FORGIVENESSORSANCTION?
VIRTUAL NEWSLETTER OF PERUVIAN CULTURE FOR AFRICA MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS RECIPE
Speechonracismintheperuviansportspress throughtheTingacase
ACOSTUMEFORINSINUATION, PROVOCATION,ANDMODESTY:
TheTapadainPerú
PeruvianflavorswithanAfrican influence
ItwasFebruary2014andwewereintheknockoutstagesof the Copa Libertadores de América, the most prestigious club-levelcompetitioninSouthAmericanfootball Atthat stage,RealGarcilaso-ateamfromCuscofoundedin2009 andarookieinthecup-wasplayingagainstCruzeiro,oneof the most successful teams in Brazil and a two-times champion.InthedaysleadinguptothematchonFebruary 12, the Peruvian sports press was already announcing the foreignopponentasthe"BlackBeast",afearedteamwhose players also included the "beast" Julio Baptista What happenednextwouldbecomeamilestoneinthehistoryof Peruvianracism
Againstallodds,RealGarcilaso,ateamwithlessbudgetand recognitionthanCruzeiro,wonthematch Onaprovincial field, in the city of Huancayo, at an altitude of more than threethousandmetersabovesealevel,infrontoffanswho rarely have the opportunity to see a match like this, there was hope for Real Garcilaso to go far in the Copa Libertadores.
Thenewsinthenewspapersthenextdaycouldhavebeen that a small Peruvian team had managed to beat a team fromBrazil,acountryoffootballstars.Instead,Brazilianand Peruvianmediaechoedacomplaintofracialdiscrimination due to fans shouting during the match. Every time Paulo César "Tinga" Fonseca touched the ball, the fans in the stands shouted in unison Tinga's complaint to the South AmericanFootballConfederation-knownasCONMEBOLis part of a larger phenomenon in Peru A study by the Ministry of Culture on racial discrimination in Peruvian footballfoundseventeencasesofracismbetween2013and 2015
ThislistdoesnottakeintoaccountTinga'scomplaint,since the situation ocurred in an international tournament; however, the latter shares a characteristic with the other cases:theyallinvolveapersonofAfricandescent
WhathappenedinHuancayohadsuchanimpactthatthe presidentofBrazil,DilmaRousseff,andthepresidentofPeru, OllantaHumala,spokeoutagainstthistypeofincidents Thus,theissueofracismwasonceagainintroducedinthe Peruvianmediaagenda Finally,onMarch24,2014,the CONMEBOLDisciplinaryTribunaldecidedtosanctionthe PeruvianclubRealAtléticoGarcilasowithUSD12,000"forthe racistchantssungbyasectorofitsfans"
HowisracismrepresentedinthePeruviansportswritten press?Whatisthelinkbetweenthespeechonracisminthe sportswrittenpressandtheuseofethnicstereotypesinthe constructionofnews?
Weconductedacriticalanalysisofthediscourseintwo newspaperarticlesrelatedtoTinga'scomplaint,publishedin thenewspapers"Depor"and"Líbero"onFebruary14,2014 Thepreliminaryresultofmyresearchderivesinfourthemes throughwhichracismisrepresentedinthesportspress.
Racismthatmanifestsitselfonthefieldsgoesunnoticed amongthoseinvolved(thereferee,thecoachesortheplayers themselves)Oneofthewaysoutproposedbytheanalyzed newspapersistoexcludethePeruvianteam-RealGarcilasofromwhathappenedandsuggestignoranceofwhatwas goingon(althougheveryonehearditinthestadium)
Racismdeservespunishment,butthenewspaperassumes that readers want the least punishment for the Peruvian team "Líbero's"headline,"PonlelaCruz eiro",resortstothe metaphoricalfigureof"ponerlacruz",whichmeanstocross out or eliminate This reveals the newspaper ' s attitude towardswhathappened.Thisphrasedoesnotprovideany information whatsoever on the subject of the article. It highlights the concern that readers would have about the possible sanction (in the case of "Líbero") against Real Garcilaso, which includes, among the possibilities, the removalofthe"pointsearnedonthefield"
Since these articles were published before CONMEBOL's verdict, there is speculation as to what the degree of the sanction might be They speculate on the subject of the sanction instead of waiting for the resolution Finally, this approachplacesusinadilemma:weknowthatracismmust besanctioned,buttheaimisfortherulingtobethelightest possiblesothattheteamrepresentingPerucanadvancein thetournament
Thiscouldbeanattempttogodeeperintothesubject,butit is also a way of naturalizing discrimination as a " nonisolated"factthateventhe"greatfiguresoffootball"suffer Ononehand,theypointoutaglobaltrendinfootball;onthe otherhand,theysuggestthatwearenottheonlyonesand thatthishappenseveninmoreprestigiousspaces.
