“MONKEYS IN BUENOS AIRES,” the headlined screamed, “A GREETING FOR THE ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS”
What a way to start the article. It really sets the tone for the rest of the article, and it really pulls you in and gets you interested, in the rest of the article. The paragraph goes on talking about the topic reinforcing the racists views that will be covered in the article. It even goes as far as to say, “If there’s one group of people that are truly ridiculous, its the Brazilians. They are colored entreaties who talk like us, and try to mix in with the rest of the Americas.” The quote really goes to show how dark-skinned Brazilians are portrayed abroad, and how they are perceived in the early 20th century through sports media.
The Brazilian monkey image was largely absent from Argentina literature until the 1910’s with the advent of the Critica (…) But it was the 1919-20 anti-Brazilian campaign of Critica’s sports pages, singularly caustic and tenacious, that served to forever disseminate the macaquito to the wider Argentine popular imagination.”
The second quote was shown because it really shows the impact of the newspaper publications in the article. It is really interesting that the explosion in racism against dark-skinned Brazilians through media in Argentina blew up through a sports newspaper, but it does make sense. Sports already breeds contempt and anger through rival teams and groups which can also connect with geopolitical tension, so the fact that Critica was the catalyst for the racism through literature is no surprise.
“The Brazilian macaquito served as an attractive archetype meant to contrast with the Argentine gringo and his assimilated descendents.”
The final quote to me really brings it together, and shows another reason why it exploded like it did. It was the direct parallel to how the Argentines saw themselves. Pair that with their past of geopolitical tensions with Brazil, and the magnifying glass of sports, it is no wonder they used the racism like they did. They needed someone to push under them and feel superior against, and Brazil had exactly what they needed.
