Regardless, I am excited. However, for those of you wondering how my work is going, it is going great. I am sure some of you are wondering why I am in Argentina again. Well first to improve my Spanish, but my main project is to examine the black population here and its dynamics. Let me be the first to tell you that Argentina is a very unique Latin American country when it comes to its black population and history. I have read many things about them and I will say this, THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE HERE! Although, not visible to many residents here, they are here.
Initially when I was deciding to pick this topic I assumed that Argentina would be like Brazil since they are so close to each other. In Brazil about 40 percent of the population is mixed (Pardo or Brown is the classification on the census-this is a mixture of white, black, or indigenous), and there are various black communities across the country. Although marginalized, Afro-Brazilians are visible within the culture and the society. However, what I read about Argentina was that it was nearly 95 percent white and European descent. Yeah, that isn’t a lot of diversity! Nevertheless, I left the US with my idea to study the blacks in Argentina, but I had worries that I would not be able to find a lot of information.
Yet after these past two weeks of reading…and reading…and reading, I have found a great amount of information about Afro-Argentines and also the black narrative in Argentina. However, if I had asked some of the citizens of Buenos Aires, they would have simply told me that there were not many at all. The usual explanation is that blacks died in the yellow fever epidemic during the 1870’s (look at my post about San Telmo, all blacks were impoverished at that time). This is a valid reason, but the history of blacks in Argentina is far more complicated.
The problem here is that Argentina has a very European identity. It is very proud of its European influences and culture, and anything that opposes that is deemed foreign. Like most South American countries, Argentina had a large amount of slavery and was a critical point in the South Atlantic Slave Trade.
Yet the 19th century, some could interpret that one of the Presidents, Sarmiento (President from 1868-1874), wanted to "whiten up" Argentina and get rid of blacks here. During his presidency he put many black men on the front line in wars. Consequently, many black men died in these dangerous positions. The interesting part about it is that although slavery was abolished in 1813, many black men were not free until they fought in a war.
Since so many black men died in war, many of the black women had to marry European immigrants during the later part of the 19th century. The mixing of races caused many to take on and claim their European ancestry and deny their black ancestors. Some studys say that about 5 percent of the population in Argentina may have African heritage. Regardless, many families denied this heritage and ignored it to maintain a better position in society.
So in terms of the Afro-Argentine there are some here, however many Argentines forget about the blacks that mixed into their population. Also there was an immigration from the country Cape Verde during the early part of the 20th century. As some of you may know, Cape Verde is an island off of the coast of Africa. Many Argentines do not know this information though because it is overlooked by the huge immigration that took place during the same time from Italy and Spain. Furthermore, the Cape Verde community is very small, about 8000 people, and it is located outside the city of Buenos Aires in the province. Hopefully, I can interview somebody who is in charge of this community so I can further my research.
An additional aspect about blacks is the African immigrants who came here during the 1990’s. Many came from the coasts of Africa. These immirgarnts make up the countless vendors on the street who sell jewelry (not real gold, but metal etc.). One of the guys I talked to was actually from Senegal.
What all blacks who live in Argentina have in common is the fact is that they face discrimination in the education system, work force, health system, and on a daily basis. This is usually because they are thought of as invisible since there are so “little” blacks here.
I know I have said a lot, about Argentina, and some of you guys who read this may be thinking now, “If it’s like that there, why the hell are you there?” Well to be honest, I never thought it would be like this but it has opened my eyes up to a lot of things about race relations and also it has forced me to compare the US to Argentina in regards to blacks. I know I am very fortunate because although in the US we have our problems with race, I know that my voice is far louder then it would be here. Also when I interact with people everyone is still kind to me. I am a foreigner and this is not my land so I don’t face discrimination here like the blacks who live here. I cannot imagine the struggle they most go through in order to be seen and heard by the Argentine society. Regardless it is an eye opening experience!
Also, the first president of Argentina had African ancestry. (WOW) His name was Benardino Rivadavia (President from 1826 to 1827) and he was actually called the “Doctor Chocolate” because of his heritage by his political rivals. Nevertheless, he played down the fact that he was part black, and many Argentines do not openly acknowledge his roots. Pretty ironic that Argentina had a black President (in one regard), before the US in 2009….
In addition to that I went to a club last night that was founded by African refugees. I have never seen so many black people in Buenos Aires in one place. All of them were workers at the club (bouncers, bartenders, etc.). Although it was still a small number, about 15-20, they all seemed to be from different parts. For example one guy was from Bogota, Columbia; where as the other guy was from the Dominican Republic. I talked to the Dominican guy for a minute and we made jokes about the Argentines not knowing how to dance salsa and not knowing what Bachata music was. Furthermore, I asked him if he experienced racism and he stated that it was definitely here in Buenos Aires. After that I thought about Argentina and US for a moment. For many in Argentina, there is a denial in acknowledging that there is racism here. However, it is displayed through the experiences of blacks who live there day to day lives in this country.
Anyways, I think I have said enough! Sorry for making it so long, but I could have gone on and on about the other things I have found about this topic. I will be sure to keep you all posted after I do some more research and my interviews.
Until then,
-Ray
Also the following pictures are of the English Tower in Buenos Aires, one of the plazas close by, and the Immigrant Museum. The Immigrant Museum is located in the Port part of the city and was actually a hotel built to house all the immigrants that came in the beginning of the 20th century.
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