{"id":380,"date":"2020-05-05T11:59:07","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T15:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/italian-diaspora\/?page_id=380"},"modified":"2020-05-09T14:50:15","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T18:50:15","slug":"italian-influence-on-argentinian-theatre","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/italian-diaspora\/linfluenza-italiana-sul-teatro-argentino\/italian-influence-on-argentinian-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Influence on Argentinian Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS, COCOLICHE<\/em>, AND THE SAINETE<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sophia Scorcia<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

It should not come as a surprise that Italians had a notable influence on Argentinian culture. In the late 19th<\/sup> century, a large wave of Italian immigrants left Italy in the hopes of finding more opportunities and a better life in Argentina. Between 1881 and 1910, for example, 2.3 million immigrants arrived in Argentina through the Port of Buenos Aires.[i]<\/a> In fact, the number of immigrants arriving in Argentina was so high that Italian immigrants made up 40% of the population of Buenos Aires between 1880 and 1930.[ii]<\/a> With this incontrovertible presence, it follows that Argentinian culture, and specifically the rioplatense <\/em>(referring to the Rio de la Plata region) culture of Buenos Aires, absorbed elements of Italian culture and became something new and different. The same thing happened in regards to language\u2014the different dialects that Italian immigrants brought with them to Argentina mixed with rioplatense<\/em> Spanish, creating a new spoken language: cocoliche<\/em>. Nowadays, cocoliche<\/em> no longer exists because the language is thought to have disappeared after the first wave of Italian immigration.[iii]<\/a> However, this language played an important role in the life and culture of 19th<\/sup> century and early 20th<\/sup> century Argentina, and it was particularly important in the evolution of popular theatre.<\/p>\n

Cocoliche<\/em> evolved because Italian immigrants needed to communicate. The immigrants that arrived at the end of the 1800s spoke regional dialects and were often illiterate; therefore, they not only did not speak Spanish, but they also did not have a complete mastery of their own national language.[iv]<\/a> According to scholar Alejandro Patat, \u201cI limiti tra l\u2019italiano e lo spagnolo diventano diffusi nella interlingua del parlante cocoliche<\/em>, che non si rende conto dell\u2019interferenza di una lingua sull\u2019altra e della reciproca contaminazione; dunque, la perdita della consapevolezza della propria lingua non viene accompagnata dall\u2019acquisito della consapevolezza dell\u2019altra\u201d [the limits between Italian and Spanish become scattered in the interlanguage of the cocoliche<\/em> speaker, who is not aware of the interference of one language on the other and of the reciprocal contamination; therefore, the loss of awareness of one\u2019s own language is not accompanied by the acquisition and awareness of the other].[v]<\/a> In other words, cocoliche<\/em> was not a formal language that was purposefully constructed and taught\u2014it developed instead in a more passive manner, and simply because immigrants needed to survive in a new country.<\/p>\n

There is also another type of language that developed in Argentina because of the influence of Italianisms\u2014lunfardo<\/em>. Cocoliche<\/em> \u201csi colloca in una posizione variabile tra l\u2019italiano e lo spagnolo\u201d [is situated in a variable position between Italian and Spanish] in its mix of the two languages in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar structures, while lunfardo <\/em>\u201cappartiene interamente allo spagnolo rioplatense\u201d [belongs completely to rioplatense<\/em> Spanish].[vi]<\/a> In lunfardo<\/em>, Italianisms appear in various ways. The clearest way that they appear is in cases in which the original meaning of an Italian word remains the same and replaces the Spanish word.[vii]<\/a> The word \u201cnegocio\u201d from the Italian \u201cnegozio,\u201d (store<\/em>) for example, is used in lunfardo<\/em> rather than the Spanish word \u201ctienda.\u201d[viii]<\/a> There are other cases, however, in which some Italian words received \u201cuna nuova accezione quando rientra nel parlato colloquiale\u201d [a new acceptation when they reentered colloquial speech].[ix]<\/a> For example, the lunfardo<\/em> verb \u201cmanyar\u201d comes from the Italian verb \u201cmangiare\u201d (to eat) and means the same thing (to eat) in cocoliche<\/em>, but in lunfardo<\/em> the verb \u201cmanyar\u201d has a more metaphorical meaning and refers to an intellectual consumption rather than a physical one\u2014\u201cmanyar\u201d means \u201cto understand\u201d or \u201cto realize.\u201d[x]<\/a> Furthermore, some Italian words took on a new metaphorical meaning when they became part of lunfardo<\/em> idiomatic expressions, like \u201cdar un pesto a alguien\u201d (\u201cdare una bastonata a qualcuno,\u201d \u201cgive someone a beating\u201d), or \u201ctener polenta\u201d (\u201cessere attivo, creative, o energetico,\u201d \u201cto be active, creative, or energetic).[xi]<\/a> Overall, lunfardo<\/em> is a way of speaking rioplatense<\/em> Spanish and was consciously created and spoken, while cocoliche<\/em> was unconsciously created by immigrants who spoke the language without realizing they had mixed elements of Italian and Spanish.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to explain all of the peculiarities of cocoliche<\/em> (and also to understand them without a background in linguistics), but Edmondo De Amicis provides us with a brief explanation of the language in his book Sull\u2019oceano<\/em> (1889): \u201csi mescolano elementi morfologici spagnoli e italiani nella stessa parola, e parole spagnole ed italiane nella stessa frase, oltre ai cambiamenti semantici e ai calchi\u201d [Spanish and Italian morphological elements combine in the same word, and Spanish and Italian words in the same sentence, in addition to loan words semantic changes].[xii]<\/a> Another important aspect to understand about cocoliche<\/em> is that it was mainly a spoken language until various playwrights used it in their work, specifically in the 1880s in a type of theatre known as sainete<\/em>.[xiii]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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What is sainete<\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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A version of El Conventillo de la Paloma, a sainete by Alberto Vacarezza<\/p><\/div>\n

