The myths of the desert: aridity and geographical imaginaries in catamarca and argentina (1880-1960)

Abstract

This article analyzes the place of deserts in the construction of geographical imaginaries in Argentina from the end of the 19th century to the decade of 1960. To this end, we will present a case study carried out in the province of Catamarca through documentary sources (journalistic and administrative); after that we will propose some comparative lines referring to the country and some potentially generalizable conclusions. We will especially explore the link between the arid condition of our province of reference and the meanings of deserts in the nation’s geographic imagination, this reconstruction being the gateway to think about the integration of arid regions to various (not only economic) nation projects. We will focus on dams as exponents and condensers of mystics associated with these imaginaries reconstruction or reproduction.