Felipe Pigna
Encyclopedia
Felipe Pigna, born in Mercedes
, Buenos Aires
, in 1959, is an Argentine
historian
and writer. He's currently among the best selling book authors from Argentina.
, directing the Ver la Historia project. This produced 13 documentaries covering the 1776–2001 period of the History of Argentina
. He is also a columnist, appears on radio programs, and contributes to several newspapers and magazines such as Noticias, Veintitrés and Todo es Historia, and is also the director of Caras y Caretas magazine.
He has served as a history adviser for TV networks such as HBO, People & Arts, Italy
's RAI
, and Spain
's Antena 3
. He was also a columnist of Historia Confidencial, an Argentine TV show.
Committed to popularizing history, Pigna is a CEO and writes for the historically-focused website El Historiador (The Historian). He is often seen in the media talking about historical subjects. He is the host of Vida y Vuelta, a television program of historical documentaries and interviews.
With Mario Pergolini
, Pigna wrote, produced and hosted Algo habrán hecho por la historia argentina
, a TV show aired in 2005 (and later released in a set of DVD
s) which combines documentary, humor and free reenactments of historical events. The show granted him a Martín Fierro award
, and in his acceptance speech he dedicated the prize to some of his favourite historical national heroes, namely Mariano Moreno
, Juan José Castelli
, Manuel Belgrano
and Manuel Dorrego
.
Historians Tulio Halperín Dongui and Luis Alberto Romero
made strong criticism Pigna's style, and refuse to consider his work as real history books even if Pigna is a professional historian. They consider that his works do not show historiographical culture, general culture or literary talent, and that the works cited in them are misquoted or taken out of context. Pigna replied that foreign works accept and acknowledge subjective views, that his aim was to make the history of Argentina easy to understand by all people, and that an opposing approach to the topic was elitist.
Mercedes, Buenos Aires
Mercedes is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located 100 km west from Buenos Aires and 30 km south west of Luján. It is the head town of the district of Mercedes as well as of the judicial district...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, in 1959, is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and writer. He's currently among the best selling book authors from Argentina.
Biography
Pigna teaches at the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos PellegriniEscuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini
The Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini is a public high school in Buenos Aires, and it is one of the most prestigious in Argentina and Latin America....
, directing the Ver la Historia project. This produced 13 documentaries covering the 1776–2001 period of the History of Argentina
History of Argentina
The history of Argentina is divided by historians into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time, or early history , the colonial period , the independence wars and the early post-colonial period of the nation and the history of modern Argentina .The beginning of prehistory in the present territory of...
. He is also a columnist, appears on radio programs, and contributes to several newspapers and magazines such as Noticias, Veintitrés and Todo es Historia, and is also the director of Caras y Caretas magazine.
He has served as a history adviser for TV networks such as HBO, People & Arts, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
's RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's Antena 3
Antena 3 (Spain)
Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....
. He was also a columnist of Historia Confidencial, an Argentine TV show.
Committed to popularizing history, Pigna is a CEO and writes for the historically-focused website El Historiador (The Historian). He is often seen in the media talking about historical subjects. He is the host of Vida y Vuelta, a television program of historical documentaries and interviews.
With Mario Pergolini
Mario Pergolini
Mario Daniel Pergolini is an Argentine journalist, media producer and businessman, best known as the former main host of the television programme Caiga Quien Caiga broadcast on Argentina's Telefe....
, Pigna wrote, produced and hosted Algo habrán hecho por la historia argentina
Algo habrán hecho por la historia argentina
Algo habrán hecho por la historia argentina is a documentary film for television that narrates the history of Argentina. It was created by the argentine historian Felipe Pigna, who acted as presenter...
, a TV show aired in 2005 (and later released in a set of DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s) which combines documentary, humor and free reenactments of historical events. The show granted him a Martín Fierro award
Martín Fierro Awards
Martín Fierro is the name of the most prominent awards for Argentine radio and television, granted by APTRA, the Association of Argentine Television and Radio Journalists. The awards were first given in 1959, limited to television. The next year, the awards adopted its current name, after José...
, and in his acceptance speech he dedicated the prize to some of his favourite historical national heroes, namely Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution....
, Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...
, Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
and Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
.
Style
The works of Felipe Pigna are not aimed to the academic public, but to the masses. To this purpose, he employs slang, plain language, and some humor and references to the reader. He attempts to relate the historical Argentina with modern Argentina, setting parallelisms between past and modern events or circumstances. He considers that events do not really repeat themselves exactly because circumstances change, but if certain contexts are broadly the same, the consequences are likely to be broadly the same, such as wealth gaps leading to authoritarian governments. His works usually describe history as a dispute between the people and the powerful classes, where the later ones oppressed the population both now and then, and even so people would manage to achieve some victories, even if short-lived.Historians Tulio Halperín Dongui and Luis Alberto Romero
Luis Alberto Romero
Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel , known as Luis Alberto, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Sevilla FC as a forward.-Football career:...
made strong criticism Pigna's style, and refuse to consider his work as real history books even if Pigna is a professional historian. They consider that his works do not show historiographical culture, general culture or literary talent, and that the works cited in them are misquoted or taken out of context. Pigna replied that foreign works accept and acknowledge subjective views, that his aim was to make the history of Argentina easy to understand by all people, and that an opposing approach to the topic was elitist.
Works
Some of Pigna's works include:- Historia. El mundo contemporáneo (2000) ISBN 950-534-616-6.
- Historia. La Argentina contemporánea (2000) ISBN 950-534-651-4.
- Pasado en Presente (2001).
- Historia Confidencial (2003) ISBN 950-49-0991-4.
- Los mitos de la historia argentinaLos mitos de la historia argentinaLos mitos de la historia argentina is a series of books written by Felipe Pigna, focused on the History of Argentina. As of 2010 the series have four books, which span from the Spanish arrival to America up to the governments of Juan Domingo Perón.-Summary:The first book was written in 2004...
(2004) ISBN 987-545-149-5. - The Myths of Argentine History (2005) ISBN 987-545-228-9.
- Los Mitos de la Historia Argentina 2 (2005) ISBN 950-49-1342-3.
- Lo pasado pensado (2005)
- Los mitos de la historia argentina 3(2006)
- Historia confidencial, with José Ignacio García HamiltonJosé Ignacio García HamiltonJosé Ignacio García Hamilton was an Argentine writer, noted historian, lawyer and politician. He was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies for the Radical Civic Union representing Tucumán Province.- Biography :...
and Pacho O'DonnellPacho O'DonnellMario O'Donnell , best known as Pacho O'Donnell, is an Argentine writer, politician and physician who specializes in psychoanalysis.... - 18101810 (book)1810 is an Argentine book of history, written by historian Felipe Pigna. It was written in 2010, in the context of the Bicentennial of Argentina, and it aims to explain the direct and indirect causes of the May Revolution...
- La otra historia de nuestra Revolución fundadora, Editorial Planeta, Buenos Aires 2010 ISBN 978-950-49-2288-9
External links
- Official webpage of Felipe Pigna on El Historiador
- Felipe Pigna personal site