In Futbol, Jews, and the Making of Argentina the development of the Jewish communities of Argentina, and the impact of soccer as a socially/culturally uniting factor to include them into the larger culture of the nation. The author sees sports as a tool for generations of Jewish people who moved to/lived in Argentina to simultaneously retain their own religious/cultural identity, while also fully immersing and including them into the culture of the nation around them.
Rein spends a significant amount of time in the beginning of the book following the migration of European Jews (from various areas) into Argentina, particularly into the area known as Villa Crespo, which became known as the Jewish city. In the first three chapters, Rein is setting the stage to emphasize the importance of Villa Crespo to Argentina, the Jewish community, and soccer/Atlanta. In the Introduction, Rein asks “If we cannot write the history of Argentine Jews without including the history of the Jews of Buenos Aires, and if we cannot write the history of Buenos Aires Jews without including the history of the Jews of Villa Crespo, can we write the history of Argentine Jews without mentioning the Atlanta football club?”
Chapter One is entitled ‘From Gringos to Criollos: The City and the Jews’ and focuses on the reasoning behind the multiple waves of Jewish migration into Latin American countries, specifically Argentina. These populations were often fleeing persecution or seeking the chance of “making good in America.” This chapter includes population charts and includes a view into how the Jewish immigrants made their own stake in cities of Argentina – and how sports gave them an ‘in’.
Chapter Two (‘The Cradle of Tango and Football’) examines the rise of industry, business, and infrastructure in Argentina and Buenos Aires, and how all of this began to create a lively culture. Rein gives credit to Villa Crespo and Jewish Argentines for one of the most notable “Argentine passions” – the tango. There were many notable Jewish tango writers, and the typical motifs of tango can be tracked to Villa Crespo.
As far as questions I have, I would like to know how often/if Rein is using ‘Villa Crespo’ as a stand-in/convenient term for Argentine Jews. I feel like the first few chapters were used as set-up and a sort of world-building, and hope that the next few chapters get more in depth with the sporting aspect of the narrative.
