The fighting laugh: The satire and the derision in Paraguayan newspapers during the War of the Triple Alliance

ABSTRACT:

During the War of the Triple Alliance against Paraguay (1865-1870), Solano López interest and investment in the creation of newspapers that served the interests of the Paraguayan government's war propaganda and the elevation of the morale of the troops. Specially targeted at Paraguayan soldiers, the newspapers “El Centinela” and “Cabichuí”, possessed among their characteristics colloquialism and the constant appeal to humor and laughter. With a language that approached really the daily oral and encouraging group reading, these newspapers aimed to reach the laughter of their readers / listeners through the sarcasm, degradation and depreciation of the enemy. Our aim is to discuss how the laughter, which at first seems to be a minor element in the great specter of war, may take on other features if analyzed from the perspective of cultural history. To that end, our methodology has as its motto the analysis of texts and images published in Paraguayan newspapers, especially those referring to Brazilians, in order to understand the appropriations of the "other" made by the Paraguayan press during the war, which were inserted in a spectrum of the provocation of the laughter and were forged with intentions directed to the war effort.

Keywords:
War of the Triple Alliance; Paraguayan Press; Laugh