Hobby: una revista popular de la cultura autodidacta en la Argentina de los años treinta y cuarenta

Abstract

HOBBY fue una revista popular de periodicidad mensual que circuló en Argentina entre agosto de 1936 y mayo de 1975. Escasos son los trabajos que directa o indirectamente han estudiado esta publicación periódica. El análisis de los contenidos y la circulación de HOBBY durante sus primeros números permite pensar relevantes aspectos de la cultura de masas en la Argentina de los años treinta y cuarenta; especialmente aquellos temas referidos a la cultura autodidacta, el tiempo libre y las actividades de ocio de los sectores populares.

HOBBY was a popular monthly magazine that circulated in Argentina between August 1936 and May 1975. There are few works that have directly or indirectly studied this periodical publication. The analysis of the contents and circulation of HOBBY during its first issues allows us to think about relevant aspects of mass culture in Argentina in the 1930s and 1940s; especially those topics referring to self-taught culture, free time and leisure activities of the popular sectors. This article establishes a particular dialogue with cultural history that studies popular periodical publications in Argentine society between the wars. It especially examines narratives and imaginaries that circulated in HOBBY magazine about the figure of the “popular inventor.” Some proposals from this magazine related to leisure and tourism activities, which at that time had begun to be extended among the popular sectors, are also analyzed.