Weirder than I think I am
I feel at home in Buenos Aires. I feel like I fit in (well, except when I have to communicate). Buenos Aires is an urban world of apartments, cafés, blown horns and businessmen – like New York City. And, unlike New York, when I look around, most people don’t look terribly unlike me. I’m white, and most - or at least many - people here look white, too. The same as me, right?
Wrong. I can tell from the sideways glances that something about me is pretty weird. It’s an odd experience riding a subway here, quite unlike in New York where you have to stand on your head if you want to be noticed. But I don’t mean to say that people in Buenos Aires necessarily notice race any more or less than in the United States. Unfortunately, I’m sure a black man walking through a mostly-white town would be looked at, and that’s certainly a big part of what’s going on here. BA is much less diverse than NYC, and different people stand out more. But still I’m surprised to find that I’m so different.
Maybe what is going on is that people here have a more differentiated notion of “white.” In the U.S, it seems that most people of European descent are lumped together and considered white. If all of you grandparents were Swedish you are white just as if they were Italian or Spanish– if you speak without an accent then you’re a bread and butter white person. At least it seems that way to me. Here, where 97% of citizens have European ancestors, that is clearly not the case. My understanding is that most Argentines are of Italian descent. I, with my northern European heritage, seem to be viewed as from a different race.
I guess this isn’t so strange. Italian culture is pretty different from that of, say, Sweden, and people from these countries can be distinguished. It just rarely occurs to me to differentiate, and both check the “white” box on U.S. job applications. You might say that this shows the great victory of the U.S.’s attempt to “Americanize” its citizens. Except that “one drop of blood” makes you black.
I’m not yet clear on what specific features separate me. Is it that I have blond hair? I don’t think so, because David sticks out, too. Is it my height? That doesn’t make much sense, because there are quite a few tall Argentines. Or maybe it’s not my race at all but rather my fashion, or lack thereof? But the urban fashions here seem similar to those in NYC.
There is much to be learned about this.
Wrong. I can tell from the sideways glances that something about me is pretty weird. It’s an odd experience riding a subway here, quite unlike in New York where you have to stand on your head if you want to be noticed. But I don’t mean to say that people in Buenos Aires necessarily notice race any more or less than in the United States. Unfortunately, I’m sure a black man walking through a mostly-white town would be looked at, and that’s certainly a big part of what’s going on here. BA is much less diverse than NYC, and different people stand out more. But still I’m surprised to find that I’m so different.
Maybe what is going on is that people here have a more differentiated notion of “white.” In the U.S, it seems that most people of European descent are lumped together and considered white. If all of you grandparents were Swedish you are white just as if they were Italian or Spanish– if you speak without an accent then you’re a bread and butter white person. At least it seems that way to me. Here, where 97% of citizens have European ancestors, that is clearly not the case. My understanding is that most Argentines are of Italian descent. I, with my northern European heritage, seem to be viewed as from a different race.
I guess this isn’t so strange. Italian culture is pretty different from that of, say, Sweden, and people from these countries can be distinguished. It just rarely occurs to me to differentiate, and both check the “white” box on U.S. job applications. You might say that this shows the great victory of the U.S.’s attempt to “Americanize” its citizens. Except that “one drop of blood” makes you black.
I’m not yet clear on what specific features separate me. Is it that I have blond hair? I don’t think so, because David sticks out, too. Is it my height? That doesn’t make much sense, because there are quite a few tall Argentines. Or maybe it’s not my race at all but rather my fashion, or lack thereof? But the urban fashions here seem similar to those in NYC.
There is much to be learned about this.
previously there was departamento 5A
afterwards you have week #1
comments
COSMICMANOLO
It´s how you dress, the Europeans here pass like Argentine (except north Europeans), becouse they dreess quite similar to us, but the americans dreess totaly different...and your cut of hair too, is different...that is why you look former.
[submitted on 24 Feb 03]
CLownjokER
Actually Southern Italians stick out in Argentina too, because Argentines have a mixed Italian/Spanish decent with other influences that make them “whiter” than the average southern Italian. Southern Italians are not that white.
[submitted on 26 Jul 04]