The sainete<\/em> is a type of theater originating from Spain, and is part of the genre known as g\u00e9nere chico<\/em> (short genre). Generally, a sainete<\/em> is made up of one act, it is generally funny and charming in nature, and the plot often revolves around a lover\u2019s conflict and concludes with a happy ending.[xiv]<\/a> It arrived in Argentina with the arrival of Spanish immigrants, and it rapidly became an important part of Argentina\u2019s national theatre.[xv]<\/a> The development of the sainete<\/em> is part of the overall development of popular theatre, which represented an alternative to elite art and theatre. There was a notable division between the cultures of the upper classes and that of the lower classes, and this divide was also visible in theatre; the Teatro Col\u00f3n<\/em>, for example, is a theater that offered a more refined kind of art. The Teatro Col\u00f3n <\/em>was rebuilt in the late 1800s and officially opened in 1908, and it staged important operas with Europe\u2019s most famous singers and musicians, attracting a rich and aristocratic audience. Alternatively, popular theaters such as the Pasatiempo<\/em> theatre produced performances that attracted a popular audience, performances such as the dramas of the Spanish g\u00e9nero chico<\/em>. In spite of the fact that the Pasatiempo<\/em> theater was a theater for the people, however, it earned more money than any other theater in Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century.[xvi]<\/a> The Pasatiempo<\/em> was also important in the history of the sainete<\/em>. In 1889, the theater was divided into three separate sections with each section offering a different one act play, and eventually other theaters began doing the same thing (creating mini-theaters within the larger theater). Consequently, the demand for performances to fill these mini-theaters increased, allowing the sainete<\/em> to develop as a theatrical form.[xvii]<\/a><\/p>\n

However, even though the sainete<\/em> was generally funny, it also explored important themes that represented aspects of everyday life for the lower class. Sainetes<\/em> were often set in conventilos<\/em>, tenement buildings where many immigrants and working class people lived, but the conventillo<\/em> also influenced the plot of the plays. For example, one of the first sainetes<\/em> written by Nemesio Trejo (a very important sainete<\/em> author), Los \u00f3leos del chico <\/em>(The Boy\u2019s Christening) dramatized life for the working class and spoke about problems such as high rents and low wages.[xviii]<\/a> Moreover, in another one of Trejo\u2019s famous sainetes <\/em>from 1907, Los Inquilinos<\/em> (The Tenents), the main plot point revolved around a strike in the conventillos<\/em>\u2014most importantly, however, is the fact that the strikers emerged victorious at the end of the play. This saintete<\/em> was a clear representation of the rent strike that took place in 1907 in conventillos<\/em> throughout Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n

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Evictions in the conventillos, 1907 Photograph. Inventory 18196. From the Archivio General de la Naci\u00f3n Argentina<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sainetes<\/em> written by Alberto Vacarezza\u2014another important author that wrote over 200 sainetes<\/em>\u2014also explored sociocultural themes and dramatized the culture zeitgeist of the era.[xix]<\/a> In other words, the sainetes<\/em> reflected the habits and behavious of the age and \u201cresponded immediately to the concerns, struggles, and history of its audience.\u201d[xx]<\/a> The grotesco criollo<\/em>, another Argentinian genre of theater characterized by the works of Armando Disc\u00e9polo, has this in common with the sainete<\/em> in the sense that grotesco criollo<\/em> plays \u201capprofondisc[ono] la tematica sociale e familiare dell\u2019immigrato\u201d [delve into the social and familial experience of the immigrant].[xxi]<\/a> In conclusion, therefore, popular theater did not only represent a to have fun or escape reality, but it also represented an opportunity for the working classes to take on the reality of their lives and to be the heroes of their own story.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u201cCover of a reprint of one of many sainetes written about life in the Argentine tenements\u201d Cited in Judith Evans, \u201cSetting the Stage for Struggle: Popular Theater in Buenos Aires, 1890-1914,\u201d Radical History Review 21 (Fall 1979): 53.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does the Italian immigrant have to do with the sainete<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>The figure of the Italian immigrant entered into the sainete<\/em> with the theatrical productions of the Podest\u00e1 Brothers. The Podest\u00e1 brothers was a theatrical company comprised of rioplatense<\/em> actors and founded by the brothers of the Podest\u00e1 brothers, sons of Genovese immigrants that arrived in Buenos Aires but later moved to Motevideo in Uruguay. Their company dominated the circo criollo<\/em> genre, the most widespread form of popular theatre in Argentina in the 19th<\/sup> century, and it connected the circo<\/em> to the sainete<\/em> in the 1880s and 1890s.[xxii]<\/a> In 1884, the Podest\u00e1 company produced a pantomimed performance that told the story of Juan Moreira<\/em>, a famous novel written by Ricardo Guti\u00e9rrez in 1879, and eventually Jos\u00e9 Podest\u00e1 also wrote a script for the perofmrance. In 1888, the most famous character that Jos\u00e9 Podest\u00e1 ever created became a part of the performance\u2014the cocoliche <\/em>character named Pepino el 88<\/em>.[xxiii]<\/a> The term \u201ccocoliche<\/em>\u201d comes from the lastname of a Calabrese immigrant\u2014his real last name was Coccoliccio\u2014who worked for the Podest\u00e1 brothers, and this man and his method of talking gave the inspiration to Jos\u00e9 Podest\u00e1 to create a clownish Italian character.[xxiv]<\/a><\/p>\n

