The Argentine military and the consolidation of national identity from the creole narrative

The Argentine military space showed, particularly in the thirties, a recurrent concern to define the archetype of the "ser nacional" [national being]. This article analyzes what place was attributed to the gaucho and tradition from the nationalist rhetoric of the armed forces. It focuses on studying social relations between the military and members of the traditionalist associations. These groups were recovering the rural customs as moral reservoir of nationality. We believe that the interventions of the "traditional military" were a stronghold for the consolidation of the gaucho as a symbol of the Argentine.