Why argentinians think they are europeans

This simply is not the case. As Argentinians fight for their Latino identity, they face harsh criticisms from the rest of Latin America and the world in nearly every field. Guillermo de Torre insisted that Madrid, Spain was the intellectual center of the arts and academics of the Americas, claiming that Spain had a broader sense of Latin American culture because they could see Latin America as a whole as opposed to through the lens of one Latin American country De Torre, Not only is this potentially a way for European intellectuals to take credit for the innovation, arts, and achievements of Latin Americans, but it further imposes the idea that Argentinians themselves are European.

Numerous Argentinian writers responded to this article by writing their own opposing articles. While defending their Latino identity, this was an important stance to separate Argentina from being grouped as just another European country. Just recently, the Kolla group located in the northwestern highlands of Argentina has begun to identify as indigenous. Anthropologist Laurie Occhipinti spent time with the Kolla people in Argentina researching their identity. They have more of their own traditions, language While many indigenous communities in Argentina have their own languages, younger people or people who move to cities for various reasons grow up speaking Spanish, which they feel delegitimizes their indigenous Argentinian identity.

To be grouped as European by the rest of Latin America while growing up with indigenous heritage can be troubling for individuals. The Spanish language spoken in Argentina has many different dialects, accents and styles. Despite this, Argentinian Spanish is often considered to be nearly Castilian— associating Argentina once again with being European. French Degree Roadmap.

French Major Requirements. Latin American Studies Faculty. Spanish Four-Year Plan. Asian Studies Minor. Chinese Program. Advising and Placement. Study Abroad. Found in Translation. That belief in a strictly European Argentina continues to percolate. In this Manichean view, Afro-descendants were placed squarely on the barbarism end of the scale.

So are our prisons, just like in the United States. Most present-day Afro-descendants are of mixed race because of inter-marriage between the male European immigrants who arrived after and Argentinian women of African descent.

They ripped up old photos and denied the existence of a black relative. When I was in Argentina in I got to know a country and especially its capital Buenos Aires with a cosmopolitan spirit. Those were people who mentioned their European backgrounds before their names when they introduced themselves. Nevertheless, the average Argentinian is a very family-oriented person and therefore they are likely to have a relationship to the country of origin of their ancestors, but not to Europe in specific.

A relationship that fades generation by generation. The mass immigration lies in the past and other historical events and new generations of people have influenced the Argentinian identity. Not anymore! When even Pope Francis makes jokes about the arrogance of his fellow citizens and Google claims the same, there must be a reason for it.

This Arrogance can have various reasons, such as excessive pride, fear or insecurity. As already mentioned, the roots of the Argentinian pride lie in the golden era of the early 20 th century.

It never got better than this. It was the time Argentina looked down the nose to the rest of Latin America, letting no doubt who has the hegemony on the continent. Argentina was better, whiter and more sophisticated. The Argentinian pride and arrogance was born. The prestige of Argentina declined. This demise has left scars in the Argentinian culture and their pride probably got wounded, although the Argentinians are not likely to admit this. Their own ego is still huge.

After my stay in Argentina I have drawn my own conclusion about the stereotype of their arrogance. The Argentinians I got to know are people with a low level of self-mockery, they always want to have the last word and it is easy to make them furious. Two things better not to say to an Argentine is that Chile has better wine or Brazil is better in football.

I think that they probably know that they are not the country anymore they aspire to be, the country they remember, or the country they have heard from their ancestors.

Besides the relation to pride the Argentinian arrogance potentially has a correlation to subconscious insecurity. From a psychoanalytic perspective he mentions that psychoanalysis provides security to changing societies undergoing a crisis Plotkin, M, , p5.