Search

By the end of the nineteenth century, modern sport had enchanted the people of Argentina. At that time the nation enjoyed a remarkable degree of economic prosperity and embarked on increasing political democratization. These circumstances, along with the fact that the nation was represented from the beginning, in 1894, on the International Olympic Committee seemed to favour Argentina as the spearhead of the diffusion of Olympism throughout South America. However, the country only enjoyed its first official Olympic participation in the Paris Games of 1924 - a few months after the establishment of the Argentine Olympic Committee. This essay explores the reception and diffusion of Olympism in Argentina. It reveals a process of gradual adoption including conflicting views on the relationship between the state and sport, several attempts at institutionalization, international misunderstandings and the role of politics and class.

This epilogue offers a critical overview of some current interpretations of modern sport's origins and evolution in Latin America by certain European and North American commentators. These analyses still adhere to the tradition of the New World's creation. They seldom refer to primary sources. Conclusions are often born out of patronizing compassion and exotic impression. Latin American sources, if any, are mostly quoted when they serve a pessimistic historical bias cultivated by outsiders. In fact, Latin American sport represents a mirror image of more developed areas and indeed a reinvention of sport in specific cases of community isolation and self-development.

This chapter examines sport in Latin America in its social, cultural, and political contexts. An analysis of the development of sport in Latin America suggests that there have been a number of distinct phases influenced by the cultures of the Spanish, British and French. More recently, the games and pastimes of the United States have made a significant impact. It is suggested that the further development of sport in Latin America is hindered by a number of significant problems. It concludes that the problems faced by some countries are immense and that governments and international organizations in the developed world should offer help where appropriate.

American impact on modern sports in Latin America overlaps geographically and chronologically with the European, especially British, impact. Principally baseball in the Caribbean basin, more recently basketball and volleyball across the hemisphere and occasionally American football in more limited areas illustrate a north-to-south movement executed by businessmen, educators, missionaries, military personnel, returning travelers (often students), sports entrepreneurs and television. Often initially supported by promoters of development within Latin America, this transfer has altered local recreational patterns and attracted Latin athletes to pursue careers in North America, provoking accusations of cultural imperialism and exploitation.