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Ambivalent Argentina: Nationalism, Exoticism, and Latin Americanism at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition

A rapid glance at the catalogs and official reports published to commemorate nineteenth-century universal exhibitions reveals few traces of Latin American participation in them. Despite the abundance of references to both European and North American pavilions, as well as to African and Asian delegations, Latin American nations are seldom mentioned in the books that celebrate world’s fairs.1 Nevertheless, international exhibitions, particularly those that took place in the last decades of the nineteenth century, were of significant relevance for Latin American governments, the elite that ruled their countries, and local public opinion. Expositions were a chance to promote interest in the region and to expose a new image of their nations. Newspapers and public debates brought the issue to the fore, and states invested heavily in the construction of national pavilions.2 As a result, the perception of Latin America at the world’s fairs appears divided and even contradictory. If we look at local sources such as newspapers, chronicles, and testimonies from Latin Americans, there is clearly a strong and recognizable presence of the region at the expositions, which were extremely significant for Latin American audiences and ruling classes. But if we look at the official catalogs and other sources that record the events in Europe, we find little or no trace of their