Representation and (re)significance of a modern hero. Caupolicán in classical and nationalist rhetoric

Abstract

The general goal is to explore the interrelationships between the classical rhetoric used by chroniclers to exalt Mapuche heroes and nationalist rhetoric and his current projections to represent the figure of Caupolicán. It is suggested that, the intentional sense of reproducing the image, the individual, social and historical experience of the hero warrior, is associated with the remembrance of resistance that refers to a violent exercise of power. Arguments are analyzed from a power perspective: from the mythical strength of ancients, chroniclers and poets to the mythical power of the nation and of ethno-nationalisms, all of them, permeated by the strength of the representations and images of the figure of the hero. Methodologically heuristics and hermeneutics are used to treat historical texts, preserving their original writing.