real talk: half-formed thoughts on race, ethnicity, self-identification in Argentina

In the United States, being Latin@ has a huge range of meanings, definitions and connotations. There is such a large mix of different countries of ancestry and origin as well as increasingly diverse ways that people are self-identifying. Risking generalization in the hope of conveying a point, in the US there is an ongoing struggle with a desire to be 'white' among many Latin@s. This is certainly not true of everyone, and I can say from experiences with friends of mine that among younger Latin@s, there is a stubborn pride to connect with one's culture and embrace their entire identity/ies. Before I go off on a huge separate thread...

Being in Argentina, the racial diversity seems to be more muted, even in comparison to Michigan. For me, coming from the University of Michigan 'bubble' where the majority of Latin@s on campus are not European-identifying or desiring to be so, Buenos Aires has been interesting. I will speak on Buenos Aires, as I don't have any real experience outside of the city yet. In Buenos Aires, something like 90% of residents are of pretty significant Italian origin mixed in with several other European countries. The overall 'hue' of Porteños(BA residents) is white. There is a great affinity for European things, trends, customs, which to a degree makes sense as a majority of the population IS of European descent. However, in contrast to my experiences in the US, there is less of a proclaimed "Latino" identity. Yes, they speak Spanish and yes, Argentina is a South American country, but the self-identification of people in BA is (as I suppose self-identification is anywhere) very complex. At the risk of making another dumb, uninformed observation- I venture to say that a significant portion of BA residents cling to a quasi-European identity with a 'tinge' of Latin@ because they can create the identity without a great deal of other/outside voices contradicting it.

On a side note, being in BA, where people are mostly 'white', I have had to check my own assumptions about what 'Latin@' looks like. For me to see someone with blue eyes and blonde hair who is a native Argentinian, I need to remember that being Latin@ does not equate to any specific race or ethnicity.

One topic/issue that I want to educate myself on is the presence of Bolivian refugees in Argentina. Noticeably darker than many Argentinians, I wonder if their presence creates a certain unease among more European-identifying Argentinians. Are they afraid that by identifying with a more Latino identity, they risk losing something, some kind of superiority or cultural prestige?

Ethnicity and self-identification are issues that challenge people around the world. In no way do I wish to pass judgement on what is a 'better'/more authentic way of identifying oneself nor do I pretend to know much about the underlying and complex reasons behind how Argentinians construct their own identities. But I do believe it is worth thinking about and, in a respectful, open way, to question why.

Make of this what you will.

-j