The goodness of the waters: thermal springs, between public health and recreation (Uruguay, 1957 – 1970)

Abstract

This article is focused on knowing and comprehending which health-related notions were attributed to thermal springs of the department of Paysandú, Uruguay, between the end of the 1950s and the 1970s. The approach is based on the perspective of cultural history, with methodological tools from local history. The selected sources for this research were: local and national press, decrees and documents from Paysandú’s Departmental Board and Government, hygiene programs and handbooks from the School of Medicine, commemorative albums of Paysandú and photographs taken from Guaviyú during the timeframe of this study. We can conclude that although the discovery of the thermal springs waters was accidental and its first users were the local population, the governmental actor soon started to play a stronger ordering role, regulating the practices in the area in an interventionism based mainly on social medicine and the need to foster people’s health. The sources also indicate that from 1970s on, these spaces also started to incorporate more recreational activities, aiming at the establishment of an entertainment market.