Afro-Argentine Resistance and Accomplishments in Twenty-First Century Argentina

 

 

Activism

 

There is a large number of organizations in Argentina which are fighting for the recognition of African and Afro-descendant people on many different levels (Williams 73). Some of them are governmental organizations, such as the Instituto Nacional contra la discriminación la Xenophobia y el Racismo (INADI) (National Institute against Discrimination), which has a number of programs and projects to fight discrimination and support integration of minorities. They promote a number of holidays and events on their website and give information about several days of commemoration (“Promoción y Desarrollo de Prácticas contra la Discriminación”). Another governmental organization whose agenda includes Afro-descendants is the Comisión Nacional para los Refugios (CONARE) (Refugee Assistance Organization). This organization aims at assisting and protecting refugees coming to Argentina. They provide information about refugees’ rights and provide help in different areas of daily life and integration (“Solicitud De Estatuto De Refugiado“).

 

Other organizations are non-governmental and grassroots organizations. Please note that research in the area is scarce and mostly based on the personal point of view and experiences of the respective scholar. While Judith Anderson, Assistant Professor in the Center for Ethnic Studies at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, identifies the Nigerian Organization, the Afro-Indigenous Coalition and the African Diaspora Work Group as the most active organizations (Anderson 64), Estefaía Luraschi identifies “Asociación Misibamba, Movimiento Afrocultural, Agrupación Xangó, Asociación Civil África y su Diáspora, Asociación Civil ONIRA, Sociedad de Socorros Mutuos ‘Unión Caboverdeana’, and Instituto Argentino para la Igualdad, Diversidad e Integración (IARPIDI)” as the most important Afro-Argentine organizations (Luraschi 99). The official website of the City of Buenos Aires suggests a number of other groups and organizations, such as Africa Vive, Diáspora Africana de la Argentina (DIAFAR), África y su diaspora and the Consejo Nacional de Organizaciones Afro de la Argentina, which brings all these groups together to fight for their common goal of recognition (“Colectividad Afro“). These are just a few amongst many, and throughout the available literature many other active and very committed groups are mentioned that we do not at all want to ignore.

 

At this point it is especially important to mention that not all organizations and activists fighting for the recognition and rights of blacks in Argentina are of Afro-Argentine origin, which often leads to conflicts within the movement. In his article Blacks in Argentina: Contested Representations of Culture and Ethnicity, Frigerio points out how in fact groups of different ethnic origins fight over the right to represent Afro-Argentine or Afro-Latino culture (Frigerio, “Blacks in Argentina” 2). This internal competition within Afro-descendant groups and organizations in Buenos Aires is also confirmed in Anderson’s and Williams’ research (Anderson 98f., Williams 85) and further identified by Williams as one of the major obstacles for Afro-Argentine organizations (Williams 85). Anderson remarks that “Creating a political movement centered on black identity is especially challenging in Latin America where hypo-descent is not the dominant racial ideology“ (63).

 

Williams considers these groups and organizations as one of the major forces fighting for the recognition of black presence in Argentina, and as an important part of the construction of group awareness and a black Argentine identity (85). They provide a forum for Afro-descendants to “experience and reaffirm their cultural heritage” (Williams 85), exchange experiences, and for members of other ethnic communities to get in touch with African and Afro-Latino culture (85). Promoting awareness of African presence in Argentina means challenging the traditional European narrative and creating a multicultural sphere that gives room to a more inclusive history and cultural landscape (85).

 

Another form of resistance against the traditional narrative and the myth of an exclusively European-Argentine identity can be found represented by artistic groups and activists in Buenos Aires. Alejandro Frigerio describes how Afro-descendants and immigrants today still parade the streets playing Candombe music, specifically stating, however, that traditional Argentine Candombe is assumed to have been forgotten ever since the nineteenth century and has been replaced by Uruguayan Candombe (Frigerio, “Blacks in Argentina” 9f.). For further information and our opinion on Candombe in Uruguay and Candombe in Argentina please check out our sections on the topic.

 

Commemoration and Awareness

 

In order to raise awareness for the existence of Afro-Argentines and other Afro-descendants in Argentina, special days for commemoration have been introduced, both on provincial and national levels. Since this project is focusing on Buenos Aires we will point to recently established holidays on the provincial level of Buenos Aires and on the national level of Argentina in general. As previously mentioned, the Día de la mujer Afrodescendiente (Day of the Afro-descendant Woman) was established in the Province of Buenos Aires in 2012. For further information on this day check our section on Afro-Descendant Women in Argentina.

 

In 2011 provincial law established the Día de la Cultura Africano-Argentina (Day of Afro-Argentine History) in honor of María Remedios del Valle. This day aims at the recognition and recovery of African and Afro-Argentine culture in Argentina, acknowledging its contribution and uniqueness (Monkevicius 117f.). In 2013 another law was implemented into the provincial constitution of Buenos Aires, declaring November 8 to be the Día del Afroargentino y de la Cultura Afro (Day of Afro-Argentines and the African Culture). Simultaneously a similar law was passed on the national level declaring the same day (November 8) to be from then on celebrated as the Día Nacional de los/as Afroargentinos/as y la Cultura Afro (National Day of Afro-Argentines and African Culture), again honoring the anniversary of María Remedios del Valle’s death (118). Monkevicius brings attention to the fact that this is the first institutional measure taken on the legislative level to acknowledge the Afro-descendants in Argentina as part of the national government (Monkevicius 118). In addition to a number of events organized by many different Afro-Argentine organizations and activists during this time, a compulsory school program goes along with the Día Nacional de los/as Afroargentinos/as y la Cultura Afro (Día Nacional De La Comunidad Afroargentina Y La Cultura Afro).

 

This official recognition of Afro-descendants as a part of the Argentine history and society is, as Monkevicius puts it, a milestone (118). As great as it is that these first steps are being taken to acknowledge the Afro-descendant community, Argentine society has a history of ignoring constitutional changes. This has been seen many times, from the abolishment of slavery to anti-discriminatory laws which often went ignored. Additionally we have to consider the fact that awareness about the Afro-Argentine community, their culture, and their contribution to Argentine history and culture on a national level is fairly low. For centuries the Afro-Argentine chapter has been omitted from the officially acknowledged Argentine history, and it is questionable how fast this can change. First steps have been taken and we will have to wait to see which direction this will take.

 

Argentine scholar Lea Geler, as you can read in the interview we conducted with her, is very enthusiastic about these days of commemoration, especially towards November 8, the Día Nacional de los/as Afroargentinos/as y la Cultura Afro. As she says, in Argentina all measures taken to strengthen the Afro-Argentine population and culture are important, as the Afro-descendant population used to be marginalized in all representation until just recently. In her opinion it is especially the cooperation with schools and educational institutions on this day that will hopefully lay the foundation for a change in the general Argentine narrative of blanquedad (whiteness).

 

For more general information on the legislative processes concerning Afro-descendants in Argentina on national and international levels please check out our legislation section.