DTS404HF

Joan Sullivan Research Paper

November 22, 2011 Prof. Ann Shternshis

Storytelling serves a vitally important role historically, particularly in relation to diasporic communities dispersed across the world. Stories allow diasporic communities to solidify common values and narratives and as such to assert themselves in relation to the nation state. In many stories one witnesses a struggle to construct a sense of place within the new diaspora and to navigate and resolve issues of identity and belonging. This is particularly true for Jewish stories, and an examination of Jewish storytelling across a wide range of cultures reveals ongoing attempts to construct a distinctive personal narrative. In the Latin American context, the South American country of Argentina has historically been home to a large and distinctive Jewish community, and has produced a number of distinguished writers of Jewish descent. These writers are inevitably the product of a society defined by colonialism and a complex relationship between European and indigenous identity. As such, I would ask: how do Argentinian Jewish writers define themselves within a multi-ethnic Argentinian society, and what elements of culture do they include or exclude in the process of constructing a diasporic narrative? I will attempt to answer these questions through a comparison of renowned Argentinian-Jewish author Alberto Gerchunoffs famed work Los gauchos judios with the works of other prominent Jewish scholars in Argentina. Ultimately, the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion and their relationship to place will be analyzed for their importance to the collective Argentinian-Jewish imaginary in the context of the diaspora. The Latin American nation of Argentina saw multiple influxes of Jewish immigrants, first from parts of Spain and Northern Africa and then later during World War II from Germany, Poland, the Ukraine, and other parts of Eastern Europe. The first Jewish immigrants to Argentina

DTS404HF

were Sephardic Jews, most of them exiles from Spain following the Inquisition. Later, in the 1860s, Argentina saw an influx of Ashkenazis from Eastern Europe. Thousands of Eastern European Jews landed in South America thanks an initiative by Baron Maurice de Hirsch, a Judeo-Belgian philanthropist, who worked with the Jewish Colonization Association to purchase large tracts of land on Argentinas pampa-plains with the intention of establishing a Promised Land for poor shtetl Jews escaping the pogroms of Russia (Stavans 402). Ironically, Argentina also became a haven for Nazi sympathizers which created an interesting and more-often-than-not contentious cultural dynamic, particularly during Argentinas fascist years. Argentina was imagined by many Jewish scholars as a Promised Land for the Jewish race, free from discrimination and exclusion; however, anti-semitism was a severe reality and tarnished the idyllic visions of Jewish philanthropists (Books and Bombs 13). The struggle faced by many Argentine-Jews to navigate and interpret the at-times harsh realities of the would-be Promised Land is elaborated on by myriad Jewish-Argentine authors and, as such, their work provides a means by which to address the complicated issues of belonging and identity for Argentinas Jews. The year 1910 marked the centennial of Argentinian independence. It was a year of cultural and literary celebration of the Argentinian national character, and perhaps the most renowned symbol of the fierce, independent Argentine was the gaucho of the pampas. The Argentinian gaucho was a proudly independent cowboy-like figure, extolled in books and speeches and defended as the embodiment of authentic Argentineity. It is of particular interest then to note the appearance of a much-hailed collection of short stories under the title Los gauchos judios (The Jewish Gauchos) on the year of the centennial. Alberto Gerchunoff, the author of the famed piece of literature, was a Russian-born Jew and one of myriad Jews to be

