Afro-Argentines
Country · Argentina
Argentina wrote its Black population out of the national story — but tango's name, its drums and its first dancers were Afro-Porteño.
Afro-Argentines at a glance
- Country
- Argentina
- Main centres
- Buenos Aires — San Telmo & Montserrat
- Region
- South America
- How many
- Small and long undercounted; recent arrivals from West Africa add to it
- Languages
- Spanish
- Dialling code
- +54
The African connection
Africans were roughly a third of Buenos Aires in the early 1800s. War, epidemic and a deliberate policy of European immigration and statistical erasure followed. The candombe drum circles of San Telmo were where tango began.
Key dates for Afro-Argentines
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Afro-Argentines and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
Every Asian country →The Afro-Argentines channel
Every entry in the diaspora section has its own free channel in the Hub, alongside the 108 country channels and the topic rooms.
Open the channel →