Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 5-1-2015 “¡Pobres Negros!” The oS cial Representations and Commemorations of Blacks in the River Plate from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the First Half of the Twentieth (and Beyond) Roberto Pacheco Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FIDC000116 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Latin American History Commons Recommended Citation Pacheco, Roberto, "“¡Pobres Negros!” The ocS ial Representations and Commemorations of Blacks in the River Plate from the Mid- Nineteenth Century to the First Half of the Twentieth (and Beyond)" (2015). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2184. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2184 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida “¡POBRES NEGROS!” THE SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS AND COMMEMORATIONS OF BLACKS IN THE RIVER PLATE FROM THE MID- NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH (AND BEYOND) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY by Roberto Pacheco 2015 To: Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences This dissertation, written by Roberto Pacheco, and entitled “¡Pobres Negros!” The Social Representations and Commemorations of Blacks in the River Plate from the mid- Nineteenth Century to the First Half of the Twentieth (and Beyond), having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. __________________________________________ John Clark __________________________________________ Noble D. Cook __________________________________________ Aurora Morcillo __________________________________________ Víctor Uribe, Major Professor Date of Defense: May 1, 2015 The dissertation of Roberto Pacheco is approved. __________________________________________ Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences __________________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2015 ii © Copyright 2015 by Roberto Pacheco All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION To the memory of my beloved mother, Aurora Cruz, whose passing I still grieve, and for my father, Ubaldo Roberto Pacheco, and my siblings and nephew and nieces. “Nuestra historia está hecha de mi versión. De lo que decimos y lo que ocultamos. De la Memoria y el Olvido. Algunos afirman que jamás abrazaremos la Verdad: espejismo de aguaceros en el Sájara. Pero yo lo buscaré dentro de mí. O en el rincón más recóndito del Universo. Kaidara existe. ¡Recuperemos la Memoria… Y también el Olvido!” Rogelio Martínez Furé, “Ultima advertencia” (2009) iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All too often, readers of books, theses, and dissertations simply overlook or, at best, gloss over these pages. The acknowledgments pages are regarded as pro forma, de rigueur, non-substantive, and/or just plain boring. While not altogether an unfair assessment of these pages in a text or manuscript, I, however, unfailingly read them to get a sense of not only intellectual and other debts, in itself of some import, but more so for a given work’s genealogy or archaeology of knowledge in a broadly Foucauldian sense. Often, whom an author acknowledges affords the reader insights into the backstory and intellectual development (not to mention ideology) of their research. While in no way placing any of the academics I am about to thank under culpability for this dissertation’s numerous shortcomings, solecisms, or ideological orientation, I trust that some of my acknowledgments nevertheless somewhat reflect my work’s intellectual content. To begin with, I have to recognize the tireless efforts of my doctoral dissertation committee. Drs. John Clark, Noble David Cook, Aurora Morcillo, and my chair, Víctor Uribe, all endured reading and commenting on my exhausting (not to be confused with exhaustive) manuscript. Their respective edits and observations substantially and substantively improved the final product. However, I would be remiss to only acknowledge their many fine contributions to my dissertation. More importantly, individually and collectively, Drs. Clark, Cook, Morcillo, and Uribe have proven to be true mentors and have afforded me unfailing support, encouragement, and solidarity with my cause to finish what I started so many years ago. Dr. Cook has in fact been with me on this entire journey; we both started at Florida International University at about the same time, during the Clinton presidency. If memory serves, I was Dr. Cook’s first v teaching assistant at Florida International. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Clark joined the University faculty and we bonded almost immediately thanks to some mutual friends (and a beverage or two). He, too, has often evidenced his support of me over these many years. In addition, thanks to Dr. Morcillo, I found a dissertation topic when I had just about given up hope of doing so. Dr. Morcillo really encouraged me to follow up on a research paper I wrote for her seminar on memory and history, which in fact constitutes the basis of the current dissertation. Her support and enthusiasm were contagious! Of course, my dissertation chair, Dr. Víctor Uribe, bore the unfortunate brunt of both my poor writing and at times even worse moods. Through it all, however, Dr. Uribe demonstrated unflinching resolve to see me finish this project. To say that he “edited” my manuscript would be an understatement and gross injustice to him. Dr. Uribe redacted, rewrote, reworked, and reimagined large tracts of this text, all to its benefit. I have often, only half-jokingly, told Dr. Uribe he should appear as this dissertation’s co- author. Certainly, what is best about this work owes as much to him as to this author. I will be eternally in Dr. Uribe’s debt for his labors on my behalf. I will also never forget how kind and generous he was to my late mother many years ago at a Latin American and Caribbean Center event, where we all shared a table for that evening. Often, my mother would genuinely inquire to me about Dr. Uribe. I am sure she would have been very pleased we collaborated on this project. So many other faculty members at Florida International University, inside and outside the Department of History, have also shown me various degrees of support and solidarity. Professor Emeritus Mark D. Szuchman, a first-rate historian of Argentina, whom I first met as an undergrad while at New College, was very encouraging of me vi over the years and served (with saintly patience) as the chair of my MA thesis, also on Afro-Argentines. Two Africanists in the Department, the late Dr. Christopher Gray and Dr. Akin Ogundiran, allowed me to delve into and explore African and African-Diaspora history in their seminars, which I really both enjoyed and greatly benefitted from. Perhaps some of my most memorable seminars were with the late Cuban historian and slavery expert, Dr. Manuel Moreno Fraginals. Dr. Moreno Fraginals was a real wit and raconteur, who seemed to have known every important intellectual in the Western world of his day personally. Thanks to Manolo and his insights I furthered my understanding of the New-World African Diaspora. Other members of the Florida International University History Department who have had a personal and/or professional impact on me include Drs. Sherry Johnson, Brian Peterson, Darden Pyron, and Chantalle Verna. Staying within the History Department of Florida International University for an additional moment, I need to thank the efforts on my behalf of Drs. Gywn Davies, Bianca Premo, and Kirsten Wood, who, in their respective capacities as directors of the Department’s Graduate Program, have gone well beyond to make sure I got the time I needed to finish the dissertation, and often fought on my behalf against the University’s proverbial powers that be. Truly, their championing of my at times seemingly lost cause was heroic! Outside the Department of History, I would also like to recognize especially Dr. Jean M. Rahier, director of the University’s African and African Diaspora Studies program, who never fails to personally invite me if there is a speaker or event that he thinks I would enjoy or benefit from. Furthermore, the History Department’s secretaries, namely, María Ferrer Young, Hayat Kassab-Gresham, and Emily Carreras, have also proffered much help with all vii kinds of sundry bureaucratic matters, the very things that annoy me the most about modern academia. María and Hyatt especially have rescued me many times over these many years from many an egregious paper-work nightmare. I truly appreciate all of them and all they have done for me in the past. I would be remiss if I forgot to also acknowledge some dear friends made in the History Department, past and present. In this regard, I would like to recognize Drs. Amanda Snyder, Carolina Zumaglini, Erika Edwards, Joseph Holbrook, Quinn Dauer, and Renzo Honores. I am especially close to Carolina, in spite of her loyalty to River Plate, Renzo, who always drops by my office when in town, and Quinn, who is like a brother to me. Speaking of those who are like family, how can I fail to mention Dr. Mayra Beers, a godly woman, sister in Christ, and dearest friend. Along with her husband Randy, Mayra has been so supportive over the years that it would be impossible to list the numerous ways both of them have helped me grow in Christian faith and as a human being. The entire Beers (and Magluta) clan have treated me and my mother as true family. Then, there is (literally) my compadre, Dr.