La visibilización de la población afrodescendiente en Argentina producida en los últimos años ha demandado reconstrucciones identitarias y mnemónicas. En este trabajo centramos la atención sobre la producción social de memorias y olvidos como factor clave en la delimitación e identificación del colectivo afroargentino  y, por lo tanto, como arena central de disputas y lucha política. En particular, reflexionaremos sobre el accionar de los líderes afrodescendientes y africanos en la construcción de versiones del pasado autorizadas y legitimadas para circular y transmitirse dentro y fuera del colectivo, así como también a las disputas y acuerdos respecto de otros relatos con los que compiten por el carácter de verdad, fundamentalmente la narrativa nacional hegemónica y la construcción académica antropológica. Estos procesos abrieron debates sobre el pasado olvidado de los afroargentinos y sobre la legitimidad de sus portavoces.

This article examines the ways in which the Argentinian state has reintroduced accounts of black history within a national narrative aimed at incorporating and visibilizating cultural minorities. Specifically, we analyze how new meanings and uses of the “Afro” past are constructed by hegemonic sectors, focusing on the commemoration event held at the National Congress to celebrate Afro-Argentineans’ and Afro-Culture Day for the first time. It seems that this commemoration is an opportunity to analyze new forms of visibilization of the black presence in Argentina since it offers a privileged instance for the installation, circulation and transmission of meanings and practices regarding the past on the part of the various actors involved. Finally, the ethnographic work based on participant observation conducted within the context of the above-mentioned ceremonies allows us to conclude that subordinate forms of memory are updated from hegemonic spaces, empowering alternative versions that are introduced in the public scene and find support even within (and in part of) the state acting as an active interlocutor.

Several academic studies on African and Afro-descendant population in Argentina have made reference to the 'oblivion' of the black component in the creation of an ethnically white and homogeneous national collective. The present work intends to rethink this issue in light of an Anthropology of the memory that promotes a critical analysis of the construction of an African past as diacritic of ethnic identification and interaction strategy related to the largest society, paying special attention to the actions of ethnic leaderships in the Afro community. In other words, we consider the processes of creation and validation of a social memory from an African origin by the ethnic entrepreneurs. For that purpose, we conduct a qualitative study employing the techniques characteristic of anthropological ethnography.

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Este artigo propõe repensar teoricamente algumas discussões e formas de apreensão das memórias, a partir de uma perspectiva antropológica interessada em analisar de que forma o passado é usado por grupos subalternos que se autodenominam "afros", em um contexto no qual se aprofundam as fissuras da narrativa oficial argentina e se abrem novos espaços para as “outras” memórias como fonte de visibilização e reivindicações. Portanto, propomos o objetivo de situar as memórias de afro descendentes e africanos no quadro nacional no qual atuam para delimitar e marcar as fronteiras culturais. Para isso, as memórias são enquadradas teoricamente especificando categorias e conceitos. Finalmente, reunimos as discussões apresentadas para propor uma perspectiva que contribua para o conhecimento do complexo campo dos estudos “afro” na Argentina, particularmente a respeito dos processos de invisibilização-visibilização, discriminação e pedidos de direitos e de igualdade cidadã.