“Any people of color have troubles in Argentina?” Reddit user Too_Practical asked in a travel subreddit after experiencing some uncomfortable interactions in the South American country.
“I’ve been backpacking in Latin America for five months now, and it’s been an awesome time,” the user states. “Everybody has been super nice and welcoming. Until now.”
The reader goes on to explain how someone pointed a “finger gun” at the traveler before screaming out “pow.” In another instance, the reader describes how the older generation looks at the backpacker “in disgust” while others have been downright rude.
“There’s also no diversity here, and it’s throwing me off a bit. Everywhere else, you can find Latinos from Black to white. Here, it’s just white, so as a brown mixed-race person, I stand out slightly.”
Questions about safety in Argentina, specifically for Black travelers, aren’t new. The topic has come up on various online forums, and Black travelers have discussed, in detail, some of their experiences traveling as a Black person in Argentina on platforms such as YouTube to help Black travelers manage their expectations. It’s no secret that safety is always top of mind for most Black travelers when choosing a destination. An MMGY study found more than 70 percent of people surveyed said safety is extremely or highly influential on their travel-making decisions.
In a country where an overwhelming majority of people identify as European compared to the less than 1% who identify as African, it’s not uncommon for Black travelers to pose the question of whether Argentina is a safe destination to travel to.
What Black Travelers Should Expect In Argentina
“In terms of Blackness and safety, I think it’s as safe as anywhere else,” Professor Judith Anderson tells Travel Noire. “People will point out your Blackness more, to the point where it’s annoying, but I don’t think Argentina is any less safe even with the new change in politics.”
Professor Anderson is a cultural anthropologist and Afro-Latin Americanist at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Her research has focused on the African diaspora in the Americas. She says there have been some changes in tone following the 2023 Presidential election when Javier Milei was elected president. President Milei is a self-described Anarcho-Capitalist.
“Racism has been a problem,” she adds. “With the changes in government, the stuff that was barely underground and under the surface […] is now fully on the surface with this new government again, even though it wasn’t that under the surface in the first place. Before, it wasn’t popular to be openly racist.”
Professor Anderson says that in large cities like Buenos Aires, where people are used to tourists, Black travelers will stand out because there’s a “specific national mythology” in Argentina.
“That city itself is like the capital of whiteness for Argentina and Latin America, so because of that particular mythology, any Blackness is going to stand out whether its foreign-born Blackness or Blackness from its own population.”
For Black travelers, particularly from the United States, Professor Anderson says Argentina is safer than America.
“If you are from the United States, do you understand how dangerous that country is for Black people?” she says. “The way society is organized, I would feel safer [in Argentina]. I don’t worry about going to a movie theater there and somebody having an automatic weapon and killing everyone. I don’t worry about going into crowds. Things are just different, so in that sense, I don’t find it any less safe.”
She adds Black travelers visiting Argentina should re-shift their focus to the economic crisis in Argentina by making sure to travel ethically.
“Remember, while there, you’re traveling for fun, and there are people there that can’t afford bus fare for work,” she says. “Some of the things to think about is supporting boutique hotels and not the ones that are a part of a chain. Look for activities that engage marginalized populations. Look for fairs that support indigenous craftspeople. Think about ethical engagement and where we are putting our resources when traveling because we don’t want to be just another person doing disaster tourism.”
