I have been doing well so far since my return from Brazil. I won’t deny that I miss that country a lot. The difference in people was quite apparent the second I stepped off the plane. Of course not all Argentines are like the stereotypical cold city dwellers that I write them to be. However, they definitely aren’t the fun loving and warm Brazilians that I met during my trip.
What I want to acknowledge here though is not a stereotypical image of Argentina, but instead a noticeable difference in the everyday interactions with people from Brazil and Argentina. Granted, it is far more complex then that-I do want to say thought that Buenos Aires for me is like any big city where the pace of life is so quick and rapid, that people don’t have time to focus on others when they are trying to get somewhere. In Rio, regardless if it was a big city, the people still maintained a friendly attitude. Despite all of this, I will be back to Brazil at some point.
Anyways enough of my obsession with Brazil, let’s talk about my investigation about blacks here in Argentina. So far it has been going great. As I have told you, I have been looking at the marginalization and the issues they face in the Buenos Aires area. Previously, I said that many of the reasons why blacks face issues here is because many people do not believe they exist here. If they are black and they live here then to an Argentine they are certainly foreigners. If there are any blacks here, an Argentine may say “there are very little here-nearly all of them died in the wars or the yellow fever epidemic.” What many Argentines do not know about is the immigration from Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) or about the possible black heritage that some Argentines carry.
Very quickly I will mention Cabo Verde. Cabo Verde is a ring of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa across Senegal. Cabo Verde was once a colony of Portugal, and because of that Cabo Verdeans speak Portuguese. What occurred on Cabo Verde was that many blacks on the islands ended up mixing with many of the Portuguese. Because of this, many Cabo Verdeans look mixed but a bit more European.
Last week I went to Dock Sud in search of a community of people from Cabo Verde. My Spanish teacher had told me about a possible Cabo Verdean community in this area but she wasn’t sure. This neighborhood is located on the outskirts of the city and is considered by some portenos (residents of Buenos Aires) to be a “barrio feo” or an ugly neighborhood. They consider it this because the people there are poorer and the streets and buildings are run down. However, my perception of the area didn’t seem that bad because the people were very friendly. I ended up in the neighborhood by bus and was asking around about it. Initially I was nervous, but I kept asking store owners about the Cabo Verdeans. Finally at one point a store owner gave me the address to a Cabo Verdean community center within 10 minutes from the store.
When I got there I looked a little lost. I was greeted by a man of Cabo Verdean descent who was born in Buenos Aires. The color of his skin was nearly the same as man. He told me to have lunch there in the center with him so we could chat. I quickly explained to him my investigation and what I was looking for. He ended up telling me that his grandmother moved from Cabo Verde to Dock Sud in 1930, and that the community center I was at was established in 1933 as a center of support. Following our discussion about his family, I asked if he had ever experienced racism. He replied to me that he personally never had an experience, yet he knew of some people who have. In addition, he pointed out that blacks face discrimination in the work place and that blacks were some of the most impoverished in Argentina. After this he suggested I come back to the community center so I could speak to more Cabo Verdeans.
After my first visit I went back on Saturday and met 4 older Cabo Verdeans. All of them were in their seventies and were once sailors who traveled around the world by sea. They all had all immigrated from Cabo Verde to Argentina during the 40’s and 50’s for a better work opportunity. This makes a lot of sense because that time was during the most prosperous years for Argentina. At that time Argentina was under the presidency of Juan Peron.
It was a little difficult to understand some of the men because their Spanish had a hint of Portuguese lingering. One also told me that in addition to Portuguese, there was a dialect that was spoken on the island. When they spoke in the dialect briefly it sounded like a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian-it was very distinct.
When I asked them about discrimination one of them told me that racism and discrimination here is “baja la carpeta” or underneath the carpet. It is a quiet racism they said because no one openly admits it.
One man pointed out a man in the doorway to me who looked like a typical white Argentine. He told me that the man told the Cabo Verdean that he had a black grandfather who married a white woman. However, the family did not acknowledge those black roots because there is a certain amount of shame to have African descent. To many Argentines, it is taboo to talk about those pasts. In a study done, it is said that around 5 percent or 2 million people in Argentina have black descent. Pretty interesting to find such things out considering the country supposedly does not have blacks right?
Furthermore, all these things I learned will definitely be included in my final paper. Also tonight I am going to a discussion at the legislature of the city about the human rights and the political affirmation of blacks here in Argentina. I already know that I am going to find some insightful info.
Once I’m done with all my work though, I will have a 20-25 page paper written and I have to present all my findings December 7th. Right now I have 10 pages, and my due date is next Tuesday for my second draft. Wish me luck guys!
As for Thanksgiving, all the kids in my program will be having Thanksgiving at my director’s house. It will not be the same, but I will have to make the most of it. I am already mad because there will be none of grandma’s rice and beans. I have come to terms with that though haha
Anyways, I have 3 more weeks though until it is back to the states…I have already been dreaming of home and school again. I guess that means it's almost time right? Well, not too long guys.
See you soon!
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