Excerpt from a long Journal Entry
16 June 2014 –Tuesday
Gabriela continued to speak about other buildings. I begin to take fewer notes and more pictures.
- We spoke about a house built in 1831 that was the 1st house with high ceilings on both floors. It also had a secret passage, and the doors of the rooms were short so horses could not enter and the doors could be open only from the inside. This house was built for war.
- Lastly, she told us about the Capilla De Los Negros, the chapel built for slaves in 1872 out of mud.
We went to visit the chapel. It is kept the same way it was years ago. The floor is still made of dirt and the benches were very old. Of course no one worship there now. It is kept by the grandson of the lady who used to take care of it in the beginning. I can’t remember his name. The church is a testament to the struggle of Afro-Argentines. It is the only building the state allowed them have around 1862, their only place of worship. Currently, it is the only building they still have as a testimony of their history.
Tina asked Dr. Anderson if they used the church as a form of organizing the way the black church did and still does in America and Dr. Anderson said something that made it all come together even more, they had no need to organize and they did not really feel the need to organize.