Besides,"Depor"trivializesthematterbydedicatingaspace on the same article about the return of Real Garcilaso's playersaftertheirvictory Thebox,titled"theyarebackwith their own”, characterizes Tinga's case as a "chongo" which means scandal or controversy. The trivialization of the racismcomplaintalsohasanimpactontheassessmentof thepunishmentthatRealGarcilasocouldreceive
Wealsoneedtohighlighttheexclusionofthosevictimsof discrimination Thewritersdonotincludestatementsfrom Tinga, nor from other football players who were directly attacked Theyarenotmentioned,noritisindicatedthatthe author tried to contact them The only direct quote in the "Depor"textisattributedtoFreddyGarcía,RealGarcilaso's coach In addition, Jhoel Herrera, Jefferson Farfán, AfroPeruvianplayersandPresidentsOllantaHumalaandDilma Rousseff are quoted from their Facebook or Twitter posts. Alexandre Mattos, Cruzeiro's sports director, is quoted by "Líbero"newspaperinasmallexcerpt Directquotescanbe ways of saying through others something with which one agrees
We apologize for the racism, even if we are not racist Apologiesareathirddiscursiveresourceusedtodealwith whathappenedwithTinga.In"Depor's"article,theheadline read"Iapologize".Itisnotexplicittowhomthisapologyis given We can assume that it is the journalist or the newspaper asking for Tinga's forgiveness, although in fact theywerenottheoneswhocommittedtheaggression Later on, the text included the apologies of Freddy García, Real Garcilaso'sCoachandJhoelHerrera,Garcilaso'splayer,who declared having gone through something similar By appealing to symbolic forgiveness, roles are projected: the newspaper asks for forgiveness on behalf of those who attacked.Thesubjectandobjectofthisforgivenessarenot concrete.Theideathatracismiswrongisreaffirmed,butno specificperpetratorsorvictimsareidentified.
Racismitselfdoesnotrequiresomuchattention.Anextract within "Líbero's" story recounts other cases of racism in worldfootball.
It is recognized that something is wrong with racism; it is characterized as an offense, something sad, scandalous, of great magnitude or a joke While this media statement is politicallycorrectandexpected,itisdifficulttoconcludethat themainconcernistheracismthatisstillaliveonthefields
Thefactthatnewspapersreproducetheallegationsofracial discriminationthatariseduringthematchescontributesto exposetheracismstillpresentinoursociety Weknowthat themediaarestrategicalliesinthefightagainstracismand discrimination;however,iftheireffortsarenotwelldirected, theycanevenbecounterproductive Theirpowerisdoubleedged:"theycanraiseawareness,buttheycanalsoweaken thefundamentalintentandkeymessageinthefightagainst racism and discrimination. They can blur the lines and weaken the semantic effectiveness and weight of the conceptstheyuse"(UNESCO,2016)
ExcerptfromthearticleoriginallypublishedinCULTURAAFROPERUANAEncuentro de investigadores 2017, Ministerio de Cultura Pp 114-120 available at: https://centroderecursosculturape/es/registrobibliografico/cultura-afroperuanaencuentro-de-investigadores
2017#: :text El%20Encuentro%20se%20llev%20llev%20C3%B3%20a,e)%20identida d%20desde%20el%20el%20arte
Onmanyoccasions,itissaidthatappearancesaredeceiving, thatwhatweseeisnotreal,thatitisnotwhatpeoplewantto showandthatbehindthatperceivableimage,realityis hiding.ThisstatementispresentintheIslamiccultureandit isfeaturedinsomeofitsarchitecture,where,behindaustere facades,interiorsofgreatbeautyandrichnessaretobefound inbuildingsengineeredbythiscultureinourland,for example,theAlhambraThesamehappenswiththeimageof theMuslimwoman,whousuallyhidesherfigurebehinda garment,whichcoversherfromheadtotoeandhides, sometimes,bothherbeautyandmorevaluableclothing
SpaniardsassimilatedmanyArabcustomsafteryearsof coexistence:architecture,literature,language,etc,andinthe casethatconcernsus,thatoffemaleclothingandthewayin whichwomencoveredtheirheadswithacloak,hidingpartof theirfaces.
