Journeys of Candombe Federal by Martín Boneo. Their contribution to the social imaginary on Afro-Argentines

Among Martín Boneo's works, Candombe Federal is one of the most disseminated if we concentrate on its journeys through the visual imaginary; it depicts history books, memoirs, and academic research. This image combines aspects closely associated with negritude in our imaginary: the permanent link to Rosas (politician and army officer who ruled the Argentine Confederation almost uninterruptedly from 1829 to 1852), their immediate association with popular manifestations, specifically the candombe, and the relationship established by liberal writers at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century between this specific image and historical writings or memoirs. We believe that this conception about Afro-Argentinians becomes a stereotype and an invisibilization strategy whereby Afro-Argentinians are confined to the past, an abominable past which must not be repeated. Our purpose is to give an account on the use which was and is made of this image, because it fuels the social imaginary about Afro-Argentines.