This is the sequel to the previous post, “Black dances that gave rise to tango,” also by Cirio.
From Cirio, Norberto Pablo. 2009. Tinta negra en el gris de ayer: Los afroporteños a trevés de sus periódicos entre 1873 and 1882. Investigaciones de La Biblioteca Nacional. Editorial Teseo, Buenos Aires.
Unauthorized translation into English of p. 67-71.
Blogger’s note: The information used in this book comes from four newspapers published by and for the Black community in Buenos Aires during this time period; the papers are La Igualdad [Equality] (1873-1874), La Broma [The Joke] (1876-1882), La Juventud [The Youth] (1876-1879), and El Aspirante [The Aspiring] (1882). The newspapers are cited using their initials. The title of this post has been added for purposes of the blog.
[Begin excerpt]
Tradition versus Modernity
We have seen that the ancestral musical practices [of Afro-Porteños] were just barely noted in the newspapers because of their diminishing prestige under pressure from the ideology of progress and the Afro-Porteños’ desire for social status. In a similar way, we have noted in more than a few news articles a tension over certain ways of thinking and behaving, regarding whether or not these were considered good and necessary for their welfare as individuals and as a social group. I will call this tension “tradition versus modernity,” and [in the database of news items] I have noted “tradition versus modernity” in the “Commentaries or Observations” column for the relevant articles [database not included here]. If we consider the state of the country at the time in which these items were written, it is understandable that the outpouring of ideology of the Generation of [18]80 [elites of the Conservative Republic, in power from 1880-1916], which was establishing the basis for our modern nation, would subsume [the Black community] in its movement towards modernity. The only alternative [for the community] would have been to become marginalized within a new reality larger than themselves.
Setting aside any value judgement, the Afro-Porteños found themselves at a crossroads of identity: on one hand, they enjoyed the same civil liberties as whites, such as the right of men to vote (while trying to heal the wounds of the Rosas dictatorship under a mantle of forgetting). On the other hand, they were in search of opportunities for education, respect, work, and equality between Blacks and whites; and between Black men and Black women. These goals were desired, but while trying to reach them, in fact, they were not able to begin at the same starting line as the whites. [White] hegemony had one golden weapon at its disposal that was used to demonstrate its superiority in all fields: the concept of race as developed through the advances of “scientific” racism and social Darwinism (Terán 2008). The white society used and abused these concepts in order to inculcate the idea of the “natural” inequality of Blacks on questions as diverse as hygiene, manners, and worker discipline. All in all, this was not even an original proposal of the Argentine establishment, since at the time, all of the American governments promoted themselves with these “irrefutable” ideas in order to maintain their power and hoard wealth. For Blacks this created a problem that pushed them towards either being increasingly confined to a category of being irremediably, essentially different, or pursuing integration at any cost (Andrews, 2007).
In the papers that were studied, the evidence of this dilemma is that the socialist ideas that [Afro-Porteños] had been embracing with fervor since 1858 invited them to subsume their cultural specificities under transnational, de-ethnicized lables such as “workers” “lower classes” or “artisans,” which further decreased their estimation of the value of their ancestral traditions (Andrews, 2007). In this framework, the question of tradition versus modernity does not even make sense, since the desired values are clearly located within modernity. La Broma indicates this specifically when it expresses the idea of adopting the flag of education as “our mission,” (#1582, 27-Jan-1881), or declaring that “This body since its founding has had the defining objective of urging our brothers to work for the moral and material advancement of our community (#2932, 3-Jun-1882). This dichotomy appears repeatedly, sometimes in a subtle or even unconscious manner. We will look at some examples.
In the article “On the same theme” it is commented that an editorial appearing in the previous issue had been well received; the piece argued that it was important for the youth of the carnaval societies to attain a high level of mastery in their music. One of the young women [from a carnaval society] was planning to begin teaching others in playing flute and violin, saying that in this way “we will demonstrate the difference between a candombe society which causes general hilarity, and a musical society which always receives general applause” (LB #2627, 9-Mar-1882). In this particular differentiation between the music of a traditional-ancestral heritage, which causes laughter; and the “modern” music with European instruments, which receives applause, the Black community appears to be closing rank in favor of the second type. However, there are also articles that express the opposite values. Also, the fact that the question gives rise to such fiery disputes shows that traditional music, at least during Carnaval, was still widely accepted.
