Argentine: Defined?

There is, apparently, a definition for the word “Argentine”, which is mostly a joke invented by other countries in Latin America, and also mostly true. It goes like this – “An Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish and desires to be like the French.”

Doesn’t sound south-american at all. In fact this saying sounds as if it was trying to define a mix of European nationalities. But this is also where the truth lies – Argentina, one of the latin american countries with the highest percentage of its population being caucasian, since most of its people are descendents of Italians and Spanish. There are also descendents of Russian, Jewish and other races, but the majority can rightly be said to be from Italy (especially the South) and Spain. There had been a campaign organized by the people of Chile and Argentina to kill all the indigenous people in both countries many decades ago, with the objective of spreading the Spanish language and infiltrating the land with the new-found culture, resulting in a rapid diminishing of the indigenous culture and languages. Since then, Spanish has become the national language in Argentina, spoken by everyone, including the small remaining indigenous minority. In order to trade, work, get about your daily life, Spanish is essential.

Ok, now I have covered the part about Argentines speaking Spanish. Why are they called Italians then? Although the direct descendents of Italian immigrants do not make up the entire population, Argentines in general are extremely similar to Italians in terms of their gesticulations, and mannerisms of speech. They speak loudly, gesturing always with their hands, giving you little personal space, and are flambouyant in their speech. My argentine friend sometimes even makes the mistake, when he is overseas, of assuming that some Italians he sees from afar are Argentines, and the truth is only obvious to him when he hears them speak. Fine, the Italian description makes sense then.

What about the part of them wanting to be like the French? Remember that Buenos Aires is almost always referred to as the “Paris of South America”? This is mostly attributable to its very European architecture which define the city, constructed by or under the strong influence of many European designers and architects which came here to exchange ideas, learn and teach, especially because Buenos Aires was one of the cities most open to foreign culture. Don’t forget also that 100 years ago, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, because it exported alot of cattle, grain and other commodities to other countries. Up till 15-20 years ago, Argentina had always aspired to be like Europe, which just by nature of being important and one of the largest economies in the world, gave it an economic and cultural model to follow. It associated more with European culture than with South American culture, and hence, other latin american countries saw Argentina as snobbish and always trying to be out of its league. In a way, the general mentality of Argentines are that they are superior to the other South American countries, and like the French, who are synonymous with arrogance and self-assumed superiority, the Argentines behave likewise. Perhaps that is beginning to change.

Some one to two decades ago, the governement and the people in general realized that it would not do for them to constantly emmulate a culture and an economy that was not theirs. In comparison, Argentina would always be the underdog compared to an economy like Europe, and so, there started to be a shift in mindset and cultural mentality. Argentina started to realize that they wanted to pay more attention and give more value to the culture which was theirs, without the influence of any foreignors. They started focusing on things which were uniquely Argentine, like Tango, gauchos, and cumbia. It was also more recently in the 1990s when there started a widespread scale of teaching Spanish as a second language to foreignors in Argentina, and even more recently that more foreignors started discovering and realizing the beauty of both its cities and natural resources. But more than that, Argentines have been adjusting their emphasis to aligning more with South American cultures, and looking to other South American economies for guidance, such as that of Brazil and to a lesser extent, Chile.

I think the definition of an Argentine might be beginning to change, but it is still only in its infancy. There are many things which Argentines still proudly retain and hold tightly as their make-up and essence. But there are also some things which they are letting go.

Inscribing the history of today.

2010 marks the last year of the first decade of the third millennium. Indeed, it was also the decade that has been most marked in my memory, partially because I was growing up and made more aware of the events which though outside my circle of comfort, still managed to shake those, including me, inside our zone. But not only was I becoming more worldly-wise, it was also the degree of shock which emanated throughout the world as some events shook it, both psychologically and literally.

2000: My family had booked a room at the 52nd storey of Westin Stamford Hotel, in a bid to celebrate the New Year and watch from above should predictions come true that technology would be severely disrupted, as machines were not programmed to run past 1999. I remember us staying our prayers and thanking God for the new year and the years past, and then opening my eyes the moment it struck 12 midnight, looking down at the rest of the city below. Surprise and relief, as we saw the cars still lighting the streets with their pretty headlights, and the blueprint of our city still visible, lit by electrical cables which kept all technical appliances running like clockwork. All was alright again. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Suddenly the rest of the year flew by, and arrived astonishingly quickly at December, the month that Bush Jr won the elections, taking over Bill Clinton as president of the USA. Still young and not particularly keen on politics, I only remember seeing the debates on TV and that the world seemed eager to assess to the new of state as he took on the toughest job in the world.

2001: September 11 – I was studying for my ‘O’levels examinations, buried in a mound of ten-year-series and past examination papers, biting on my pen as I tried to solve the biggest Math and Physics problems in my world. Suddenly, at 10pm that night, I heard the phone ring. Apparently, my aunty had called, urgency in her voice as she told my parents to switch on the TV. Switching to the news channel, we watched as the terrorist-controlled flights crashed into the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center. Our eyes stayed glued to the screen as we saw three New Yorkers catapulting out from the towers, pummeling to their horrific deaths. Not long later, another plane rammed into the Pentagon, symbol of power of the USA. We watched with gaping mouths, too shocked to believe an event so unfortunate had happened. As news anchors busied themselves reporting from the disaster scenes, I remembered thinking what a huge mess they were in. As the story and intentions of the hijackers became clear over the next few weeks, the world jumped as fear’s stranglehold tightened its grip. Facing the largest and most massive adversity of his career yet, President Bush declared the war on terror, changing the way airports, international routes and immigration functioned. Flying became such a hassle afterwards; bodies were searched for terrorist clues, tensions heightened at check-in counters as darker skin color facial hair growth made many the target of searches, resulting in mounting resentment. Yet the fact that the Taliban, led by Osama Bin Laden, had outright declared its goal to destroy and wreck the United States rendered the States with no choice, and security simply became stricter with the months.

