This Weeks material touched on the anxieties Latin Americans faced in the age of the Caudillos as Argentina moved from a violent and seemingly barbaric leader in Juan Manuel de Rosas to a more organised republican system of government. One thing I found interesting was how regardless of the ruthlessness of Rosas leadership, the catholic church continued to support him. He was able to maintain this support by defending the religious tradition and used catholicism asa symbol to garner support.
The most fascinating part of the chapter for me however, was the the short story El Matadero written by Argentine poet and essayist Esteban Echeverria. Beyond it’s allure as a valuable historical document chronicling and attacking the brutality of Rosas’ federalist regime, I was captivaed by the sheer use of suggestive language. I loved the way he wrote an unfiltered portrayal of what he wanted to relay in this story – a barbaric picture of society in Rosas’ control. I thought this often grotesque language made the reader feel truly repulsed and disgusted at what he was depicting. In other words he told it like it was. I wanted to end off with a short PSA, if you ever have the chance to read this text (and I would recomend reading it) and speak any spanish, read it IN SPANISH. This text is much more fluid in spanish and uses Argentinean colloquialisms that add to the text.