Bolívar's Place in an Unhistorical History. Review of La inactualidad de Bolívar. Anacronismo, mito y conciencia histórica - Pablo Aravena

Abstract

Essentially, Pablo Aravena's book - Bolívar's outdatedness. Anachronism, myth and historical consciousness- develops a reflection on the status of history in the present from the idea of ​​historical consciousness, taking as its motive the question of the political construction of Simón Bolívar. The concept of anachronism is here a key to enter the treatment of the problem of historical consciousness in the present. Something anachronistic -an idea, a character, an interpretation, etc.- is that whose use -and abuse- puts it outside of its own time; "out of context" or "out of time" are the colloquial expressions with which this condition usually refers. It is also anachronistic to attribute to a certain character ideas and convictions that belong to the present. In this case, the historical character is anachronized. This is what, according to Aravena, has happened with the figure of Simón Bolívar.