Ethnic nicknaming, negro as a term of endearment and vicarious blackness in Argentina

ADAMOVSKY, EZEQUIEL

San Petersburgo

Congreso; Tercer Foro Internacional Rusia e Iberoamérica en el mundo globalizante: historia y perspectivas; 2017

Tercer Foro Internacional Rusia e Iberoamérica en el mundoglobalizante: historia y perspectivas, SanPetersburgo, 2 al 4 de octubre de 2017. EXPOSITOR INVITADO. PONENCIA: Ethnic nicknaming, negro as a term ofendearment and vicarious blackness in ArgentinaIn Argentinean colloquial language, calling someone negro/a may have two opposite connotations. It can be derogatoryand racist, but in other contexts it can be used as a term of endearment. It isalso customary to nickname someone ?el negro/la negra [+ name]?, with nooffense intended or taken. These usages are unrelated to actual skin colours;both white and dark skinned people may be affectionately called ?negro?. This article analyses theorigins and meanings of such habit, by relating it to other forms of vicariousblackness and to the specificities of the vernacular racial formations. Inturn, the malleability and instability of the ?negro? allusion is explained as a sign of the country?s disjointedprocess of ethnogenesis. The last section explores possible implications of the Argentinean case fordebates on hybridity, nation formation and mixed race studies.