Abstract

ROCHA CORTEZ, David J.. Perform the Nation: Monument to the Revolution, 1948, during Óscar Osorio Government (1950-1956). Rev. pueblos front. digit. [online]. 2024, vol.19, e716.  Epub June 21, 2024. ISSN 1870-4115.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cimsur.18704115e.2024.v19.716.

This text uses the ideas of performance and nation in order to understand the narratives and discourses of the 1948 Revolution and the government of Óscar Osorio (El Salvador, 1950-1956). It examines the nation’s narratives produced during the Osorio administration and how the discursive strategies were articulated in order to project these narratives onto the Monument to the Revolution. The point of departure is the epistemological possibility of performance and theatrical studies because they make it possible to link actions of daily life and power with works of art. This paper embarks on a journey through the notion of performance. It subsequently presents some ideas about the 1948 Revolution in order to understand this historical/political event, and, finally analyzes two monuments and the actions unfolding on the night of their inauguration in order to understand how performative mechanisms can function in public space in relation to monuments, the nation, and the performative exercise of power.

Keywords : performance; nation; politics; aesthetics; historic monuments.