padre de los pobres¶IDWKHURIWKHSRRU+LSROLWR Yrigoyen, pushed the capacity of the new mass communication medium even further. Yrigoyen included a printed photograph of himself on his campaign materials. This was an unprecedented move and one that surprised many observers, as Yrigoyen was widely considered to be an un-photogenic man, garnering the popular nickname of ‘el peludo¶WKHKDLU\DUPDGLOOR%ODQFR &DQRYDQGH¿QHVSRSXOLVPDVDQDSSHDOWRWKHSHRSOHDJDLQVWERWKWKH
established structure of power and the dominant ideas and values of a country’s HOLWH&DPPDFNH[SODLQVWKDWSRSXOLVWSROLWLFVÀRXULVKHGLQ/DWLQ$PHULFD around the time of the Great Depression, as a number of charismatic, personalistic leaders appealed to broader society for support; utilising nationalistic, anti-status TXRLGHRORJLFDOIUDPLQJVDVZHOODVDUDQJHRISDWURQDJHRSWLRQV/LNH9DUJDVLQ Brazil, Yrigoyen sought to project an image of himself as the vanguard of the poor
and labouring classes. The dissemination of his photograph on campaign posters up and down the country made him visually accessible to those who lacked consistent access to print media. Moreover, Yrigoyen’s weathered and surly DSSHDUDQFHGH¿HGDWWHPSWVWRIUDPHKLPDVDSDPSHUHGDQGSULYLOHJHGSROLWLFDO elite, lending him greater credibility with the newly enfranchised working classes as compared with many of his competitors. <ULJR\HQKHOGWKHSUHVLGHQWLDOR൶FHIURPWRDQGDJDLQIURP
WRSUHVLGLQJRYHUDQXPEHURISURJUHVVLYHVRFLDOUHIRUPVWKDWKHOSHGERRVW WKHVWDQGDUGRIOLYLQJRI$UJHQWLQD¶VZRUNLQJFODVVHV7KHSHULRGIURPWKHV however, began with a military coup in which Yrigoyen was removed from government and placed under house arrest. The saboteurs consisted of a group of \RXQJFDGHWVDQGR൶FHUVOHGE\*HQHUDO-RVp8ULEXUX$IWHUUHPRYLQJ<ULJR\HQ IURPR൶FH8ULEX¶VIRUFHVFRPPXQLFDWHGWKHRXWFRPHRIWKHcoup d’etat to the SRSXODWLRQE\GLVWULEXWLQJOHDÀHWVE\DLUSODQHDFURVVWKHVWDWHWHUULWRU\*HQHUDO Uriburu ruled by decree and employed torture and imprisonment against his GHWUDFWRUV+HFDQFHOOHGHOHFWLRQVLQLQRUGHUWRH[WHQGKLVUXOHDQGVXSSUHVV the Radical Party, but was also hugely unpopular among his own ranks. Civilian DQG WURRS XSULVLQJV IRUFHG KLP WR KROG SUHVLGHQWLDO HOHFWLRQV LQ GXULQJ which he was replaced by General Agustín Justo, whose supporters allied in the Concordancia2 >&RQFRUGDQFH@VRXJKWDFRQVHUYDWLYHUHVWRUDWLRQDQGFRQWUROOHG GHPRFUDWLFWUDQVLWLRQ&DYDUR]]L-XVWRLQVWLWXWHGQHLWKHURIWKHVHFKDQJHV KRZHYHU ,QVWHDG KHPRYHG WR GLVPLVV &RQJUHVV FHQVRU WKH SUHVV SXUJH WKH XQLYHUVLWLHVDVZHOODVGHFODUHDVWDWHRIVLHJH,QWKH\HDUVWKDWIROORZHGSRZHU moved back and forth between military and Concordancia governments. The SHULRGEHWZHHQDQGEHFDPHNQRZQDVWKHµDécada Infame¶,QIDPRXV 'HFDGHPDUNLQJWKHHQGRI$UJHQWLQD¶VGHPRFUDWLFSURMHFW7KHGHFDGHVDZWKH suppression of labour groups, the return of widespread electoral fraud and a campaign of censorship and intimidation of oppositional voices.
