Cultura de massas e história intelectual na América Latina: política, imagem e histórias em quadrinhos na revista Casa de las Américas (décadas de 1960-1970)

Mass culture sparked a rich intellectual debate in Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing upon significant references from the regional intellectual discourse, the analyses encompassed topics such as artistic avant-gardes and the media, employing approaches such as semiotics and Marxism. The discussion surrounding comics received special attention. We will examine how comics were discussed in the Cuban magazine Casa de las Américas, with a focus on the role of comics in the magazine and the critical debates over comics within the magazine's pages. The article suggests that cultural magazines are a rich source for mapping out the circulation and the debates on comics in Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s, pointing to the establishment of intellectual networks on the topic and the role of editorial aspects linked to the role of images and comics in the pages of the magazine as part of the editorial strategy to assert its cultural policy. Therefore, Para leer al Pato Donald (1971), by Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart, can be seen not only as a reference but also as a product of these debates, prompting a broader reflection on the role of mass culture in Latin America.