There were, though, rather hurried efforts to create our own literary works at that time, which varying degrees of succes. Even our own president at the time, Sarmiento, took a stab at the pen, and produced works that could make you scream in anger at their blatant racism and mysogyny. See, our dear ol' president (and quite a few intellectual people with him) was convinced that the Argentinian (or "criollo") people were defective and inferior because of the mix of blood between the "lazy" Europeans (Italians, Spaniards and the sort) and the brute and eneducated "indians". So, to fix this, he decided to open up our frontiers to foreigners and grant them land, and encourage them to marry Argentinian women and improve the race that way. He was aiming at the Europeans he considered the best (basically: Caucassians and Arian), and he did moderately succeed in attracting some, but mostly what he achieved was attract a greater deal of Italians and Spaniards. Scandinavian people preferred to make their way to North America for the greater part. Our culture nowadays is more or less based upon the culture of both Italy and Spain due to that, quite the opposite of what he wanted.
He also succeded in making us ideal territory for all kinds of refugees fleeing from both World Wars, on all the warring factions... We basically asked no questions and let them all in. We ended up unwittingly protecting several Nazi baddies due to our strictly neutral policies.
There was a definitely black chapter in our recent history which, if you ever get here, you would be wise to avoid in conversation, and that is the period of time in which we were under the oppresion of the Military Junta. Like redrikki mentioned below, it was a time where thousands of people were "disappeared", which was code for "taken from their beds on the dead of night, tortured and interrogated and then executed in such a manner that their bodies wouldn't be found". The reaons for this varied, and went from being a guerilla fighter to wondering a bit too loudly why you weren't allowed to read certain literary works or leave home at certain hours. University students, pregnant women and children were among the "insurrectos" (something like "rebels") and, when they bothered to make up an excuse for their death, were publicly portrayed as belonging to a guerrilla, sometimes displaying pictures of their corses holding weapons that were nearly bigger than them and obviously planted after death.
It was also a time where our country got into huge debt with the Powers that Be, who financed the oppresion and the eventual Falklands War, a war that lasted only long enough for the British troups to get here and hand our asses to us.
no subject
He also succeded in making us ideal territory for all kinds of refugees fleeing from both World Wars, on all the warring factions... We basically asked no questions and let them all in. We ended up unwittingly protecting several Nazi baddies due to our strictly neutral policies.
There was a definitely black chapter in our recent history which, if you ever get here, you would be wise to avoid in conversation, and that is the period of time in which we were under the oppresion of the Military Junta. Like redrikki mentioned below, it was a time where thousands of people were "disappeared", which was code for "taken from their beds on the dead of night, tortured and interrogated and then executed in such a manner that their bodies wouldn't be found". The reaons for this varied, and went from being a guerilla fighter to wondering a bit too loudly why you weren't allowed to read certain literary works or leave home at certain hours. University students, pregnant women and children were among the "insurrectos" (something like "rebels") and, when they bothered to make up an excuse for their death, were publicly portrayed as belonging to a guerrilla, sometimes displaying pictures of their corses holding weapons that were nearly bigger than them and obviously planted after death.
It was also a time where our country got into huge debt with the Powers that Be, who financed the oppresion and the eventual Falklands War, a war that lasted only long enough for the British troups to get here and hand our asses to us.