Mobility regimes and the principle of movement: The case of American Gitanos in Argentina

Abstract

This text aims to contribute to Romani studies by exploring the practices and strategies of American Gitano migrants in Argentina who have circulated in local, regional, national, and transnational spaces. Ethnohistory and social memory allow us to trace the origin of the dynamics that opened new horizons for the Gitanos in their transatlantic migration and circulation in American territory. The current principles of circulation in America express the very life of the Gitanos, their love of their time, and their space, which is connected with the construction of their sense of self and the establishment of the Gitano presence in the world. This shows, on the one hand, how this migration to Argentina created an open space for social inclusion and modernization and, on the other, how mobility regimes, past and present, are intertwined with family and economic reproduction as key dimensions of the Gitano historical and anthropological system.