Historiography of the May Revolution
The last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th were marked in Argentina by a growing industrialization process and the arrival of huge numbers of European immigrants. Historiographical studies were increased by the ""New Historical school"", in order to forge a "national identity", and the May Revolution had great prominence. There were discussions about the level of influence that the many causes of the May Revolution actually had, or whose interventions were the most decisive, but two points shared by all historians were to consider the May Revolution as the birth of Argentina, and to consider it an inevitable consequence of the causes that led to it (meaning, the chance of the May Revolution never taking place is not considered a feasible possibility by historians). There was also a subtle change: the scope of the revolution as a subject of study originally "started" with the events of May 1810 in Buenos Aires and kept going on for decades. They were later split, and the name "May Revolution" made reference only to events that led to the removal of Cisneros and the creation of the Primera Junta. A new element added by those historians was to consider, either to support or reject the idea, whenever there was an active and strong popular support for the Revolution, instead of explaining it solely around the actions of a limited number of enlightened men. Nevertheless, they kept the previous approaches for the most part.
Legacy of the May Revolution
The May 25 anniversary is the subject of articles each year in children's magazines in Argentina, for example "Billiken", and is described in textbooks used in primary schools. These publications often omit some aspects of the historical event, as their violence and political content might be considered inappropriate for minors, such as the arming of the population following the preparations for the second British invasion, or the class struggle between the Criollos and the Spanish peninsulares. Children's literature often portrays the revolution as an event devoid of violence that inevitably would have happened one way or another, and the emphasis is on secondary issues such as whether or not it rained that day, or whether the use of umbrellas was widespread or limited to a minority. Presented as archetypal of the revolution is the presence of various workers, including a "mazamorreros" delivering pies among the people in the plaza on May 25. School plays or TV numbers on the national holiday would include such recreated scenes.
The Argentina Centennial led to the creation of many different works and representations. Chilean painter Pedro Subercaseaux created many related paintings after requests from Ángel Carranza, such as "Cabildo abierto del 22 de mayo de 1810"; Mariano Moreno writing in his desk; the embrace of Maipú between San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins; and the first playing of the Argentine National Anthem. Such works would later become canonical images. The centennial led to the production of "La Revolución de Mayo", an early silent film, shot in 1909 by Mario Gallo; it premiered in 1910. It was the first Argentine fiction film done with professional actors.