Pablo Ortemberg holds a PhD in History (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 2008) and a BA in Anthropology with a sociocultural orientation (Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1999). He is an Independent Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), based at the Institute for Political Research of the National University of San Martín (UNSAM). He is Director of the Centre for Political History Studies (CEHP) of the School of Politics and Government at the same university. There he is also professor of Latin American History. His research in recent years has focused on the commemorations of the Centennial and Bicentennial celebrations in Latin America, with an emphasis on the staging of national identities, the construction of international links and the place of subalternities. He has previously researched the relationship between ceremonial and power in the transition from the Spanish monarchy to the Spanish-American republics. On this and current issues he has published books, articles and book chapters in several languages, in numerous countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia. He has been a researcher and visiting professor in different countries of the continent and Europe.

Recent publications (selection)

2023. Introducción. Centenarios y bicentenarios latinoamericanos: las lógicas de inclusión y exclusión en las conmemoraciones. Dossier: “Bicentenarios Latinoamericanos: políticas oficiales y nuevas voces en la arena festiva”. En Revista Cahiers des Amériques Latines CAL, Institut des Hautes Etudes en Amérique Latine. Disponible en : https://doi.org/10.4000/cal.17949

2022. En coautoría con Mariana Caminotti. Celebraciones belgranianas: política y género en la fiesta patria (2012-2021). En Caravelle. Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien. Disponible en : https://doi.org/10.4000/caravelle.12414

2022. El Bicentenario de la Independencia de Brasil: la celebración de Jano. En IdeAs. Idées d´Amériques, Institut des Amériques. Disponible en:  https://doi.org/10.4000/ideas.14243.

2021. El centenario de la Expedición Libertadora al Perú: ¿un homenaje a la confraternidad? Apropiaciones entre Argentina, Chile y Perú. En Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura, Bogotá. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.15446/achsc.v48n1.91554

2021. La aviación en Buenos Aires y el fenómeno noticioso global (1908-1910). En Prismas. Revista de Historia intelectual. UNQ, Bernal. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.48160/18520499prismas25.1219

2020. Los archivos diplomáticos y la historia cultural de las relaciones internacionales: Centenarios patrios conectados entre Argentina, Brasil, Chile y Perú. En Revista Electrónica de Fuentes y Archivos REFA, Córdoba. Disponible en: https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/refa/article/view/33086

2020. Los raids aéreos de Eduardo Miguel Hearne: deporte, mercado y confraternidad sudamericana a comienzos de la década de 1920. En Pasado Abierto. Revista del CEHis. Mar del Plata. Disponible en: https://fh.mdp.edu.ar/revistas/index.php/pasadoabierto/article/view/3942

2020. José León Suárez y la «diplomacia de los pueblos»: Iberoamericanismo, reformismos y festejos Centenarios en la década de 1920. En Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4000/mcv.13653

Research project at CALAS

Title: Identities in crisis from the commemorations of the Latin American Bicentennial: a comparative cross between Argentina, Brazil and Mexico (2010-2022).

Abstract: Between 2009 and 2025, Latin America will be crossed by the commemoration of most of its patriotic Bicentennials through public celebrations, ceremonies, parades, conferences and events that stage a national "we", aimed at society itself and the world. The characteristics of each celebration come from repertoires of meanings linked to the uses of history implemented in each country, according to the initiatives of national and subnational governments, as well as the participation (or contestation) of various social and institutional actors. Consequently, it is assumed that the faces attributed to the nation on stage are multiple and arise from a terrain of symbolic and political dispute. At the same time, in the temporal arc of two decades, important changes -and reactions- have been taking place in the face of new claims for visibility and expansion of rights by historically marginalized social groups and collectives, defined by their gender, ethnic and/or racial identity (assumed from an intersectional perspective). However, recent research exploring the different forms of activism in the region has not yet systematically investigated the way in which patriotic celebrations are transformed into performative political arenas for the construction and affirmation of identity of these collectives.

In this sense, the project aims to produce new knowledge on the modes of participation and representation of feminist, LGBTIQ+, ethnic and "racial" collectives in the Latin American patriotic commemorations of the Bicentennials that stage contested narratives about national identity. Likewise, it is proposed to analyze the forms of resistance and tensions that these participations may have provoked. For this purpose, the plan adopts a comparative and connected methodology, circumscribed on this occasion to the celebrations held from 2010 to 2022, in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Thus, from an interdisciplinary framework, it articulates conceptualizations coming from the work on national celebrations with the contributions of studies dedicated to activism and policies for the visibilization of marginalized groups and collectives.