Vestigios de la presencia africana en Paraguay: pardos, morenos y trigueños

• In Event: Raza, etnicidad, clase social y género entre afrodescendientes e indígenas de Hispanoamérica

Abstract

The article focuses on revealing the visual presence of Paraguayan men of African descent through military records during the period of 1890-1950. The last decades of the 21st century has revealed the hidden presence and contribution of African descent people in the Rio de La Plata Region. To understand the African experience in Paraguay, it needs to be studied comparatively with the African experience in Uruguay and Argentina due to their common colonial history. The pivotal work of Josefina Pla and the more recent work of Ignacio Telesca, provides the historical framework for African slavery in Paraguay during the Spanish Colonial, Jesuit and early Independence periods (1500-1800). These Paraguayan Military records represent how race, ethnicity, color and phenotypes were viewed and described during the late 19th and early 20th century. They also assist in unfolding larger efforts of the nation building processes, racial mixing, and the idea of creating a homogeneous Paraguayan people of mestizo heritage. By de-emphasizing African identities and supplanting them for more ambiguous and ubiquitous brown labels, such as moreno, trigueno or achinizado, individuals of African descent blended in with mestizo and Mediterranean people. These military records contribute to the growing knowledge about the African experience in Paraguay and the larger Rio de La Plata Region.

Author

• Raymond Costantino, Independent Scholar