It seemed that had already gone down in history and that the election of queens in popular festivals was a tradition in disuse, but the Municipality of Bariloche officially confirmed that this 2024 they will revive the contest in the 53rd edition of the Snow Festival, next August 17.
“We do not want to sow controversies, we will not show the bodies nor there will be parades in tights, but we are going to elect our queen, who will be the ambassador of the city,” he had said. Sergio Herrero, Secretary of Tourism under the logic of Mayor Walter Cortés to “recover traditions.”
More than five years ago, the contest that reifies the figure of women had been left aside. Not only in Bariloche, but in the main towns of the province and the region. Viedma and Neuquén were the pioneers in 2016. Then Bariloche and in 2019 Roca joined.
Mariana Jaroslavsky, member of ICW Argentina, a community of women with HIV and part of the Multisector of Women and Dissidents of Bariloche, She was one of the spokespersons for the rejection that the return of the contest generated in the feminist movement and even in the union wing, which also had an echo in provincial politics.
“We do not want practices that constitute symbolic violence in themselves to be reproduced from the municipal State itself, objectifying women’s bodies, in addition to promoting certain stereotypes of beauty,” he told Diario RIO NEGRO.
Committed to the fight against all forms of violence against women and protected by current laws, they developed a request to reverse the contest with several endorsements and repudiated the statements of the local Secretary of Tourism.
“Not only are they going to do it, but they are also going to choose the king as a balance. It’s so absurd, it gets worse instead of better.”
Mariana Jaroslavsky, member of ICW Argentina and the Multisector of Women and Dissidents
For the reference, it is a “archaic practice” that is also contradictory to the progress made in recent years for a city free of violence.
Queen’s election: impact on women’s lives
“The reproduction of these practices translates into greater violence against women and girls, and that has a direct impact on their lives,” they stated in the petition that is already circulating in the town. They argue that these contests reinforce the idea that women should be valued and rewarded for their physical appearance based on stereotypeswhich threatens the physical and mental health of many contestants, by pursuing the “ideal of perfection.”
The statistics show the violence, such as 49 women murdered in the first two months of 2024 victims of femicide and also those who suffer from eating disorders. “Argentina is one of the countries in the world with the highest rate of these disorders, especially in women between 13 and 25 years old,” They argued.
Besides, The holding of this event is considered “symbolic violence” in the terms of Article 5, point 5, of National Law No. 26,485. of Comprehensive Protection to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women in the areas in which they develop their Interpersonal Relationships.
Election of the Queen: wide arc of adhesions to rejection
Among the adherents, so far, are the unions ATE, CTA of Workers Río Negro, UTEP; organizations such as the Multisector of Women and Dissidents of Bariloche, the Campaign for the Emergency in Violence against Women, the Nahuel Rosa de Bote Dragon civil association, the trans women’s movement “Las Historicas”, the Mapuche women’s group Witralein Pu Zomo.
They added their signature until now the legislator Ana Marks (Justicialist Party), the councilors Roxana Ferreyra and Natalia Almonacid, as well as political parties and feminist groups such as La Cámpora, Movimiento Evita, Mala Junta – Soberana Izquierda Popular.
Furthermore, they pointed out that the request had already been explicitly requested in the joint document that was read after the march on March 8, for International Working Women’s Day on the steps of the Civic Center.
A bill that was never discussed
In 2019, legislators had presented Bill No. 229 in the Río Negro Legislature, which regulated the election of prominent personalities, groups or beauty contests at municipal, provincial and national festivals organized with the support of the provincial State.
The file began in June 2019 by legislators Carina Pita and Marcelo Mago of the Frente para la Victoria bloc, but it expired due to lack of treatment.
At the time, the provincial deputy explained that they sought to avoid beauty or selection contests whose requirements “are based on physical parameters, marital status, pregnancy status, number of sons or daughters or maximum age limits,” He commented, in turn, that he proposed the repeal of Law No. 5056.
At that time, members of the Commission of Queens, Ambassadors and Celebrations of the Province of Río Negro They made their dissatisfaction with the project known by note.
Until 2019, 44 municipalities in the country had eliminated or modified the criteria for these contests. In Río Negro, the first to suspend the contests were Viedma, Huergo, Regina and Cipolletti.
