The Frustrated Colussus

Episode of Series “Sweat of the sun, tears of the moon”.
Argentina was once the tenth richest nation in the world and Argentinians consider themselves the most educated, most civilised people in South America where what counts is style. But how close to reality is this self-image of Argentinians? To answer this question, Jack Pizzey investigates the macho gaucho tradition, the tango, the influence of Italian and British immigrants, the personality cult of Juan and Evita Peron, the hideous torture and death squads of the 70’s and the debacle of the Falklands War. What he discovers is a country where self-delusion is the national pastime, a developed nation in the process of becoming undeveloped.