Trenches on Latin American Screens and Football Fields: cultural and Sporting Life in Tacna and Arica (Chile) during the First World War

Abstract

This article analyses how the inhabitants of Tacna and Arica, on the border between Chile and Peru, experienced the First World War (1914–1918), especially regarding culture and sports. Despite its remoteness from military operations, the competition between the belligerent nations affected the region, which impacted different areas, such as football and the cinema. An exhaustive review of the local press and regional documents from the Chilean government revealed how the local population faced events related to the war – neutrality, propaganda, censorship, pacifism – through war movies or football matches. Thus, this article seeks to contribute to the recent historiographical trends that emphasise this conflict’s global scope and its socio-cultural repercussions in Latin America.