In September 1860, an American theater company arrived in Chile, “Cantores Africanos” (Ethiopian Minstrels), which performed at the Victoria Theater in Valparaíso and the Municipal Theater of Santiago. This article analyzes, through the newspapers El Mercurio de Valparaíso and El Ferrocarril, how their arrival was, as well as the program they performed and their Chilean reception. We propose that this company corresponds to the first documented arrival of the Blackface Minstrelsy to Chile. Therefore, initially we contextualize this form of popular American entertainment. Next, we examine its arrival in 19th century Chile. Our hypothesis is that, although it did not have a great impact on local society, this artistic representation reinforced both the sense of racial otherness and reaffirmed an aesthetic and musical superiority of the audience gathered there.
Keywords:
Chile, 19th century, Blackface, Minstrel, Theater, Cantores Africanos, Ethiopian Minstrels
Domingo Gómez, D. (2021). Los Cantores Africanos. Arrival and reception of the Blackface Minstrelsy in the second half of the 19th century in Chile (1860). Revista Musical Chilena, 75(235), 152–176. Retrieved from https://revistafilosofia.uchile.cl/index.php/RMCH/article/view/56323