DTS404HF

raised on the pampas-plains of Argentina. His famous and much-analyzed work is considered to be the paramount example of Argentinian-Jewish literature, and has generated much discussion over the issues of inclusion and exclusion in the context of the diaspora. Los gauchos judios, published in the political-cultural context of the centennial, is, according to Aizenberg, a conscious effort by Gerchunoff to reposition Jews alongside gauchos, and in doing so earn the right for his coreligionists to be respected and, even more importantly, to belong (Books and Bombs 19). Gerchunoffs acclaimed work of literature narrates the lives of Jewish settlers and agriculturalists growing up on the vast and wild pampas of Argentina. He extolls their work and dedication to their trade, and paints an overtly idyllic picture of a life in harmony with man and nature, all the while delicately fusing Jewish and Argentinian imagery to construct an identity that, while Jewish, is entirely at home - indeed, belongs - on the Argentinian pampas: Favel Duglach had the soul of a poet. Jewish and gaucho traditions had fused together in the soul of this thin, pale Jew... who was as moved by the epic paeans to gaucho valor as he was by the biblical stories that he told his faithful audiences... He cut an odd figure. A hooked nose dominated his face. His long, wild hair and long beard gave him a bizarre mien; a pair of bombachas and a battered gaucho hat accentuated his absurd look even more. But Favel would inevitably explain: Im a Jewish gaucho. (Gerchunoff 132). Gerchunoffs use of the gaucho figure was deeply rooted in a desire to conform to the Argentine imaginary of the nation as a progressive republic that embraced and absorbed peoples

DTS404HF

of the most diverse backgrounds. By linking the Jewish persona to imagery and symbols of Argentine identity he attempted to portray the Jew as a hardworking and peaceful citizen, deserving of the land of Argentina. However, his reasons for optimism have been largely contended by other Argentinian-Jewish writers who call into question the veracity of his images of inclusion. As Aizenberg has noted, Gerchunoff fails to confront history with fact, and shies away from establishing a critical view of his new-found homeland. Reality opposes fiction in that the majority of Jewish settlers lived on the outskirts of the pampas and did not engage in the gaucho way of life, and as such Gerchunoffs imagined Jewish gaucho is just that - an imagined identity (24). In reality, Jewish settlers experienced real exclusion from Argentinian society, despite Gerchunoffs attempts to include the Jewish with the Hispanic. Indeed, as Ilan Stavans observes, while Gerchunoffs writings were initially optimistic about the fate of Argentinian Jewry, he later became disillusioned with his adopted home country and turned his face away from public life. The writings that preceded his death were of an abstract literary nature, and intentionally excluded all references to the Jewish experience. (Stavans 402). Argentinian-Jewish author Mario Szichmans collection of short stories entitled Los judios del mar dulce (The Jews of the Sweet Water Sea) is essentially an invalidation of Los gauchos judios, and speaks more to the extent to which Jews were both excluded from Argentinian society and to the means by which they sought inclusion. Szichman follows the immigrant family by the name of Pechof, a prototypical Eastern European family that wanders from country to city struggling for survival, all the while questioning their Argentineity and simultaneously having it questioned. The imagined Argentina described by Szichman is a direct reference to Gerchunoffs idyllic vision: On the first day of the crossing they were shown a film called Argentina, The Promised Land.

DTS404HF

... in the country that had been prepared to fool the immigrants... Money grew on trees (77). Szichmans subsequent work, At 8:25 Evita Became Immortal, continues the story of the Pechofs. Desperate to belong, Jaime Pechof hires a manager to transform his Yiddish-speaking family into a Catholic, Hispanic family by the name of Gutierrez Anselmi: In moments of disenchantment, Jaime realized the difficulties inherent in going from any Jewish past to a Catholic present. As a Jew, everything that he did sprang from within him... But when he played Gutierrez Anselmi he lost all spontaneity... Unlike the Gutierrez Anselmi, the Pechofs had passed through real stages... There had been voices that could issue only from soft faces that spoke in a language without prestige, and all that was necessary was a yarkoyhe cooked the whole day to bring back the past splendor (86-87). Szichman speaks to attempts to exclude aspects of Jewishness in the search for inclusion in Argentine society, and ultimately demonstrates what he sees to be the impossibility of full inclusion in the foreign society. Alicia Steimberg also examines the issues of inclusion and exclusion, particularly in relation to language as a marker for identity, in her 1992 novel Cuando digo Magdalena (When I Say Magdalena): ... in my case one way of speaking was Spanish and the other Yiddish. But since Yiddish sounded harsh and unpleasant to me, I refused to speak it. It was a mysterious language that could reveal to me who I really was. From childhood I was expected to hide, to cover up who I really was and to pretend that I was someone else, who, strangely, I also was (60-61). Here Steimberg reveals the deep conflict and divide felt by many diasporic subjects, in this case portrayed by language. She feels both

