- Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas en la Argentina
Fray Luis Beltrán 125
1196 Capital Federal
Argentina
Phone/Fax. +54 (11) 4631-8893
Email informes@cedinci.org
URL http://www.cedinci.org
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Horacio Tarcus, Buenos Aires
A brief portrait of the Center of Documentation and Research of Leftwing Culture in Argentina (CeDInCI, Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas en la Argentina)
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The issue of preserving historic memory becomes a topic of vital importance throughout this century in Argentina, a country that has endured successive military dictatorships during this time. Indeed, there is a paradox in our country involving a popular movement that has enjoyed a considerable social weight during this century, and which is both extremely active in both fields politics and culture (from the anarchist movement of the end of last century to the "new leftwing" of the 70s), but whose thread of continuity with the present times seems to be hopelessly cut.
When trying to establish the continuity between present and past struggles, one of the major problems is to find political, sindical and cultural publications related to the social strife in our country. The lack of public policies has resulted in the non-existence of newspaper libraries or public records moderately furnished. This situation becomes seriously worse when leftwing publications are involved. This lack has not been solved, as it has happened in other countries, with records of leftwing parties open to the public.
Rebuilding our leftwing culture has become an enormous puzzling task, which to cap it all, those who study this past have to begin from scratch over and over again, as there are no institutions which capitalize this cultural patrimony.
Therefore, a group of university researchers created several years ago an independent center in order to gather leftwing files and to promote their study. Since March of 1998 we have an office where we placed a three-room library with newspapers and books, a reading room, a meeting and conference room and a room for the organization and classification of the available material. But actually, the work started long ago.
This project did not begin from scratch but from important existing files. In fact, the creation of "CeDInCI" transformed these files of periodical publications - from Argentina and the world - which had been private up to that moment and had been gathered by the historian Horacio Tarcus, into a public space open to researchers and people interested in these issues. During the last period of military dictatorship, political and political-cultural publications were saved from the loot of the armed forces or from the destruction which their holders had to carry out painfully to preserve their lives. During the transition to democracy new donations (such as those of oustanding figures or Argentine political and cultural fields, e.g. José Aricó, Liborio Justo, Juan C. Portantiero, Cayetano Córdova Iturburu, Héctor Raurich, Juan José Sebreli, etc.), enriched this cultural patrimony.
It can be said that the above mentioned files have about 400 collections of Argentine political-cultural journals ranging from Martin Fierro to recent magazines; about two thousand brochures and about ten thousand political books; about 300 collections of Argentine political magazines, ranging from the oldest anarchist and socialist publications; about 450 collections of Argentine political newspapers, from La Vanguardia and La Protesta to contemporary political publications; 60 file boxes with newspapers, journals and newspaper cuttings thematically sorted; hundreds of political leaflets not sorted yet; about 200 collections of foreign political-cultural journals, classified but not catalogued yet. Many of these collections are difficult to find and in some cases they are unique collections.
At present about 15 enquiries are attended to daily at the library, although the lack of institutional support and material resources limit the correct operation and expansion of the center. It is not an exaggeration to assert that those who wish to research the social, political and cultural history of our country are forced to approach these documents. Several representatives from the political, culturalor scholar fields that have known or looked into these files (or that have even been donors) can testify to the importance of the maintenance, extension and diffusion of these documents.
For these reasons we are addressing public or private organizations which share our concern about the need for keeping our historical memory, in order to request their cooperation to consolidate the project and continue advancing in successive stages of consolidation. Extending our facilities, training human resources, as well as increasing and maintaining the documents requiere different kinds of support: institutional backing, financial assistance, donations of documents and/or of technology (at present we need a digital camera and a microfilm reader that can printer). Furthermore, the project intends to establish exchanges (of information, publications, catalogues, editions of document sources, etc.) and agreements with similar institutions, aiming to create a world net.
Your institutional support can be very important for our center at this stage. We would appreciate it if you would inform us whether your institution has any financial assistance available and the requirements to obtain it. We can explain in detail any piece of information you would like to know about our project. The center is open to any consultation or verification.
The CeDInCI (non profit institution) is composed by
Lic. Horacio Tarcus (Director), Lic. Roberto Pittaluga, Dr. Blas de Santos, Mr. Gabriel Glasman, Lic. Ana Longoni, Lic. Graciela Karababikian, Lic. Fernando López Trujillo, Lic. Mariano Mestman, Lic. Silvia Pérez Fernández, Mr. Juan Carlos Romero, Ing. Israel Loterztain, Lic. Irene Muñoz; Lic. Alberto Teszkiewicz; Lic. Alejandro Raiter.
Honorary members
Alfredo Alonso (1915-1999), Osvaldo Bayer, Alberto Belloni, Susana Fiorito, Enrique Israel, José Luis Mangieri, Enrique Oteiza, León Rozitchner, José Vazeilles, David Viñas.
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Background of the Center's director (short biographical note)
Name and surname: Horacio Paglione
Pen name: Horacio Tarcus
Date of birth: 5-7-1955.
Profession: MA (Buenos Aires University), Ph.D. La Plata University in course, Researcher and Professor. Professor of "Politic Theory" at the Faculty of Humanities, La Plata University; Associate Professor of "State Theories" at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Buenos Aires University, and Associate Professor of "The history of Russia", Faculty of Philosophy, Buenos Aires University. Co-director of El Rodaballo. Revista de política y cultura.
Please contact for further details Horacio Tarcus at the Center.
Horacio Tarcus
Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas en la Argentina
Fray Luis Beltrán 125
1196 Capital Federal
Argentina
Phone/Fax. +54 (11) 4631-8893
Email informes@cedinci.org
URL http://www.cedinci.org
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Citation Horacio Tarcus, Buenos Aires, A brief portrait of the Center of Documentation and Research of Leftwing Culture in Argentina. In: TRN-Newsletter 2, Hamburg Institute for Social Research, June 2004.
URL http://www.TraumaResearch.net/net2/portrait2/tarcus.htm
Copyright © 2004, Horacio Tarcus and TRN-Newsletter, all rights reserved. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the trauma newsletter. For other permission questions, please contact via email the editor Cornelia.Berens@his-online.de
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