Architecture as the built message of power: Buenos Aires under Evita's spell

摘要

All totalitarian governments try to capitalise upon cultural production for their own benefit, as metalanguages that reaffirm their values, and this includes architecture. The best-known example of this phenomenon is that of Nazi Germany, where the architect Speer transformed German cities into suitable settings for political display. This can be found, also, in Argentina, during the first two Juan D. Peron governments (1946-1955), under the influence of his wife Eva Duarte, known as 'Evita'. In those days the social and political value of aesthetics was maximised, and architecture was converted into a political imagery. The aim was to create an urban stage to highlight the image of the leader. It is interesting to notice that the stylistic options that Germany, through Speer, and other totalitarian states adopted, were among those considered. Following the connotations that architectural styles developed through history, Neo-classicism was chosen for institutional buildings, whereas the vernacular languages that appeal to some kind of 'national identity' were the option for domestic architecture. So, the 'Peronist city' was not 'one', but at least 'two', solved by juxtaposition and assemblage. In spite of their differences, these two types of architecture defined artificial settings: on the one hand, the city of political power, on the other, the city of dwelling as space of illusion.