Rethinking Race in Modern Argentina This book reconsiders the relationship between race and nation in Argentina during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and places Argentina firmly in dialogue with the literature on race and nation in LatinAmerica,fromwhereithaslongbeenexcludedormarginalizedas a purportedly white, European exception in a mixed-race region. The contributors,basedbothinNorthAmericaandArgentina,hailfromthe fields of history, anthropology, and literary and cultural studies. Their chapterscollectivelydestabilizewidespreadcertaintiesaboutArgentina, showing that whiteness in that country has more in common with practicesandideologiesofmestizajeand“racialdemocracy”elsewhere in the region than has typically been acknowledged. The chapters also situateArgentinawithinthewell-establishedliteratureonrace,nation, and whiteness in world regions beyond Latin America (particularly, other European “settler societies”). The collection thus contributes to rethinkingraceforotherglobalcontextsaswell. paulina l. alberto isAssociateProfessorofHistory andRomance LanguagesandLiteraturesattheUniversityofMichigan. eduardo elena is Associate Professor of History at the University ofMiami. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:01:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:01:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Rethinking Race in Modern Argentina PAULINA L. ALBERTO AND EDUARDO ELENA Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:01:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013–2473,USA CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107107632 ©PaulinaAlbertoandEduardoElena2016 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2016 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData RethinkingraceinmodernArgentina/PaulinaL.AlbertoandEduardoElena,eds. pages cm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn978-1-107-10763-2(Hardcopy:alk.paper) 1. Argentina–Racerelations. I. Alberto,PaulinaL.,1975–editor,author. II. Elena,Eduardo, 1972–editor,author. f3021.a1r482015 305.800982–dc23 2015028908 isbn978-1-107-10763-2Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:01:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Contents Listof figures page vii Listof tables ix Notes on the contributors xi Preface xv Introduction: The shades of the nation 1 PaulinaL.AlbertoandEduardoElena part i histories of race in the twentieth century 1 Insecure whiteness: Jews between civilization and barbarism, 1880s–1940s 25 SandraMcGeeDeutsch 2 People aslandscape: The representation of the criollo Interiorin early touristliterature in Argentina, 1920–30 53 OscarChamosa 3 Black inBuenos Aires: The transnational career of Oscar Alemán 73 MatthewB.Karush 4 La cocina criolla:A history of food and race intwentieth-century Argentina 99 RebekahE.Pite 5 “Invisible Indians,” “degenerate descendants”:Idiosyncrasiesof mestizaje inSouthern Patagonia 126 MarielaEvaRodríguez 6 Race and class through the visual cultureof Peronism 155 EzequielAdamovsky v Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:22:29, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 vi Contents 7 Argentina inblack and white:Race,Peronism, and thecolorof politics, 1940sto the present 184 EduardoElena part ii race and nation in the new century 8 Africandescent and whiteness inBuenos Aires: Impossible mestizajes in thewhite capital city 213 LeaGeler 9 The savage outside of White Argentina 241 GastónGordillo 10 Between foreigners and heroes: Asian-Argentines ina multicultural nation 268 ChisuTeresaKo 11 Indias blancas,negrosfebriles: Racial stories and history-making in contemporary Argentine fiction 289 PaulinaL.Alberto Epilogue: Whiteness and its discontents 318 GeorgeReidAndrews Collective bibliography 327 Index 361 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:22:29, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Figures 1 Tourists observingthe local “types” inTucumán. page 66 2 Argentine touristvisiting her country. 67 3 Argentine woman packing golf clubs in preparation fora trip to theInterior. 68 4 The Moreira Sextet, 1917. 75 5 “Les Loups” musical performers. 77 6 Oscar Alemán performing on stage. 83 7 Oscar Alemán withJosephine Baker. 85 8 Oscar Alemán withHoracio Salgán. 89 9 “CocinaGaucha” (Gaucho Cuisine). 106 10 Chef Antonio Gonzaga. 109 11 Doña Petrona: Empanadasfrom SantiagodelEstero. 117 12 The “average” family of Peronist Argentina. 164 13 Poster of“Juan Pueblo” for the First Five-Year Plan. 165 14 FiestaCriolla pamphlet. 166 15 Anelderly Afro-Argentine woman and family. 169 16 Juan D. Perón andAfro-Argentine boy. 171 17 The comic strip “Chispita y Grillito.” 172 18 Juan D. Perón andthe Peronist coat ofarms. 172 19 Rally inthe Plaza de Mayo. 176 vii Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 13 Sep 2018 at 21:27:00, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 13 Sep 2018 at 21:27:00, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Table 1 Whitesand mestizos in selectedLatinAmerican countries, asa percentage of total population, 2010 page320 ix Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:30:51, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSB Libraries, on 05 Sep 2017 at 22:30:51, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316228050