An Argentine Nitrate: The "National Pericon" (c. 1906) Document for the Construction of a National Identity

Abstract

In this article we will analyze the content of one of the few documents from the first half of the 20th century in nitrate support that are preserved in Argentina: the silent film Pericón Nacional. We are located at the beginning of the history of Argentine cinema and of the available cinematographic technologies. This is a singular case study, since it allows for an interpretation of primary and secondary documentary sources, something unusual amongst the studies of this period, which is characterized by an enormous loss due to the fragility that affects the support, the content and the interpretation. We aim to approach this document within the framework of memory construction and national identity, considering the context of identity crisis in Argentina at the time, as a consequence of the great immigration, mostly of Italian and Spanish origin, and thus thinking of the film as an instrument of expansion and diffusion of political and cultural ideas.