Abstract:

This research inquires for current portrayals of black, African and Afro-descendant alterities in Argentinian society, where these groups have been historically invisibilized. Here we present the results of a critical analysis of discourse in representative institutions gathering together Afro-Argentines, Afro-descendant migrants from Latin American countries, and African migrants from Sub-Saharan region, which are based in the city of Buenos Aires. Particularly, we refer to publications conveyed through their institutional blogs, done in the context of the “International Year for People of African Descent” (2011). We looked at notions from those organizations regarding spaces, motives and purposes of social-cultural-political intervention; as well as specificities that differentiate one from another. Also, we look at relationship webs they establish to materialize their goals. We found that discourses by those organizations show their current agency, their strategical political postures, and their works concerning memory, to gain visibilization for Africans and Afro-descendants in Argentine society.

Keywords: Afro-descendants, Afro-argentines, African migrants, invisibilization, memory, racism.