The Construction of the Memory of Italy in Argentina Through a Choice of Translated Essays

As a country of immigrants, Argentina assimilated several languages in its idiolect. The languages spoken by the majority of newcomers were amalgamated with Spanish. In this respect, the birth of Argentina as an independent nation is connected to migration and translation. In fact, in Argentina, exiled or immigrant Spanish and Italian writers earned their living primarily as translators for publishers and journals, and in many cases their work was of outstanding quality. As part of an ongoing research project entitled "Essay, cultural memory and translation in Sur (1931-1970)", this paper reveals a particular interpretation of Italian culture through the translations in "Sur", Argentina's most famous literary journal and an important disseminator of international aesthetic trends for much of the last century. Construction of Italian identity since the thirties in Spanish America can be observed through the careful reconstruction of the roster of writers chosen, the genres preferred, the thematic of the adaptations in the host culture and the success of the translations. Therefore, studies on translation, especially in peripheral host regions, are an essential branch of migration studies, as they establish the link between cultural memory and the construction of the new identity.