Juan Álvarez (3 September 1878 – 8 April 1954) was a judge and historian born in Gualeguaychú, province of Entre Ríos, Argentina.

His father, Serafín Álvarez, was an exiled Republican Spaniard; within the family, discussions about society, politics and religion were common.

He lived most of his life in this dynamic and rapidly growing city of the province of Santa Fe, and made friends within the professional and business elite, as well as firm links with other Argentine intellectuals.

This topic was especially relevant due to the wave of nationalistic pride sweeping Argentina near the centennial of its liberation from Spain (the May Revolution of 1810).

His thesis about the asymmetric relationships between his adopted home town, Rosario, and the capital city of Santa Fe, opposes the dynamism of the former (devoid of a colonial past or an aristocratic class) and the bureaucratic tradition of the latter.