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Jos\u00e9 Podest\u00e1 in his role of Pepino el 88<\/p><\/div>\n

Pepino el 88<\/em> was a comical and clownish character that represented an Italian bozal<\/em>. The term \u201cbozal\u201d refers to an immigrant who does not display a mastery of the local language, and this incapacity to speak is visible in the character of Pepino el 88<\/em>, who speaks cocoliche<\/em>.[xxv]<\/a> The production of Juan Moreira<\/em> and Jose Podest\u00e1\u2019s performance of Pepino el 88<\/em> broadcast the image of the cocoliche<\/em> character, so much so that \u201cla presenza dell\u2019immigrato italiano e del suo cocoliche<\/em> assume[va] una rilevanza significativa\u201d [the Italian immigrant and his cocoliche<\/em> took on a significant relevance] in the sainete<\/em>, become a fundamental aspect of this type of theatre.[xxvi]<\/a> In fact, the figure of the Italian and \u201cla sua parlata si cristallizza come convenzione del genere\u201d [his speech crystallized into a convention of the genre].[xxvii]<\/a> The Italian immigrant, in other words, held such a prominent place in rioplatense<\/em> culture and society and his behaviors and method of speaking were so widespread and understood that the figure of the Italian played a considerable role in the construction of this national Argentinian theatre.<\/p>\n

However, the representation of the Italian immigrant was, above all, a negative and stereotypical one. The Italian was represented like a foreigner, someone different from the others, who tries to integrate himself into the local society but is not able to do so\u2014he is represented \u201ccome soggetto estraneo al tessuto sociale preesistente e, in una visione estremista, come elemento pericoloso che avrebbe portato alla dissoluzione stessa della nazione\u201d [like a foreign subject in the preexisting social fabric and, in an extremist vision, like a dangerous presence that would bring about the very break-up of the nation.\u201d[xxviii]<\/a> This representation is directly linked to the first example of the Italian figure in Argentinian theatre, that of Pepino el 88<\/em> and the production of Juan Moreira. <\/em>In this performance, it was not only the speech that distinguished Pepino el 88<\/em>\u2019s character, but also his attempt to imitate the language and behaviors of Moreira<\/em>, the main character and the true criollo<\/em> (Argentinian).[xxix]<\/a> Juan Moreira<\/em> tells the tale of Moreira<\/em> himself, a gaucho running from the law, and Pepino el 88<\/em> is an \u201cItalian-trying-to-be-criollo<\/em>\u201d\u2014an imitator, a wannabe criollo<\/em>.[xxx]<\/a> In regards to culture and the construction of Argentinian nationalism, the gaucho is considered the representative figure of Argentinian identity. Therefore, the gaucho in the play, Moreira<\/em>, \u201c\u201cpercepisce lo straniero come un intruso da cui si sente minacciato, soprattutto nella sua libert\u00e0 sopra un territorio sterminato nel quale poteva vivere fino a quel momento come un nomade e che l\u2019operosit\u00e0 degli immigranti cominciava a trasformare\u201d [perceives the foreigner as an intrusion that he feels threatened by, mainly in regards to his liberty over an immense territory in which he was able to live like a nomad up until that point and that the hard work of immigrants began to transform].[xxxi]<\/a> In this sense, the Italian represents a foreigner who threatens the national identity with his clownish actions and his bastardized Spanish.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

El Conventillo de la paloma<\/em>, 1929<\/p>\n

A\u00a0sainete<\/em> written by Alberto Vacarezza<\/p>\n

In this\u00a0sainete<\/em>, the Italian character is\u00a0Miguel<\/strong><\/p>\n

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There are aspects of\u00a0cocoliche<\/em> in the words, verbs, and grammar of Miguel’s speech pattern.\u00a0For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n