Cultural Agenda and Symbolic Public Space in Nicaragua: The Newspaper Flecha (1943-1945)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the features that shaped Nicaragua’s cultural agenda during the 1940s, using the newspaper Flecha (1940-1958), published in the city of Managua, as the primary source and object of study. The cultural theme is justified for the following reasons: it was a recently established newspaper, the cultural and political profile set by its director and founder, Hernán Robleto, and the respectful, constructive treatment given to the informational content. To achieve this approach, a representative sample from the decade was selected, consisting of three years (1943-1945) and three different months. For data collection and processing, an instrument was designed to record the information according to eight chosen cultural themes and the journalistic genres most frequently used for their dissemination. This review work, as a study exercise from a historical perspective of a media outlet, allowed for the identification of some thematic continuities that remain on the agenda today, such as education, recognizing its role in development, and the socialization of discursive practices that promote constructive dialogue for the well-being of society at the time. In politics, the newspaper was not unaware of the central issues surrounding the regime of Anastasio Somoza García. However, the backdrop of World War II during this period made the 1944 crisis a subject handled with caution in the newspaper, although it was not exempt from censorship.