and Portuguese

This thesis is the first systematic study on the Teatro por la Identidad (TxI), a theater movement that emerged in Argentina in 2000. TxI productions deal with memory and identity as their main subjects and, aesthetically, follow postmodern trends. This thesis analyzes, first, the origin and evolution of the TxI movement up until 2005, with an emphasis on its geographical extension to other areas in the country and abroad, as well as its impact on theater itself and other areas during the first six years of performances. Second, TxI is defined a social theater and analyzed in the context of the evolution of the Argentine theater itself, in particular in relation to the Teatro Independiente and Teatro Abierto movements. Third, the discussion goes further into TxI as social theater and how it deals with sociopolitical needs represented by the search by the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo of those grandchildren abducted during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Common points are also established between TxI productions and recent theories on memory, such as those suggested by Tzevetan Todorov, Paul Ricoeur and Maurice Halbwachs. Fourth, TxI productions are assessed from the point of view of postmodern trends that have been present in the Argentin