In
the Name of Power
Culture and Place Names in Venado Tuerto
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A
new change of street names followed the same strategy. Venado Tuerto,
together with other cities of the country, took part in the preparation
for the commemoration. Eleven months in advance, there was a meeting
at the London Hotel to create a special committee for the Centenary
celebrations. [14] The Centenary Committee worked together with
the Funding Committee, which was in charge of the financial administration
of the town. The Funding Committee appointed members of the Centenary
Committee. To illustrate the particular ideological atmosphere of
the time, the resignation to the Committee Chair by one neighbour,
Luis Cucchiani, was based on his foreign origins. Cucchiani recommended
to appoint an Argentine citizen and, at the same time, reaffirmed
his support for the celebration.
The
Centenary Committee aligned the celebrations with the government
interests and strategy, and therefore changed the toponymy of the
city. The old names were replaced by the names of heroes, who were
considered the central characters of the Independence. The street
names changed abruptly, representing a successful and subtle political
operation, the target of which was to shape the idea of an Argentine
Nation and its people. Four days before the Centenary the street
name change was formalised and submitted by the Centenary Committee
Chair, Manuel Sosa, to the President of the Funding Committee, Patricio
Kirk. [15]
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The
change of street names supported the creation of a patriotic feeling
towards Argentina. The transformation was performed with the participation
of local political authorities. Additionally, this process of patriotic
development received support from Santa Fe provincial authorities.
From a total of forty streets, only six kept their name. Four plazas
changed their name too. Thirty-four streets names related to national
heroes, dates, and battles. The historic events taken into account
by the new toponymy were the May 1810 Revolution, the Declaration
of Independence, and other dates connected to the development of
the national state. The local leaders, with the exception of Brigadier
López, were neglected and names connected to European
immigration or patria gringa were forgotten too. Street names
like Casey and Runciman, founders of Venado Tuerto, were displaced
from the centre to the suburbs. Other streets received the names
of neighbouring countries (Uruguay), of other countries strongly
related to Argentina (Spain, England), of Argentine provinces
(Buenos Aires, Tucumán), or the name of the great European
conquistador, Colón.
The street naming strategy
of 1910 in Venado Tuerto was an outcome of the Argentine elite's
scheme to manipulate the May Revolution with the idea of imagining
the concept of Argentineness.
And
the Action Continued
The project
did not end with the Centenary, and for different reasons it continued
to be significant for some years later. A new political context
was added to the immigration problem. Hipólito Irigoyen's
success in the 1916 presidential elections reinforced among the
members of the bourgeoisie and the military a disdain for democracy.
According to them, political parties were as dangerous for the
nation as was immigration. Since 1930 the army began playing a
key political role as guardians of patriotism and the constitution.
During the administration of Agustin P. Justo the crusade for
patriotism was re-enacted. At that time a new Academy of History
began to write the History of the Argentine Nation. General José
de San Martin was recognised as a hero of the Argentines. [16]
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Plan of New Town Venado Tuerto, offering land along
the railway.
(José Favoretto Collection) |
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In
Venado Tuerto there is a continuity between 1910s toponyms and
the city expansion in the 1930s towards North West and East
directions, and close to the Motorway 8. These decisions were
adopted by municipal decrees. [17] However, there is an ellipsis
in that continuity, that is the period of the Radical Party
administration. During President Alvear’s government,
the Funding Committee assigned street names in places that still
lacked a name. The pattern selected was completely new, and
the new names had to do both with geographical and, in particular,
political aspects. [18] However, at the end of the 1930s, when
Venado Tuerto's new City Hall adopted a decree to name twenty-eight
streets, concepts associated with the May Revolution and the
Independence Wars were used once again. |
The
new street names, with the exception of two (Cullen and
Perú) followed within the old pattern: Liniers, Balcarce,
Dorrego, French, Berutti, José Maria Paz, Suipacha,
Monteagudo, Laprida, Las Heras, Arenales, Rodriguez Peña,
Caseros, Alberdi. In addition to this, a monument to General
San Martín was erected in the main plaza. [19] Thus
street names and monuments were part of the visual strategy
used by the governing elites to stimulate the patriotic
feeling.
Rescuing
Casey
The value of Eduardo Casey as founder, was rescued after
its removal to Venado Tuerto's periphery. In 1937 the main
street name, Avenue of the Centenary, was changed to Avenida
Casey. Furthermore, a monument to celebrate his heritage
was erected in a plaza at the end of Avenida Casey. [20]
This resolution was taken on line with the celebration of
the Fiftieth Anniversary of Venado Tuerto, and it was the
work of the municipal administration in 1933, which was
responsible for establishing the history of the place since
its foundation.
With
this exception, the choice of place names was dominated
by the Argentine elites' strategy to stimulate the Argentineness
of new settlers.
Conclusion
Previous
to the colonisation of Venado Tuerto, the lack of a settlement
culture in this space had the effect of emphasising the
border between common and proper names. Hence, the initial
toponymy was not associated to the space's history or geography,
but to the colonisers and their political and economic power.
However, this trend was modified by the new nationalistic
model of power, which was supported by the local forces
when planning the street names used in the city since 1910
to the 1960s.
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April 1917, wedding of Diego Kenny and Catalina Gaynor
(José Brendan Wallace collection) |
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Notes
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©
Alejandra García and Gladis J. Mignacco, Irish Argentine
Historical Society |
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Last
Update: July 2004 |
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