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A unique circus form known as Criollo Circus (or Circus Theatre) became established in Argentina in the late nineteenth century, characterised by a performance that was divided into two parts. The first part comprised of exhibitions of various traditional circus techniques, while the second part presented a theatrical piece based on the criollista gaucho genre, a theatre genre derived from the literary movement that extolled the figure of the Argentine gaucho as an emblem of nationality. This fusion of physically based circus arts with a vernacular style of theatrical representation founded on text, melodrama, and social criticism not only produced an innovative mode of performance unique to Argentina, it also provoked changes in the evaluation of these popular performance forms. Between 1880 and 1910 the status of both the circus and the criollista-gaucho genre shifted from ‘minor arts’ to validation as the origins of the authentic Argentinian national theatre. This chapter discusses the emergence and legitimisation of the Criollo Circus, examines its stylistic and thematic characteristics, and evaluates the imprint it has left on the subsequent national circus and theatre forms. It also analyses the construction of hierarchies based on the valuation of spoken drama and high art over popular bodily based performances.

In this chapter the author brings forward some aspects of a more extensive research project that, through the case of circus arts, focuses on the process of resurgence and redefinition of popular practices that developed in Buenos Aires from the post-dictatorial years up to the present. During the performances of the Criollo Circuses, actors in the first part demonstrated their skills as trapeze artists, acrobats and comedians, while in the second part of the show they interpreted their roles as dramatic actors. While the Circo Criollo School was intended to maintain local circus traditions, the people will see that it played a central role in the generation of a particular street circus style typical of the 1990s to be discussed in the chapter. The early years of the 1990s saw the genesis of several styles or methods of doing circus: New Circus, Street Circus, and Social Circus.

The purpose of this article is to share some reflections on the long research experience I have developed with circus artists in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. These reflections revolve around the question of the contributions of social sciences, particularly anthropology, through research practices conducted in collaboration with artists. I am interested in rethinking the role of the researcher by understanding science from a conception in which commitment, collaboration, and participatory knowledge-building can potentiate research practices and, at the same time, create dilemmas and challenges. What are the theoretical-methodological implications of the roles we can play throughout a long research process? What are the tools we can use when conducting research on the fields we also participate in, socially and politically? How can we reconcile the time it takes to conduct academic work with the short amount of time it takes for events to unfold in real-time?

En este trabajo propongo analizar el lanzamiento de una política cultural de fomento para las artes del circo en la
ciudad de Buenos Aires, iniciada en 2009 a través del I Festival Internacional de Circo de Buenos Aires. A partir del
estudio de la formulación e implementación de la política pública, presentaré algunas de las controversias que se
desataron ante la intervención estatal en el campo artístico circense local en relación a ciertos conceptos clave: qué
se entiende por políticas culturales, por democratización/popularización de la cultura y acerca del rol atribuido al
Estado en dicha área. A través del análisis propuesto pretendo problematizar el entramado de diversos y desiguales
agentes involucrados en el campo de las políticas (culturales). Así, propongo analizar los discursos oficiales que
inspiraron la creación de la política en estudio y los rechazos y negociaciones que generó la implementación de
esta nueva modalidad de intervención pública en el ámbito cultural circense.

The purpose of this paper is to study the process of resurgence and redefinition of popular practices promoted in the city ofBuenos Aires,Argentina, in post- dictatorial years, through the case of circus arts. Therefore, I will first present some historical data that will enable understanding of the transitional legitimacy given to circus in the late nineteenth century and synthetically introduce the social processes that led circus into a process of retraction. Then I will focus on the social actors who recovered these artistic languages in the post- dictatorship, contextualizing their practices with the socio-political changes of the time. The analyses will center on the way in which young artists recovered certain elements of the past to give sense to the present activity and innovated in the artistic practice, legitimizing their practices and challenging their recognition. [editor summary]

Circo Social del Sur es una Organización No Gubernamental (ONG) que utiliza las artes circenses como herramientas para tratar de morigerar la vulnerabilidad. La concepción que subyace es que el arte constituye un mecanismo para generar nuevas formas de pertenencia, participación y organización comunitaria en contextos de exclusión. Fundamentalmente resulta útil para promover cambios en el presente de niños/as y jóvenes posibilitando el desarrollo de sus capacidades de creación y autonomía y la construcción de lazos de pertenencia. El Circo Social del Sur trabaja en distintos barrios marginados de la ciudad de Buenos Aires y el conurbano. Los artistas que lo desarrollan, acompañados de cientistas sociales, actúan en diálogo con instituciones públicas dedicadas a la juventud y la niñez, asociaciones de base, comedores, etc. y cuentan con el apoyo económico nacional e internacional de distintas instituciones. […]