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| − | The last decade of
| + | #redirect [[Argentina, Theosophy in]] |
| − | the 18th century saw the appearance of a group of very
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| − | special people, bred in the ideals of Liberty, Equality and
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| − | Fraternity. Known as the Generation of the 90’s, they
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| − | greatly influenced the political and economic organization
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| − | of the Latin American nations. But, above all, they
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| − | laid the foundations of an American culture and thought.
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| − | Especially in Argentina they set, from public office, an example
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| − | of moral conduct which was the inspiration of the
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| − | generations to come.
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| − | In this environment flourished the first Theosophical
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| − | Lodge “Luz” (Light), which was founded in Buenos Aires,
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| − | on January 7, 1893. Its first President was Antonia Martinez
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| − | Royo and the house where it was established could be
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| − | seen up to 1953 almost unchanged. Meetings took place on
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| − | Sunday afternoons and the main feature of this period was
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| − | that most of the members were well-known public persons:
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| − | deputies, senators, writers, scientists, teachers,
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| − | among them Federico W. Fernandez, Alejandro Sorondo,
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| − | Leopoldo Lugones, Alfredo B. Palacios, Joaquin V. Gonzalez,
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| − | Jose Ingenieros, Rodolfo Moreno, names that can be
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| − | found nowadays in any book concerning Argentine history.
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| − | Argentina has been the center of the theosophical
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| − | movement in South America. Consequent upon the establishment
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| − | of Lodge “Luz” in Buenos Aires other Lodges
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| − | were formed in neighboring countries: Uruguay, Chile,
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| − | Paraguay and Brazil. As there were three Lodges working
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| − | in Buenos Aires when Henry OLCOTT visited that city in
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| − | 1901, he suggested the foundation of a South American
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| − | Section, appointing Luis Scheiner as his correspondent,
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| − | but this did not take place until 1930.
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| − | On July 6, 1919, the representatives from eight Argentine
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| − | Lodges, one from Uruguay and one from Paraguay,
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| − | making a total of 264 members, formed the Argentine Section
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| − | of the Theosophical Society. Several magazines were
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| − | published. The first General Secretary was Federico Valles
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| − | Vargas and the following General Secretaries succeeded
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| − | him:<br>
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| − | :Mario Martinez de Arroyo<br>
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| − | :Alfredo Escardo<br>
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| − | :Annie Mannie Gowland<br>
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| − | :Adrian Madril<br>
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| − | :Arturo Montesano Delchi<br>
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| − | :Carlos Stoppel<br>
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| − | :Honorio Folquer<br>
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| − | :Raul Wyngard<br>
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| − | :Jose Maria Olivares<br>
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| − | :Mariano Calvo<br>
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| − | :Enrique Gossweiler<br>
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| − | :Nazareno Rimini<br>
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| − | :Andrea Ponde<br>
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| − | :Luis Spairani<br>
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| − | :Manuel Farinish<br>
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| − | :Juan Vinas<br>
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| − | :Juan Cassibba<br>
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| − | :Juan Carlos Palmeri<br>
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| − | :Nora Spairani<br>
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| − | :Silvia Blajer<br>
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| − | :Jorge Cesano<br>
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| − | :Silvia Liliana Pastore<br>
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| − | Journals. Pre-Sectional.<br>
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| − | :1895: ''Luz Astral''<br>
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| − | :1898: ''Philadelphia''<br>
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| − | :1905: ''La Verdad''<br>
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| − | :1912: ''La Estrella De Occidente''<br>
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| − | :1913: ''La Cruz Del Sur''<br>
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| − | :1917: ''Ondas Buddhicas''<br>
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| − | From 1919 on<br>
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| − | ::''Teosofia En El Plata''<br>
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| − | :1944: ''Revista Teosofica Argentine''<br>
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| − | :1958: ''Teosofia''<br>
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| − | :1972: ''America Teosofica''<br>
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| − | :1981: ''Informativo Teosofico''<br>
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| − | :1990: ''Cambios''<br>
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| − | Since 1947, the translation into Spanish of ''The Theosophist''
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| − | has been undertaken and published regularly and distributed
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| − | to all the Spanish-speaking countries.
