Libros, trabajadores y anarquismo: La Biblioteca Popular Juventud Moderna de Mar del Plata.

Abstract

Mar del Plata was the place chosen by the bourgeoisie resulting from the agro-exporting Argentina as the place of summer recreation since the late nineteenth century. This led to thousands of workers to work throughout the year in the construction of mansions and hotels to receive it in summer, as well as major public infrastructure works for its beautification. In summer, waiters, cooks and other trades were also established in the "Pearl of the Atlantic". These workers came from diverse migratory currents and in their luggage, they brought anarchist, communist, socialist and syndicalist ideas from the Old World. There, they were embodied in militant, cultural and social practices, among which the Biblioteca Juventud Moderna (Modern Youth Library) stands out. In this paper we review both the political and cultural practice of these workers in a Mar del Plata that was shaped as a mirror of that bourgeois city.