202557(en)/42 - From Mulatto Gil to Zambo Peluca: Two Cases of Social Mobility, Visibility, and Representation of Afro-Descendant in Chile in The 19th Century
FROM MULATTO GIL TO ZAMBO PELUCA: TWO CASES OF SOCIAL MOBILITY, VISIBILITY, AND REPRESENTATION OF AFRO-DESCENDANT IN CHILE IN THE 19TH CENTURY
DEL MULATO GIL AL ZAMBO PELUCA: DOS CASOS DE ASCENSO SOCIAL, VISIBILIZACIÓN E IMAGEN DEL AFRODESCENDIENTE EN CHILE EN EL SIGLO XIX
Patricia Herrera Styles
José Gil de Castro (1784-1841), nicknamed “El Mulato Gil”, and José Romero (1794-1858), known as “Zambo Peluca”, are two prominent afro-descendant figures in 19th-century Chilean history, whose lives and visual representation invite reflection on the foundations upon which the nation was built. Both were sons of enslaved mothers—one a painter born in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and the other a soldier born in the Captaincy General of Chile—and each embodies and exceptional testimony that makes it possible to discuss not only the construction of the republican order but also its racial discourse and imaginaries. Members of the Battalion of Infantes de la Patria, both men developed noteworthy trajectories that reveal the processes of recognition and invisibility experienced by people of African descent in Chile. Based on a comparative approach, this study emphasizes the visual dimension, highlighting the paradox that Gil de Castro—creator of the most iconic portraits of the nation’s founding figures—became known as the “faceless portraitist” as he left not a single image of himself; whereas Romero stands as the only Afro-descendant honored with multiple portraits. This contrast reveals the complex relationship between image and power during an era in which only a privileged few were granted “the right” to visual representation.
