Being african-american in BA

[noble]

I am a writer and author. I want to come down to Argentina for a breath of
fresh air to start a new novel. Unfortunately, I have heard and read on the net that Argentinians are not friendly towards African-Americans/blacks.
Will this be an issue of my stay in Argentina, being treated rudely because I'm black.
I have also heard there is currently some negative backlash towards asians,
particularly Koreans, is this attitude wide spread and rampant, my fiance' is
Asian.
I wanted to go there and have fun, but now I have some reservations about
Argentina altogether.

 

[G]

Noble, Hi. In BsAs is a large community of Asians. There is even a Chinatown in Arribenos. I am not sure where the news of "Asian backlash" is coming from but there are Japanese and Chinese people roaming the streets of BsAs. And as to your being african-american stop you from enjoying such a nice country, just like anywhere in the world you will come across people whose ideals differ from yours, of course you can also find that in BsAs but the chance of that is slim to nil, people in BsAs are nice. Do you speak spanish?
Come visit the city and the country side. I love BsAs because of the people, again just like anywhere in the world there are those people that you do not want to really meet but they somehow cross your path just ignore them - and jsut keep on walking. You and your fiance will enjoy visiting BsAs, do not miss out on the sights, smell and senses of this city. Good luck. I am not sure when you are exactly visiting but if I am in town give me call and I would like to help. Cheers!

 

[Smartypants]

"Che Negro" is pretty normal to say though

 

[RWS]

Quoting "Smartypants": "'Che Negro' is pretty normal to say though"
And it's a term of affection!
Blacks are rare in Bs.As. but not unwelcome. A group of black American acquaintances of mine, middle-class, middle-aged women, visited the city for a week and loved it. Not one told me that she'd had any problem except with the language.

 

[Bond0023]

Hello - an African-English friend of mine who came to visit me here in BA for two weeks.
He mentioned that despite there being very few black people about in BA, he had no problems at all with any type ´hostility´. He also mentioned that he would visit BA again as he really enjoyed BA. If you want his email, send me a line.

 

[jvwh3b]

Noble, I don't know whether or not you've made it to BA yet, but let me briefly relate my experiences there in 1994. It's helpful to know some Spanish, but remember Argentinean Spanish is a little different from the Spanish we've been taught. No problem. I didn't see too many Blacks while there, although I did see some. One young gentleman working at a vending stall at the train station and a group of dancers performing around a statue on the Avenida Cinco de Mayo (I think that's it.)

As African-Americans we didn't detect any outright hostility as everyone we encountered were as friendly as people are in a big city. Everyone eats meat and at that time, everyone smoked. The hospitals were somewhat in shambles, but the citizens were dealing with all the nation's shortcomings.

My advice is to take the tours, walk around the city as much as possible. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and is indeed the "Paris of South Anerica" as it claims to be.

Also, you might want to research on the internet why there are so few Blacks in Argentina. Interesting.

I hope you had fun, or will have fun. Peace.

Carl

 

[JHB1216]

Living here 4 years now I have to say that I found disconcerting at first all the terms used verbally on the streets like chino, negro, gordo, flaco, and boludo...

I know exactly what you are talking about and don't think that some Argentines know the concept of "politically correct". They say what they want and expect you to do the same.

 

[tangobob]

I know exactly what you are talking about and don't think that some Argentines know the concept of "politically correct". They say what they want and expect you to do the same.

That is one of the things I love most about BsAs.
Latest madness from the UK; Leicester council have banned their workers from sayin "we are singing from the same Hymn Sheet" aparently it offends atheists.