The (very formal) faces of culture: Senses of national identity in the banknotes of the Uruguayan peso

This article proposes an analysis of the design of Uruguay’s national currency from a semiotic perspective. The corpus consists of the front sides of the seven Uruguayan peso banknotes currently in circulation. Through the examination of a set of significant oppositions and a comparative approach in...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Moreno, Sebastián
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:Uruguay
Institution:Universidad ORT Uruguay
Repository:RAD
Language:Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:rad.ort.edu.uy:20.500.11968/7610
Online Access:https://revistas.ort.edu.uy/inmediaciones-de-la-comunicacion/article/view/4073
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11968/7610
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:semiótica
Uruguay
moneda
peso uruguayo
identidad nacional
semiotics
currency
Uruguayan peso
national identity
Uruguai
moeda
peso uruguaio
identidade nacional
Description
Summary:This article proposes an analysis of the design of Uruguay’s national currency from a semiotic perspective. The corpus consists of the front sides of the seven Uruguayan peso banknotes currently in circulation. Through the examination of a set of significant oppositions and a comparative approach involving banknotes from other currencies in the region, the analysis highlights the formality of the portraits featured on the Uruguayan banknotes. This design choice is interpreted as an enunciative mark linked to the formality and official character of the national state.