2003: Terrorist attacks continued in different parts of the world; unwanted presents that shattered lives and made travelers paranoid. The beautiful resort island of Bali, where tourists flocked to in order to bask on the sun-washed beaches and crystal waters, was bombed. An attempt to strike at the Caucasians, it left over a thousand Australian dead on their last holiday ever. Yet for that year, my greatest memory was that of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARs) epidemic. For the first time, I saw people all around wrapped in face masks, wary of any person who even sneezed or so much as rubbed their noses. Queues formed all around Asia as governments battled against this new strain of highly contagious flu. Entrances to public buildings were thronged with people, in ling to get their temperatures taken and to be given approval to pass through. Singapore, being such an open and small country, saw its GDP drop to an another low since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Its reliance on tourism and trade exposed its vulnerability to such an epidemic which hindered tourism. Thankfully, we managed to combat the disease and eventually to quell the fears of the nation, but it made us always on the alert, and at times, too paranoid for our good.

2004: This was the year I enrolled into university, and to enjoy before I started school, I took a vacation in Bali, certain that the previous year’s unfortunate events would not repeat. It was a resplendent holiday, forever etched in our memories. Nothing terrorist in nature occurred, and after the beautiful break, I started my first semester as a sophomore. 26th December was a project group mate’s birthday, and to celebrate she had planned a summer getaway in Phuket, Thailand, where she was to stay at Patong Beach. That morning at 7am, her flight got cancelled, as news came of the disastrous Tsunami – whose effects on East Asia are still present today. The thousands of lives its unannounced arrival claimed, the scent of destruction heavy in the air; again it was hard to believe that it had struck so near home. The wreckage was nauseating to take in. That Boxing Day, my group mate gave thanks to God for being alive, yet it was with sorrow that we all said a silent prayer for those who had died and were dying.

2005: Another natural disaster came not long after. On August 29, at least 1836 people were killed by an act of god named Hurricane Katrina. The US Gulf Coast was severely damaged; its people left devastated in the trail of its fury. A month before, 4 explosions rocked the transport network in London, injuring over 700 and killing 56. Another strike of terrorism, it struck new fear in the hearts of the city. Fanatically religious people who felt it was there duty to die in “Jihad”, or holy war, and in so becoming matyrs of their faith – what were on their minds as they prepared these bombs? What was their ultimate goal? Where were they strike next? When will they stop? Would they even stop?

2008/2009: It was a period of crisis, where defaults were the main theme. Panic, fear shook the world as people watched the collapse of the likes of Lehman Brothers; as they saw their life savings disappear with the crash of the stock markets; as suicide rates increased with the amount of defaulted debt. America cried, and its wails were heard all over the globe. America was too sunken in debt; all the secrets of large, previously highly acclaimed firms starting spilling out, dirtying the financial markets in every corner of the world. The world had never before been as inter-linked as it is now. Bubbles burst, left right and center – property, equity, and many other types of assets fell, losing all their capital gains. Credit default spreads, a measure of default risk, swelled, and yield curves dropped to all time lows, and countries came one after another to announce their booming stimulus plans, blowing billions of dollars into their economies to keep them afloat. North America and Europe were in a frenzy unheard of before, and the financial crisis was continually compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s. A monumental period documented in the pages of history, yet it seems some have already started to forget. Another epidemic struck in 2009, even more severe and rampant than SARS. The latest strain of the flu virus, the H1N1 disease, also known initially as pork flu, gripped the hearts of many with fear. From Mexico, where it was originally identified, this virus made use of international immigration and spread through cars, ships and aircraft. Tourism was severely affected, and this simply added salt to the fresh wound of the financial crisis.

2010: Most recently, even before the month of January is over, Haiti, a Caribbean fourth world country was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, on 12th January. One of the poorest nations in the world, Haiti is currently suffering from the after-effects of the quake, and its people are fraught with frustration and fury at the government, the slowness of international aid, and the anguish that has enveloped and crushed their hearts as close to 200,000 are confirmed dead. Looting is everywhere, with citizens emptying coffins and stealing them to sell; leaving the bodies to rot in the streets. The stench of death clogs the air, emotions are teetering on the edge and some have even lost their reason. There are reports of identified looters being torched alive, with passers-by watching the flames engulf him till they grew numb. Oppressed by hunger and anger in a molten mix of potent rage, Haiti suffers as we watch. Only a few are courageous enough to go there and provide aid. In the heightened tensions, its citizens are now furious with the US for using its control over the international airport to prioritize the safe return of its citizens.

So much sorrow, so much terror. Was that meant to be the recurring theme of the last decade? What will the next year bring? And those following after? We can only know with time as history is currently in the making.