Gilman Scholar Research Presentation

The Identity of the Cape Verdean Woman: Creolization, Stigmatization and Invisibility
Presented by Somer Nowak
Gilman Scholarship
Opportunity to study internationally
Funding to pursue research project
Gilman Scholarship
Funded by the U.S. Department of State

Pell Grant

2,300 scholarships

Award up to $8,000
"Aims to support students who have been traditionally underepresented"
Gilman Follow Up Project
Sharing my experience and promoting the pursuit of international education
Bilingual 3rd grade

High School students

College students
SIT Study Abroad 2012

Regional Integration, Development, and Social Change program

Buenos Aires, Argentina

-Experiential
-Field-based study
-Cultural immersion
-Undergraduate Research
Research
The Identity of the Cape Verdean Woman
Why would I chose this topic
Biracial background

Afro-descendants in Latin America

How does an individual identify when faced with a multi-ethnic background?
Introduction
15,000 Cape Verdeans in Buenos Aires, Argentina

First migration of afro-descendants post-slavery

1898-1960
Historical Context of Identity
Colonized by Portuguese until 1973

Creolization

Social domination

Black/Native woman colonial tool
Research Question
“Given the creolization,invisibility and stigmatzation, created by the historical context of Cape Verde and Argentina, how does the Cape Verdean woman identify today in Buenos Aires, Argentina?”
Colonial Cape Verde
Negation of blackness in Argentina
Blanquemiento
1810: 30-50%
1838: 26%
1887: 3%
"There are no blacks in Argentina, that's Brazil's problem" -Carlos Menem, President 1990
"For an individual to willing identify oneself as black is to align themselves with the marginalized, the exploited, the segregated, while at the same time it is to align oneself with a fight for transformation." -Correa Otero 2008
The Obstacles of Identifying
-Stigmatization
-Invisibility
-Negative Visibility
-Foreignization
Findings
1. Assimilate or Argentinize
2. Reafricanization "Black Cape Verdeans born in Argentina"
Reafricanization
90's Afrodescendant Movements
Reconnecting ties to Africa
Cultural Vindication
Black Cape Verdeans born in Argentina
Conclusion
Reconstruction ties to Africa

Reconstrcuting Argentina's National Identity

Advocacy of Afro-descendant Rights movements

New African Migrations from Nigeria and Senegal
The Migration to Argentina
1898 Portuguese Passports

1927-1933 Social Nets and Cultural Celebration

1940-1960 Move to the Capital; Assimilation
Identity
"Our cultural identity reflects common historical experiences and shared cultural codes"-Stuart Hall


There are two ways to identify oneself, "to characterize...locate...or situate oneself in a narrative...in a category" or it is "created by the exterior by authorities who have the power to name, identify and categorize...in relation to gender, religion, or ethincity."-Rogers Brubaker
Assimilate
Social Upward Mobility
Cut off ties to Cape Verde and Africa
Method of avoiding discrimination and exclusion

"They want to hide their blackness, so to marry a white man for instance is an opportunity to not be as black, so their children are light and have better chances for the future"-Patricia Gomes
I am Cape Verdean, but first, I am primarily African...Imagine that from birth, you've been told you were Portuguese; it's a very hard job I've had to do."-Miriam Gomes, President of the CV Society, 1st generation Cape Verdean-Argentinian
Methods
Interviews with: Patricia Gomes, Paulina Dias, and Miriam Gomes

Conference on the Census in Latin America

Agreement between ODECO and the Cape Verdean Society

La Cachupa on the Day of Africa
Double Stigmatization