AN AFRICAN COMMUNITY IN ARGENTINA:

THE CAPE VERDEANS                         

by Prof. Miriam Gomes

Buenos Aires, Argentina: The Cape Verdean community of Argentina is made up of approximately 8,000 residents according to the 1980 census.

Actually it is the only organized black community in Argentina. Even though there have always existed, of course, the black descendants of the former Argentine slaves and there are immigrants from African countries, those groups are neither unified nor do they view themselves as a community. Rather, they are dispersed in pockets throughout the country.

Most of the Cape Verdeans and their descendents are concentrated in the province of Buenos Aires. There they have organizations which hold them together: the SOCIETY OF MUTUAL AID "THE CAPE VERDEAN UNION" of Dock-Sud(South Dock) and the CAPE VERDEAN SPORT AND CULTURE CLUB of Ensenada. Both organizations have existed for more than 60 years.

Even though there is evidence that some Cape Verdeans had already arrived in Argentina by the end of the last century, the first great wave of Cape Verdean immigrants began arriving in the 1920s and continued until the Second World War. The seafaring character of Cape Verdeans essentially determined that these immigants would settle near seaports and make their living in jobs connected to the sea. And even though, the immigration to the Americas by of Cape Verdeans was not forced, as with other African peoples, it WAS forced all the same by living conditions on the Cape Verdes. The great exodus by Cape Verdean from their homeland came about for many reasons, among them, their opposition to the Portuguese colonial administrators, their lack of jobs and recourses on the islands, but also, to a certain measure, their spirit of adventure and love of seafaring.

Those were the things, in the past, which linked together our diasporic commuity. But today, in actuality, what keeps us united? More than anything, it is our realization that we are in an Argentine society which has a big dose of racism and which is disintegrating.

In the first place, that which keeps us united, in my opinion, is the sense of belonging to a group and the constant reminder of the ethical and cultural values of our mother islands. Without a doubt, this sense of belonging brings about many problems. One of them is living in a society that does not accept differences among peoples. The person who doesn't conform is forced to live on the margins of society. That ranges from suffering taunts from classmates in elementary school, to snide and sly remarks on the street, to the loss of opportunities for jobs due to discrimination.

The former consitution of Argentina, modified in 1994, restricted the immigration of people of african or asian origin, while encouraging that of europeans. The Cape Verdeans were accepted because they came to Argentina with Portuguese passports when the Cape Verdes was still a colony of Portugal.

Our problems in Argentina include the constant bombardement by the media of messages which demean the image of Africa, which impose of an idea of beauty that doesn't include us, and which presents of black people in films as either subservient or criminal. These are all images which work against integrating young people of African descent in the society. It hurts our young people's sense of self-worth, and it perpetuates a situation which keeps us on the margins of Argentine society.

The Cape Verdean community of Argentina today faces the challenges, both, of building it's self-esteem, while continuing to struggle to maintain it's unique identity. To those ends, in 1932 we established in Buenos Aires the S.S.M "Cape Verdean Union."