DTS404HF

connected to and isolated from both her Jewish and Argentinian heritage - perpetually caught in the crux of inclusion and exclusion. The dynamics of place in Gerchunoffs literature are of particular interest to the discussion of Argentinian-Jewish identity. Place or location, as Dalia Kandiyoti points out, is a generative source of culture and an integral component of the experience of displacement and identity (77). Location as a concept is particularly important to the discussion of Jewish identity in that much of Jewish thought is centered on the idea of the homeland, or Promised Land. The imagined Jewish homeland is inherently mobile - given form by stories and mythology. Los gauchos judios begnis with the words of a rabbi who extolls the wonders of Argentina, giving physical shape to the Promised Land by arguing that Zion can exist anywhere; that the Jewish homeland transcends the specifics of history and geography (Lindstrom 53). As such, for Gerchunoff, the pampas becomes the imagined homeland of Argentinian Jewry, inhabited by immigrant Jews who reinstate a picturesque Biblical way of living, a timeless Jewish tradition to continue on the benevolent Argentine soil (Kandiyoti 114). However, the mobility of the homeland and its applications in Argentina become problematic when viewed in the context of the Latin American experience. The historical experience of natives and settlers in the Americas was defined by bloody warfare over physical places, and the importance of location to different peoples is significantly less mobile in nature than what is observed in the Jewish example. As such, we encounter what Edna Aizenberg has described as a profound disconnect between Hispanic, Argentinian, and Jewish discourse (How a Samovar... 33); a disconnection that extends to literature: Since Jewish civilization has always been international, Jewish works often simultaneously inhabit several literary traditions and can be read within multiple frameworks (How a Samovar... 35). As such, the writings of

DTS404HF

Argentinian-Jewish authors can be seen as a series of attempts to navigate the disconnect between place and identity and to understand the ways in which inclusion and exclusion contribute to their personal and collective experiences in the context of the diaspora. The Jewish gaucho, a proud and independent figure, is the epitome of Gerchunoffs idyllic vision for Argentinian Jewry: inclusion as full citizens who embody the values of the republic. Sadly, the complications of exclusion - both from Argentinian and Jewish culture create a more complex and less-idyllic experience for Jewish immigrants. The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, particularly as defined by place, are frequently elaborated by both Gerchunoff and his critics who eek to portray a more realistic image of life in the diaspora. Ultimately, the disconnect felt by many Argentinian Jews speaks to the confusion of identity in the diasporic context, and as such provides an interesting narrative for the Jewish-Argentinian experience.

Works Cited

Aizenberg, Edna. Books and Bombs in Buenos Aires: Borges, Gerchunoff, and Argentine-Jewish Writing. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2002. Print. Aizenberg, Edna. How a Samovar Helped me Theorize Latin American Jewish Writing. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies 19.3 (2001): 33-40. Print.

DTS404HF

Gerchunoff, Alberto. Los gauchos judios. La Plata: Joaquin Sese, 1910; rev. ed., Buenos Aires: Gleizer, 1936. Kandiyoti, Dalia. Comparative Diasporas: The Local and the Mobile in Abraham Cahan and Alberto Gerchunoff. Modern Fiction Studies 44.1 (1998): 77-122. Print. Stavans, Ilan. Imagining Argentina. Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought 41.4 (1992) 401-420. Print.

Szichman, Mario. At 8:25 Evita Became Immortal. Trans. Roberto Picciotto. Hanover, NH: Ediciones del Norte, 1981. Print.

Szichman, Mario. Los judios del mar dulce. Buenos Aires: Galerna-Sintesis 2000, 1971. Print.