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| − | In 1954 there were 65 Lodges, 98 Groups and 1531
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| − | members. Acharacteristic of this period was the formation
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| − | of many Lodges that lasted only for a short time.
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| − | In 1992 there were 500 members, working in 28
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| − | Lodges in Argentina and one Lodge in Paraguay. The premises
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| − | in the following cities belong to the Section: Buenos
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| − | Aires, Rosaria, Cordoba, Mendoza, San Rafael, Carlos
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| − | Paz, Mar del Plata, Rio Cuarto, San Lorenzo and La Plata.
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| − | The General Secretary and the National Council work
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| − | in Buenos Aires. The National Journal ''Cambios'' is published
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| − | quarterly. It is sent to members, public libraries,
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| − | schools, universities, etc. An important activity is carried
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| − | on by the Department of Information, in the city of
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| − | Rosario, which prepares slides, audio-visuals, and videos
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| − | for rent and distribution among Lodges and for the public.
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| − | Workshops and training courses are often held all over the
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| − | country to train members on group work speech, study
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| − | techniques, research, etc. In 1985 the Theosophical Society
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| − | took part in an Educational Congress organized by the
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| − | Argentine National Government, with the presentation of a
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| − | project on education based on theosophical principles.
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| − | An outstanding event in the activities of this Section
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| − | since 1990 is the participation in an International Book
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| − | Fair, which is held in Buenos Aires every year. About a
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| − | million people visit this Fair and it is a good opportunity to
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| − | sell books, distribute leaflets and programs of activities in
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| − | the different centers. Lately, similar activities have been
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| − | started in inland towns.
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| − | A Summer School is held for a fortnight every year,
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| − | and a Winter School for a week. National gatherings are
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| − | held in different parts of the country all year long. Radio
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| − | programs have been broadcast for the last ten years in several
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| − | cities.
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| − | The Argentine Printing Press was founded in 1953, and
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| − | dozens of theosophical books have been printed in Spanish
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| − | and distributed to the Spanish-speaking countries. Books
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| − | are not only sent to the Sections but also to public bookshops.
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| − | The Argentine Section is building, little by little, a
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| − | camp — Colonia Teosofica — in San Rafael, province of
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| − | Mendoza, a region near the imposing mountain range of
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| − | Los Andes. The design includes a five-wing star shaped
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| − | building to be used for dormitories, dining room, lecture
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| − | room and library. At present three wings have been built
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| − | and Summer and Winter Schools are held there, with the
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| − | presence of members from different provinces and also
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| − | from neighboring countries, such as Brazil, Uruguay,
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| − | Bolivia and Chile.
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| − | Young people took an active part in the Argentine Section
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| − | from an early time. In 1962 an Argentine Federation
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| − | was formed and then an Inter-American Federation (1973)
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| − | which was active for several years. The main characteristic
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| − | of this movement was that it was not apart from the Sectional
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| − | activities but participated actively in everything carried
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| − | on by the National officers. At present, several groups
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| − | are working in the country and holding Summer and Winter
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| − | Camps.
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| − | The ROUND TABLE was founded in 1905 and it is still
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| − | working in several cities.
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| − | The THEOSOPHICAL ORDER OF SERVICE has also been
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| − | working for a long time. In 1990 it was revitalized thanks
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| − | to the appointment of a new Director and the implementation
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| − | of new activities.
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| − | The South American Federation which worked between
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| − | 1930 and 1962 held its first Congress in Argentina,
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| − | in April 1930.The idea of a Federation that could include the whole
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| − | of the American continent was always cherished by the Argentine
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| − | members. Juan Vinas, a well-known lecturer,
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| − | started traveling through the different countries in order to
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| − | strengthen the links between them. Finally, when the
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| − | Inter-American Federation was definitely formed in 1972,
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| − | Luis Spairani, from Argentina, was elected as its first President.
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| − | He gave the Federation a strong impulse which set
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| − | the direction of the work in the years to come.
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| − | [[Contributors|N.S.]]
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