Communication networks, activism and counterculture: the alternative cultural scene in Buenos Aires between 1995 and 2003 (IIGG)

Meeting on symbolic production in post-dictatorship: Communication networks, activism and counterculture: the alternative cultural scene in Buenos Aires between 1995 and 2003

Guest: Clara Gondra

Commented by: Carolina Liberczuk

Summary:
This chapter explores the Argentine fanzine scene between the second half of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. It presents a general description and contextualization of the phenomenon, considering its thematic agendas, material resources, and distribution strategies. The different exchange circuits—both in person and by mail—are analyzed, as well as the central role fanzines played in the hardcore punk scene, where they functioned as devices for belonging and countercultural activism. The chapter also traces the expansion of the format into other underground/alternative art scenes, where it acquired a hybrid, more experimental and playful character, while always maintaining a common thread with the "do-it-yourself" ethos and the dissemination and exchange of particular interests that were not visible through other means.

Clara Gondra is a Sound and Image Designer (FADU-UBA) and holds a Master's degree in Journalism (UdeSA) with her thesis "Alternative Communication Networks: The Experience of Argentine Fanzines 1995-2003." She works as a freelancer in the field of editorial and audiovisual design. She is a research assistant at the Documentation Center of the IIGG-UBA.

Carolina Liberczuk holds a Master's degree in Contemporary History with her thesis: "The magazine El Porteño: a cultural and political intervention in a moment of transition (Buenos Aires, 1982-1985)." She is a Professor of History at the secondary and higher education levels, having graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (University of Buenos Aires). She is a CONICET doctoral fellow based at the Institute of Human Development of the National University of General Sarmiento and teaches at the Faculty of Economic Sciences (University of Buenos Aires).

Organized by: UBACYT Group “Communication and cultural policies in dictatorship and post-dictatorship: a journey through the practices and their conceptual frameworks” (directed by Evangelina Margiolakis and Rodolfo Gómez) of the Gino Germani Institute (FSOC-UBA).

To receive the reading material, please send an email to: [email protected]