Visual Narratives of Afroporteños Presence and Social Prestige in the Photographic Archive of Alexander Witcomb (1838-1905)

FAIN: FT-278982-21

Liz Karine Moreno Chuquen, PhD
Idaho State University (Pocatello, ID 83201-5377)

Writing of a scholarly article on blackness in Buenos Aires, using archival photographs from the collection of Alexander Witcomb, whose studio was open between 1880 and 1970.

I examine Alexander Witcomb’s photographic archive through the lens of cultural, race, and visual studies I will contribute to the understanding of the crucial role that Afroporteños have played in the construction of Argentinean culture and identities in the first decades of the 20th century. My project inserts the case of Afroporteños into broader discussions on race inside and outside Argentina, where race studies have primarily focused on whiteness, Jewish and Italian migration, and the occasional study of indigenous communities. I hope to intervene in this debate by pointing out the Afrodescendant presence in official archives and Argentinean visual culture beyond stereotypes and the performance of comic roles.