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Spanish versionLearning More About Argentine Spanish (Part II)
The History of the ´Colectivo` (Bus) Transport Serviceby Mariángeles Di Paola
Buenos Aires, October, 2009
In this article we will present the history of an Argentine Spanish word -'colectivo'. First-time visitors to Argentina or even Spanish speakers who are curious about the origin (entymology) and meaning of some words may be interested in this work. The author has previously written another article about other Argentinian terms, ´Learning More about Argentine Spanish (Part I).'
In Argentina people say ´colectivo´ instead of ´autobús´ when talking about the vehicles used for short-distance travel. This term was first used on September 28th, 1928, when a group of taxi drivers created a ‘bus-car’ for the city of Buenos Aires, offering a transportation service cheaper than travel by taxi and from which they could still make a living. At that time there were only some other means of transportation: buses, streetcars, and subways. But, at its inception, the new means of transport service only had four seats; it was expanded to accomodate ten passengers later. Nowadays, ‘colectivos’ have a seating capacity of about 25 travelers plus plenty of room for standing passengers.
It was not easy at all to incorporate the `colectivo` transport service into Buenos Aires and the rest of the country. The owners of the vehicles had to wait until 1949, when they were considerably more, organized, and also supported by Juan Domingo Perón`s government. Previous governments had placed unachievable demands upon the owners of vehicles including regulations that agreed to the exportation of the `colectivos`. (Incidentally, this type of car originated in the United States; at that time, cars, freezer storage and oil companies -all of them American industries- came to Argentina). All these facts delayed the implementation of the colectivo as a widespread means of transportation.
At that same time, British companies ruled the streetcars, railways, and meat industry. These companies showed a decrease in profits as the new means of transportation flourished and gave them an edge over other nations, and this was something with which the British could not compete. This is not a value judgment for or against any government or investors, but it is an attempt to describe the situation and the times, which is the struggle of bus drivers with a nationalist ideological background against the presence of foreign capital in Argentina during those years.
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| First `colectivos` of Buenos Aires. | One of the most crowded bus stops. |
The solidarity of the common people
Something which may be considered trivial, but also significant from a social actor's point of view, happened during those 21 years (1928-1949) characterized by disagreements as the colectivos were consolidated.
At the end of September 1936, the bus drivers went on strike to protest a law that limited the transportation services that they could offered. It lasted 13 days! By that time, a large portion of the population travelled by colectivo. While Buenos Aires only had 2,415,443 inhabitants--according to the municipal census taken place that year, thousands of people from the suburbs came in to the city to work, as is still true today. Thus the strike had wide reaching implications. In retaliation for the strike, the police closed down all bus lines and seized the vehicles. The town council responded by sending their own vehicles named municipal ´colectivos´ into the streets but the loyal passengers did not use them!
Considering these significant social facts frames the historic events, the sources and the development of Spanish words (or any other language). This is a demonstration that words are not just words, in the trivial sense of the term. Thus we can say that the word ´colectivo´ in Argentina refers to a relatively efficient, popular, cheap means of transportion. But, understanding the social struggles that accompanied the implementation of this transport service teaches us something more about the history of Argentina.
Bibliography
Casal, Horacio N., Historia del colectivo (´The history of the bus transport service´), Buenos Aires, Centro Editor de América Latina, 1971.
Villecco Pizarro, Miguel, República Argentina. Cronologías de hechos trascendentes, hombres trascendentes, gobiernos contemporáneos. Base de datos. Desde 1450 hasta 1950 (´Argentina. Chronologies of important facts, transcendent men, contemporary governments. Database. From 1450 until 1950´), La Plata, Ed. Universitaria de La Plata, 2008.
Acknowledgement
Zoë Stavri, a linguist from the USA, for her contributions when proofreading and correcting my translation of this work from Spanish into English.
Something which may be considered trivial, but also significant from a social actor's point of view, happened during those 21 years (1928-1949) characterized by disagreements as the colectivos were consolidated.
At the end of September 1936, the bus drivers went on strike to protest a law that limited the transportation services that they could offered. It lasted 13 days! By that time, a large portion of the population travelled by colectivo. While Buenos Aires only had 2,415,443 inhabitants--according to the municipal census taken place that year, thousands of people from the suburbs came in to the city to work, as is still true today. Thus the strike had wide reaching implications. In retaliation for the strike, the police closed down all bus lines and seized the vehicles. The town council responded by sending their own vehicles named municipal ´colectivos´ into the streets but the loyal passengers did not use them!
Considering these significant social facts frames the historic events, the sources and the development of Spanish words (or any other language). This is a demonstration that words are not just words, in the trivial sense of the term. Thus we can say that the word ´colectivo´ in Argentina refers to a relatively efficient, popular, cheap means of transportion. But, understanding the social struggles that accompanied the implementation of this transport service teaches us something more about the history of Argentina.
Bibliography
Casal, Horacio N., Historia del colectivo (´The history of the bus transport service´), Buenos Aires, Centro Editor de América Latina, 1971.
Villecco Pizarro, Miguel, República Argentina. Cronologías de hechos trascendentes, hombres trascendentes, gobiernos contemporáneos. Base de datos. Desde 1450 hasta 1950 (´Argentina. Chronologies of important facts, transcendent men, contemporary governments. Database. From 1450 until 1950´), La Plata, Ed. Universitaria de La Plata, 2008.
Acknowledgement
Zoë Stavri, a linguist from the USA, for her contributions when proofreading and correcting my translation of this work from Spanish into English.
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