Melodías de América: cine, diplomacia y negocios desde el sur

Abstract

This essay explores the way in which the Pan-American cinematographic imaginary was shaped by the intervention of different Argentine agents and officials, and also points out the failures of these agreements in the context of a policy of neutrality. Through the analysis of Melodías de América, as part of a corpus that has only recently begun to be reviewed in recent years, a reading perspective is offered, taking into account marketing and distribution issues. Therefore, in this paper we propose to discuss historiographical lines that have studied Panamericanism and the circulation of films between North and South. Contrary to what some authors postulate, here we argue that Melodías... is a film that sought to collaborate with pan-American diplomacy, despite its nationalist traits, without challenging or confronting the postulates of hemispheric unity traditionally held by the United States.