Hegemonies and models of cultural modernization in South America. The Paraguay-Brazil case

Abstract

This research is part of a core of broader interests which seek to study the diverse cultural positions in South America and to analyze the tensions between traditional hegemonies and the appearance of new centers of cultural diffusion and management within the region. In this text I develop two lines of investigation: firstly, to pursue existing research into the disputes between Argentina and Brazil over hegemony in the region and, second, to propose an approach to Brazilian cultural intervention in Paraguay. The hypothesis of this work states that Brazilian cultural management in Paraguay during the 1950s sought to catalyze the process of artistic modernization within this country and to enroll it in an internationalist promotional framework.