We cannot know precisely the reasoning of Carmen Saenz Valiente when she published this thought: “Over there in Europe, the emperor of the West and the mother of all the other nations; there in the center of immense power, is where I will triumph” (LJ #1195 30-Apr-1878). However, we can infer that the statement was thought up in a context that positioned Europe and white culture as more advanced, and therefore useful for promotion.
Within one single article, “Our carnaval societies,” [from 1882], we find various competing conceptualizations of traditional or ancestral Black music, which can be reduced to four main views of it: (1) as a genuine ancestral practice which in no way contradicts the establishment; (2) as barbarous and shameful customs that we should forget in order to move towards “white progress;” (3) as a warmly remembered souvenir of the “time of the grandparents” which, although we are not interested in reviving, we keep in our memory; (4) as a celebration of African culture. (I add as context the discursive fragment which expresses these ideas.) [Numbers are inserted to mark the four main ideas].
“It looks like nothing good can influence the spirit of our brothers in the race, regarding the carnaval societies. The commissions that are being formed on an ad hoc basis in order to give prizes to the comparsas for their instruments, their performances, their costumes, or their songs, are not having an effect on them.
“They always tend towards the easiest, the tackiest, the poorest (2); and worse, towards making fun of the grandparents (3), or we should say, of a certain part of our community [ … ]
“The venerable “Estrella del Sud” society [Star of the South] and the new “Infelices” society [Unlucky Ones] —made up of members of the other societies— which like them, have struggled for our moral advancement, are not progressing.
“Why?
“It is embarrassing to say: because a good part of our youth, which easily could have dedicated itself to studying and learning to play musical instruments, which would have been more advantageous to them (2), are entertaining themselves banging the poor old leather [drum] (3), which is only useful today as the sole reminder of the old days (1), of the ancient, hidden customs of those times. Today, any child of four or five years can grab an empty olive tin, put a piece of leather over it, and can play it with style as well as the oldest candombero.
“So, what new things can all these young people bring to us, suffocating us for no reason with this instrument that we already know so well (2), which we appreciate and respect when it is in its own place (1 & 3), but which we must reject during the Carnaval days (2), because we consider it ridiculous that everyone should come out wearing a paper mask, when they would better represent themselves by appearing with uncovered faces? (1 & 4)
“There are many of these young people who, if one of our aunties were to ask them in a caring way to play the drum or the masacalla in one of the few places that our grandparents still keep as a reminder that they had a better idea of how to bring us up (1, 3, & 4), many of [the youth] would refuse to do it and would act like they were embarrassed by it, while they keep bragging and showing off. Even so, unfortunately, they paint their faces and expose themselves to the general hilarity in the middle of Calle Florida [Florida Street] and in front of the Confitería del Gas [confectionary named for its proximity to the natural gas company].
“We need to progress, not to go backwards! The powerful echo of those of us who desire moral and material advancement of our society, we demand this” (2). (LB #2605, 3-Mar-1882)
The article reflects the controversy at the time regarding what was happening to them and helps us appreciate how the Black community was not able to reach agreement on the question of music, because this constituted an important point of inflection in their way of life and in the way they (re)presented themselves to the larger society.
