Support grows for black awareness in Argentina(2)

In spite of this, their influence remained alive. But towards the end of the 19th century, when the foundations of the Argentine nation were laid, key figures like President Domingo Sarmiento (1868-1874) threw the doors of the country open to white European immigrants and disdained the contribution of black and indigenous peoples.

According to Miriam Gomes, head of the Cape Verdean Mutual Aid Society of Dock Sud, a district near the port of Buenos Aires, the recent influx of African immigrants, since the 1990s, has had the effect of holding up a mirror for the descendants of earlier arrivals to see themselves, an experience they had been denied for centuries.

That is why, lately, the score or so of Afro-descendants' organizations in Argentina, in Buenos Aires and in the country's provincial cities, are trying to emerge from the shadows and proclaim their cultural values, or rediscover them if they have lost all contact with their roots.

"Some people look shocked when we tell them that their kinky hair might mean they have black ancestors," said Victoria Díaz of the Cape Verdean Society . She said that some time ago, a blond white man who had information about a possible African ancestor was surprised when this was confirmed.

The organizations are also trying to shed light on African contributions to typical expressions of national culture, including traditional dances like the tango, the milonga, or the chacarera, as well as candombe. There are also African influences in literature, cuisine, religion and the language.

"In Argentina, the word 'quilombo' means a complete mess, something disorganized or poorly put together, but for us the Quilombo of Palmares is our pride and joy," said Bonga, referring to a settlement of former slaves who escaped from Brazilian plantations during Portuguese colonial rule.

As part of their bid for heightened recognition, the communities held the first "Black Argentina" Festival in Buenos Aires in late May, with performances by music and dance groups, a display of musical instruments, and tables with information about the different Afro-descendants' organizations in the country.

Gómes is in charge of a project titled "Support for the Afro-Argentine Population and Its Grassroots Organizations", aimed at making their work more visible. The project's goal is to foster unity among the descendants of enslaved Africans and Cape Verdeans who arrived in the late 19th century, and recent black immigrants from Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and the Caribbean.

These communities are not represented in the media or the educational system, Bonga said. "We only appear in school plays as vendors of candles and pastries," she complained, about celebrations of the country's independence in which black people are portrayed only in the servant roles forced on them in colonial society.