TANGO AND IDENTITY: Problematizing the place of afrodescendence in Argentina

Abstract

The tango is the most paradigmatic music of the area of the River Plate. It has been said much and writing a lot on this genre that had conquered crowds in several historical contexts and in different places of the world, but a problem of visibility exists. In its beginnings and later development there is a contribution that it had been hushed up, the “africanía”, on line with the whitening and the historical speech in Argentina that had turned the african group and afrodescendents in the “first missing people”, a speech that had been repeated as common sense and with which is difficult to fight. If the music is an important generator of identities, it is necessary not to lose of sight the participation and the afro stamp in the archetypal genre that defines the “argentinidad”, and is typical of the of the River Plate region, because it contributes to the definition of a multicultural frame where the african fingerprint, among others, defines the “argentinidad” and, in general, its stamp is strong in the area of the River Plate. According to estimations and pilot tests, it is estimated that two millions argentinians are afrodescendents and the last census (2010) indicated almost 150.000 persons recognized themselves as this, for the first time in the national history.

Key words: tango, identity, music, Argentina, afro-descendence.