Foreign Work on the Stages of Buenos Aires through Caras y Caretas and Fray Mocho (1900 - 1920)

Abstract

It is impossible to separate the understanding of modern Argentine history from the enormous flow of foreigners who arrived in the country between the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. The vast majority of foreign workers came looking for a better life, better economic possibilities and insertion in the receiving society. However, others came to these lands only in passing, for a short time, often without speaking the language or knowing anyone: among these workers who suffered from the lack of protective laws, the prejudices of the natives, the abuses of employers, the indifference of their diplomatic legations, etc. was the artist. The present work constitutes an approximation to the situation of the artist who toured the theater scenes of Buenos Aires between 1900 and 1920, his adventures and misadventures as a worker that, given his foreign status, were tougher than the already dramatic ones of his local colleagues