AntonioLeónPinelo(1641)investigatestheoriginsofthe customofcoveringthewoman'sfaceFirst,heexplainsthe distinctionbetweenthetwousesoftheveil:"covered"or "tapada":
"To those that cover all the face with the mantle, we call plainly Covered: and to those that uncover half sight, and, in vulgar style, they are called, Tapadas [ ] The Covered, being the most modest, or for those that went out with less personal care “El Tapado” , universal to all of them, so hardly any woman was found in the streets, who was uncovered [...] “El Tapado” , is considered in that Kingdom [Portugal] as an indecent and lewd dress, and so it is worn only by public women, and those who live to be seen " And recognizing that there are not many studies that give us information about the origins of this custom, he tells us how "the Spanish women covered themselves, and how they used “el Tapado”, while Rome was dominated by Spain" "And it is that the half-eye cover, as Arab costume, entered Spain, or was introduced mainly with the Arabs, and that it has remained until today with the Spanish women "
Th taseries ofimagesfromdifferentspanishcitiesonthediverse varietiesofmantlestylingtocoverthefeminiefigure,from theAraboriginaltothemodifiedspanishversion,whenthe whitemantletransitionedtoblack;andthestartingpoint whenwomenbegantohidetheirfaces Animagefrm Granadashowedawomancoveringherface,whileanother from Ecija, on the road to Cordoba, dislayed another covered woman. In another Granadian drawing some womenwearingtheArabalmalafawhitearerepresented whiletheyholdthisclothwithbothhandsundertheir facesnotcoveringthem,Nexttothem,twootherwomen withblackmantlesandbunsontheirheadsalsoholdthe mantlesbelowtheirchins.ImagesofAlhama,Jerezdela Frontera,SevilleandGranadaarerepresentedaswell
TheArabwoman'scustomofcoveringherselfwiththe mantlethoughtheuseofshawls,pashminas,mantillas, whichpervadestothepresentday,reachedtheAmerican lands
ThetextofAntonioLeónPinelo(1641)isveryusefulto assessthedifferencesbetweenthetwomodesofuseofthe veil:"covered"or"tapado"
The "tapado" will be reckoned, being conventional for women in Lima during the colonial period and the early yearsoftherepublic
Theoriginofthiscustominthoselandshasnotbeenfully clarified either, although from the documentation that has come down to us of the events in which this attire was involved, we have evidence that from a very early date “la tapada”waspartofthelandscapeofthecityofLima.
It must be taken into account that the Arab culture was presentinPeruandespeciallyinLima,theCityoftheKings, sincethebeginningoftheconquest InSpain,theArabshad just been expelled and some of them converted to Christianity, becoming known as Moorish converts, false Christians and "Moriscos". However, the persecutions to which they were subjected made many of them try to find other places of residence in Spain or in other countries, in EuropeandAmerica
Laborwasneededinthenewlands;therefore,somepeople falsified their surnames to pass as Christians and others crossedtheAtlanticasslaves,appearinginthedocumentsas "whiteslaves"
Among them were some women who eventually became important figures in the new American society, as was the caseofBeatrizdeSalcedo,whoarrivedinPeruasaslaveof García Salcedo, Royal Overseer in 1532 Documents regardingtestaments,godparentships,etc,referredinmany cases to Moorish characters who knew how to leave their mark in the Lima of the XVI century, which lasts until our days,throughfood,folklore,architecture,etc
Therefore,justastheybroughtwiththemsomeoftheirdaily lifecustomstothenewcontinentandreflectedtheircustoms inthenewstructures Wouldn’titbepossibleforwomento continuewearingthesameclothingtheyhadworninSpain untilthetimeoftheirexpulsion,withoutfearofpersecution, aswehaveseenthemrepresentedintheimagesofSeville, GranadaorÉcija
This caused, centuries later, that travelers wisitting the PeruviancapitalfoundaresemblancewithConstantinople, Istanbul or Morocco, inview of the towers and domes, the frescoes,theMudejararchesandceilingsinitscloistersand courtyards, the windows, the latticeworked balconies and inlaid furniture This was accompanied by the custom of womensittingathomeonadaiswiththeirlegscrossed,the separationofthefaithfulinchurches, bazaarsandmarkets, theuseofmatsbywomeninchurch,thetasteforbeautiful gardens, the anticuchoslike the Moroccan kebabs and, of course,theladyof"saya "andmantle.
Fromthatmomenton,thefigureof“latapada"becamepart oftheimaginaryofthecityofLima.Now,althoughthereisno certaindateoftheadoptionofsuchclothing,itcanbenoted thatitmusthaveoccurredclosetothefoundationofthecity, sincewefindreferencestothischaracterarepresentinvery earlytextsandimages
Excerpt from the article Un traje para la insinuación, la provocación y el recato published in Congreso Internacional Imagen y Apariencia: Universidad de Murcia, 19 - 21 November 2008. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10201/44430
Peruvianfoodtakesonauniqueparticularityasaresultusingnativeingredientsandthosebroughtduringtheprocess ofcolonization,andevenmoresobecauseofitscapacityforinterculturaladaptation
"BecauseofthehistoricalandnecessaryexchangeoffoodproductsbetweentheAndesandthecoast,insomeplacesone could speak of an Afro-Andean cuisine and an Afro-indigenous cuisine, for example, derived from the coexistence of Afro-descendantsandnativepeoples"
Fogónafroperuano:Herenciaysaberdelacocinaafroperuanadelacosta,p50,MinistryofCulture&theAfroCultural AssetsFoundation(ACUA)
Ingredients
500gramsofblackbeans
500gramsofbrownsugar
500millilitersofevaporatedmilk
10gramsofwhitesesameseeds
Soak the beans for 24 hours and change the water twice Boil until the beans are soft Blend the beans into a puree and add a little bit of water Place the bean puree in a large pot with the milk and sugar over medium heat Stir constantly using a spoon When the bottom of the pot is seen, remove and pour into a bowl Sprinkle with toasted sesameseeds