On the tensions surrounding the context of Carnaval, Geler distinguishes between the candombe comparsas (Black people performing African-style music) and the musical societies (Black people performing European-style music), and makes an incisive interpretation:
“Neither La Broma nor La Juventud nor La Perla thought that the candombe comparsas were beneficial to the community, which also meant that they didn’t enjoy them, and this was not the product of a change in opinion on their part. These [candombe] societies put on display an Africanity that the junior intellectuals (the Afro-Porteño intellectuals) rejected in public sphere, since it showed to the rest of society traditions that were not tied to modernity, and were not seen as acceptable even in the context of Carnaval, when permissiveness and everyone’s making jokes with everyone about everything were supposedly the rule […]. The [European-style] musical societies, by contrast, showcased the Afro-Porteños’ artistic ability at playing instruments as well as their composing ability, their capacity for organization, and their adoption of the cultural values that were being imposed as acceptable” (Geler 2008: 273).
A final example: Returning to the issue of the role of women, the tension of tradition versus modernity appears in the opposition between the traditional roles of mother and wife which women were expected to play, on the one hand; and their right to education and to enjoy the same freedoms as men, on the other. We see a clear example of this in an item entitled “Various Señoritas,” in which, after commenting that a group of young women was forming a women’s carnaval society—which would not be unusual in that era—which was to be named “Daughters of the Faith,” the anonymous reporter opines that “It would be much better if they were preparing, today or tomorrow, to be excellent wives and good mothers, and that they would leave off of the gossip which leads nowhere” (LJ #1569, 20-Nov-1878).
If we take into account the literary context of these four examples, representative of many others, which was time period of the birth of modernity in Argentina, it does not seem strange that the intentions of Black people towards their traditional music were so mixed and contradictory. This conflict was evident not just behind closed doors within the community, but also in the public face that was presented to the greater society, especially during the carefree period of Carnaval, when in principle, everything was permitted and everyone was equal.
Evidently, this topic merits a study of its own. In the small space allotted here, I can only begin to bring up the issue using a few relevant newspaper articles. Although the period of the study begins in 1873 and the root of the problem is attributable to the nationalistic ideology of the Generation of [18]80, the tension between tradition and modernity would not have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Its antecedents can be seen in this article (apparently anonymous, although the quote is taken from a book rather than the primary source), published in El Nacional on January 5th 1863, exactly one decade before the beginning of the period of our study of the Black press (the italics are my own [NPC], except the word “tango”):
“The Banguelans [from Ivory Coast], the Mozambicans, the Casanches [from Central Africa], the Minas [from West Africa], and especially the Congos decorate their ballrooms during the days of the feast of Three Kings Day, with all the luxury that they possess. They dance and sing their candombes, to the sound of the marimba, the drum and the mate [an instrument like a kazoo, made from a gourd like the cups used for drinking yerba mate]. They go out into the street dressed up as the three kings. These poor uneducated and fanatic people conserve among us their African customs, which are as sarcasm against the civilization and progress that we are exhibiting. The Blacks live and die among us, little more than irrational, and we do not remember them, unless it is to tear away their children and carry them away to the carnage of the civil war. They try to forget the ingratitude of the whites with chicha [homemade wine] and tango.” (quoted in Gesualdo 1961, p. 368).
[End excerpt]
The photo is not from the book, it is from Wikimedia Commons. The caption is “Murga del carnival from Junín, 1916.” Murga is a type of performance which often happens during carnaval and tends to be less Europeanized and more political than comparsa performance. Junín is a city in the province of Buenos Aires. I do not know the names or ethnicities of the musicians. Many of the photos I found of comparsas from the early 1900’s were clearly of whites in blackface; there was even one group of white men named “Sociedad de los Negros” which of course performed in blackface. The musicians pictured here appear to have some paint on their faces, but it looks to me like colorful decoration.
Works Cited
Andrews, George Reid. 2007. Afro-Latinoamérica 1800-2000. Madrid: Iberoamericana.
Geler, Lea. 2008. “¿Otros’ argentinos? Afrodescendientes porteños y la construcción de la nación argentina entre 1873 y 1882.” Tesis doctoral, en http://tdcat.cesca.es.
Gesualdo, Vicente. 1961. Historia de la música en la Argentina. Buenos Aires: Beta.
Terán, Oscar. 2008. Vida intelectual en Buenos Aires fin-de-siglo (1880-1910): Derivas de la “cultura cientifica.” Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Económica.