Abstract

CAMPI, Daniel. Everyday contrasts: the sugar cane engenhos of northern Argentina as socio-cultural complex. Varia hist. [online]. 2009, vol.25, n.41, pp. 245-267. ISSN 0104-8775.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-87752009000100013.

This article explores patterns of social life in the sugar plantations of northern Argentina between 1870 and 1930, resulting from the interplay of a number of variables including the hierarchical arrangement of space, organization and working patterns, the measures taken by owners or strategies of modeling (with purposes of "civilizing") workers' behavior, the representations and beliefs, social habits and attitudes to work. The result was a dynamic everyday life that is characterized, first, by an interplay of obligation, resilience and adaptability, on the other hand, by sharp contrasts: the observable in the period between the harvest and during inter harvest, the differences in time-use and lifestyle, in general, of the various social strata that make up the complex sociocultural of the sugar cane engenho - masters, hierarchical and managerial staff, technicians and administrative staff, skilled workers, permanent contract laborers and itinerant laborers. The study includes comparative analysis with other Latin American sugar complex.

Keywords : engenhos; sugar cane; Argentina.