Full Description
Stereotypes in Black is a sharp examination of the representations and self-representations of Afro-descendants in Buenos Aires through the nineteenth century. Originally published in Spanish, this English language translation spotlights various forms of representation, focusing on the stereotypical images and visual culture constructed and repeated, and the important role they played in highlighting the need for a culturally and racially homogeneous nation in social discourse. María de Lourdes Ghidoli provides a detailed account of one of the most serious cases of social exclusion in Latin American and Argentine history, examining strategies adopted by some of the most recognized members of the Afro-Porteño community, and assessing whether they refuted the negative stereotypes or reinforced them. The book will aid in the revisualization of Afro-descendent Argentines, while highlighting how the repeated use of stereotypes exacerbated the invisibilization suffered by the Afro-descendant population in the Argentine Republic.
Contents
Introduction; Part I. Representations: 1. Servants of African origin: the stigma of servitude; 2. Rosas and an African invasion in Buenos Aires; 3. Grotesque representations: devils, buffoons, and distorted figures; 4. Portraits of the others; Part II. Self-Representations: 5. Biographies and portraits: between progress and affection; 6. The way of the artists: press and sociability; Part III. A Special Painting: 7. The faces of Bernardo de Monteagudo: the impossibility of a non-white hero.
