On Saturday, July 12 at 17, Gabriel Di Meglio was going to make a last tour guided by the National Historical Museuminstitution of which he has been 5 years, but was canceled. This historian, researcher at Conicet, a disseminator in the media and former director of the Cabildo Museum, was displaced from the MHN address, in principle, as of July 31; to be replaced by María Inés Rodríguez Aguilar, currently in charge of the National Museum Directorate. But the times accelerated and, ahead of time, more precisely on July 8, the Undersecretary of Cultural Heritage, Liliana Barela, ordered her to leave her post.
The last week, the news of his dismissal caused surprise in academic media. Politicians, researchers, intellectuals and museology professionals lamented the fact in communications and posts on social networks. The majority rescued the excellent management of Di Meglio at the head of the institution, in which he boosted the script, extended the samples until the twentieth century and led to a great increase in public influx. He himself was always in charge of some of the guided tours of the program to explain the characteristics of each sample mounted by the museum.
In his statements of these days, he was responsible for clarifying that the government’s decision was not illegal: his position was not competed and his contract was renewed every 6 months. On July 31, the one who is in force is expired.
It is important, anyway, to record that this displacement adds to others, in the national museums, which took place since the beginning of the management of the Government of Milei. There were already changes of direction in the Historic House of Tucumán, Sarmiento’s home house in San Juan, the San José Palace in Entre Ríos and the House of the match in San Nicolás. And to this list is added The closure of the “Museum of the Costume” whose activities were under the orbit of the MHN. The government promises new competitions for all institutions in the country, but it is not so easy or seems to be will. The “cultural battle” continues and now goes for the control of the story.
The past. Founded on initiative of Adolfo Carranza, its first director, in 1890the MHN belonged in principle to the city of Buenos Aires. In 1891, by decree signed by Carlos Pellegrini, it became a national museum. Consecrated, in its first intentions, to commemorate the process of independence, among its jewels are uniforms, weapons and symbols of the time. The Flag of Macha, which belonged to the Belgrano Army in Alto PeruFor example. AND The San Martín Saber Corvoone of the most conflicting pieces of the institution. It was stolen twice by the Peronist youth, assigned in custody to the Grenadier Regiment and restored to the museum where it belongs by express donation of Manuelita Rosas. Today he is in dispute over a grenadiers claim that has found support in national government officials. The replica of the San Martín room in Boulogne Sur Merwith the original furniture donated by their granddaughter, they are another of the treasures.
After knowing the news of the end of his mandate, News spoke with Gabriel Di Meglio. The state of museums, the curatorial story in the different governments and the importance of the MHN collection were the themes of the talk. And an important fact: the last guided tour that was going to take place on July 12 was canceled on the orders of the Ministry of Culture, fearful of gathering too many people. Therefore, Di Meglio summoned a talk in the Lezama Park (jurisdiction of the city of Buenos Aires) for the same day at the same time. The title: popular history.
News: Have you declared in the media that the museum does not receive resources? What does this imply?
Di meglio: The State for Light, Internet, Water, staff salaries and outsourced security and cleaning companies. And nothing more. Only last month we received the first small box since this government went up. It was around $ 1,200,000. We have an association of friends of the museum that has an urn at the door and buy us things with what people voluntarily leave there. Thanks to that we could survive.
News: How was the budget handled with other governments?
Di meglio: The resources were never very abundant. But there were small boxes to run the museum. In addition, general tenders. For example, it is tendered for all acrylic museums. With the acrylic showcases for exhibitions. This was distributed between different museums. If not, you cannot pay all the inputs that are needed. And MHN is a privilege compared to other national museums. There is a qualified personnel who can build the exhibitions themselves. That allowed us to continue making exhibitions. Other museums were paralyzed.
News: For example, if the showcase of space where the San Martín saber is displayed is broken. Who pays it?
Di meglio: The Association of Friends.
News: Is this the situation of all national museums?
Di meglio: For example, The National Museum of Fine Arts has an association of friends with many resources. It is not our case. And there are museums who have no association of friends, which are literally “in the canvas.” It is a bit what happens in the state in general. There is a very sharp cut. It really is a difficult situation. Despite that we could build our samples. We overcome last year and this year we were fine. Two months ago we opened an exhibition about the first half of the twentieth century that is going very well. We are now working on a sample on the second half of the nineteenth century. And my plan was, next year, do the pre -Hispanic and colonial stage. What hurts most is to leave the unfinished project.
News: Is MHN the most important museum in the country?
Di meglio: Of historical museums is the most important and the oldest. But for his collection, in what he has of Sanmartiniano, Belgranian, of the May Revolution and Independence It is the MHN. The nineteenth -century collection is fabulous. What we did, which for me was the best of management, was to incorporate the twentieth century. We did donations campaigns talking with people from different political sectors, of union, cultural sectors. The sample of the twentieth century was nourished by a lot of objects of famous characters: by Ricardo Balbin, by Eva Perón, by Federico Pinedo, from Lencina de Mendoza. And for campaigns in the networks, people donated union cards, vaccination, enrollment notebooks, civic notebooks. That resulted in a collection that allowed us to make the first exhibition in the history of this museum over the twentieth century.
News: How would you describe your management in the museum?
Di meglio: My motivation was always to draw a bridge between the academic and “the outside” of the academy. My intention was to modernize the speeches and the way in which museums, showcases, lights are seen. For me they are wonderful places. You will never achieve, as in a museum, the idea of bringing the past to the present. Something emotional is generated. People cries, get excited. The work in a museum is really interdisciplinary, where each one contributes from their place. We try to highlight each object, instead of pileding them, as it was done before, in large showcases. That each object, however modest, tell a story. And it is a very difficult challenge because you speak to very diverse audiences. A foreigner who knows nothing about Argentine history comes. Primary boys’ schools come. People who love history come and know a lot and people who know very little. The challenge is to speak a little to each one. And that is not just the Museum of the Great Próceres.
News: As a historian, what another historical moment of the country reminds you of this time?
Di meglio: In part as a historian and partly as his own experience, there are many moments of the ’90s that remind me of this time. Of course, history is never repeated the same, but there is something there that has many parallels, in a different world context. While this government is filled with liberal history, many of the claims that claim, did not destroy states. Alberdi or Roca are figures that this government likes, however, they make a very biased reading of them. All governments have political uses of the past. That is in the definition of politics. Perhaps the great exception was the Macri government that tried not to talk about the past. Also the Menem government, which left Quiroga’s pins, but once in power he focused on the future. The macrismo was very similar. The tickets had no animal figures of heroes. This government instead disputes with the most Peronist line and with others. But governments make a very particular reading of the past for political use.
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