Urban Tribes

Since the year dot different tribes of teenagers have inhabited this country, each of them following a fashion and enjoying a particular music style. Some decades ago they used to go by the name of “chetos”, “rollingas”, “grasas”... But as time went by, those names became old-fashioned, and many others appeared instead. Did you know that nowadays there are more than thirty tribes just in Buenos Aires city? Here I will provide you with the most relevant information about some of the groups you may bump into when touring around.

“Floggers”
They get their nickname from their fanaticism for a type of blog called Fotolog -or flog- which allows them to make a whole bunch of friends and become increasingly popular by posting personal pictures. Cumbio is the most famous exponent of this group. They are very cheerful and so is their clothing: eye-catching T-shirts, squared shirts, tight trousers called chupines, and colourful canvas shoes of a well-known brand. They also share a particular hair style: a wide fringe combed either completely to the left or to the right, covering all their forehead. They dance to the rhythm of dance music in a very peculiar way -as if they were stepping on cockroaches! (see this video)

“Emos”
Called like this because of their characteristic emotionalism: they tend to be vulnerable and depressive. Actually, one of their main and most alarming features is that they hurt themselves, usually in the arms, and exhibit the nasty scars as a sign of internal pain. You can also identify adolescents from this tribe by their excessive make-up with creepy motifs, and by the black clothes they wear, as if in permanent mourning. They let their hair fall on one eye in an attempt to hide themselves from others.

“Cumbieros”
People from this group listen to a music style known as cumbia, hence their name. Since they are quite the opposite of the aforementioned urban tribes, they are bitter rivals. They play the bad guys so if they come across a stereotypical specimen of the enemy tribe, they can immediately start a fight to show they are the bravest -mind you, they believe they are! Members of this group tend to wear caps even at night, huge trainers which they call yantas, football windbreakers and ostentatious watches.

Of course, new groups with slight differences keep on emerging day after day -such as “twitteros” or “facebook-fans”- and God knows what is in store for us! But at least now you are ready to come and visit Argentina with your eyes wide open. Enjoy your stay!


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