1[ For a review of the history of the sainete in Argentina see Blas Raúl Gallo, ]Historia del sainete nacional[ (Buenos Aires: Editorial Quetzal, 1958).

2 For a discussion of the impact of immigration on Argentine social structure, see Torcuato Di Tella and Gino Germani, et. al. ]Argentina, sociedad de masas [(Buenos Aires: Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, 1965).

3 There are numerous sources that discuss the transformation of Argentina and the internal impacts this transformation had on the country. For a general history of Argentina see David Rock,] Argentina, 1516-1987. From Colonization to Alfonsín[ (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), and for an excellent study of the city of Buenos Aires, see James Scobie, ]Buenos Aires, Plaza to Suburb, 1870-1910[ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1974).

4 For a discussion of the elite's modernization plans as they relate to immigration policy see Donald S. Castro, ]The Development of and Politics of Argentine Immigration Policy, 1852-1914[ (San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1991).]

[5 Torcuato Di Tella, ]Latin American Politics, a Theoretical Framework [(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990), 128.

6 Statistics from various sources including República Argentina, Ministerio del Interior, ]Censo, efectuado en el año 1895[ (especially Vol. 3), ]Censo, efectuado en el año 1914[ (especially Vol. 2).

7 Felix Luna, ]Con los "nueve"[ (Buenos Aires: Privately printed, 1908), 8.

8 Speech by a deputy from Buenos Aires, Nicolás Calvo, in República Argentina, Cámara de Diputados, ] Diario de Sesiones[, (1910), I:43-44.

9 Luis C. Villamayor, ]El lenguaje del bajo fondo (vocabulario "Lunfardo"),[ (Rio Cuarto, Provincia de Buenos Aires: Privately printed, 1915), 16-17. The elite's view that public land was there for the taking by the immigrant was one that was advanced by this class for a number of years. It was false. The land was not there. It had been stolen by the elite. The immigrant served only in the function of cheap labor both in the city and in the countryside.

10 Ibid. Lunfardo is a term that describes both a thief and the language (argot) of the thief. Buenos Aires was a center for the "white-slave" trade and many involved in the trade were Polish Jews. A major scandal broke out in the 1920s related to the trade in which a Jewish benevolent society, Zwi Migdal, was involved as the major source for prostitutes. See Donna J. Guy, ]Sex and Danger in Buenos Aires: Prostitution, Family, and Nation in Argentina[ (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991). Perhaps the most notorious of all the creole criminal types was the] malevo[. He was a persona so evil that he was unredeemable. The image of the creole criminal was the subject of an unpublished paper presented by Donald S. Castro at the XVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Washington, D. C. (April 3-5, 1991), "Ethnicity and Reality in the Argentine Sainete, 1880-1930: The Image of the Creole Criminal."

11 See Castro, ]The Development of and Politics of Argentine Immigration Policy, [Chapter VI.

12 Villamajor, ] El lenguaje del bajo fondo[, 17-20.

13 This topic inspired Marcos Aguinis to write the novel ]La Gesta del Marrano[ (Buenos Aires: Editorial Planeta, 1991).

14 For the history of Jewish immigration to Argentina see Haim Avni, ]Argentina and the Jews. A History of Jewish Immigration,[ trans. by Gila Brand (Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1991).

15 Bustos' mission is described in the Departamento General de Inmigración, ] Memoria[, ]año 1881[, 40-45.

16 See José Mendelson and Alberto Gerchunoff et al., ]50 años de colonización judia en la Arentina[ (Buenos Aires: Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas, 1939), Chapter I.

17 Avni, ] Argentina and the Jews[, pp. 45 ff.

18 See James Scobie, ]Buenos Aires[, 240 and David Rock, ]Argentina[, 202.

19 See his ] Obras completas[, Forward by E. M. S. Danero (Santa Fe: Librería y Editorial Castellív, 1956).

20 ] La Bolsa[ (Buenos Airesa: Editorial Kraft, 1956), 28.] 21 David William Foster, Cultural Diversity in Latin American Literature (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994). He provides an excellent bibliography on the subject of Jews in Argentine literature, cf. 170 ff. Foster is probably one of the few scholars of the Latin American theatre who understands the artistic and socio-historical value of the sainete porteño. For a discussion of the image of the Italian immigrant in Argentine literature see Luciana Rusich, El inmigrante italiano en la novela argentina del 80 (Madrid: Editorial Playor, 1974).

[22 Edmundo Guibourg, ed. ] Trejo, Pacheco, Novión, Vacarezza[ (Buenos Aires: A-Z Editora, 1987), Introduction, 8.

23 See Tulio Carella, editor. ]El sainete criollo[ ](antología).[ Introduction by Tullio Carella. (Buenos Aires: Libreria Hachette, 1957), 18 and ]La Escena: Revista teatral[, XV.737 (August 11, 1932): n.p.

24 In ] Bambalinas, Revista teatral[, V.200 (February 4, 1922): n.p. The play takes place arround 1904.

25 The first Yiddish newspaper was "El Fonográfo Hebraico" established on December 7, 1898 as noted in ] Caras y Caretas[, I.10 (December 8, 1898): n.p. The photo essay was in ]Fray Mocho[, 1.22 (September 27, 1912): n.p.

26 In ]Comoedia[, 1.6 (June 16 1926): 51-52.

27 In VI.75 (July 1, 1931): 29. One of the main Jewish theatres was the Teatro Israelita located at Pasteur 641. It was the home of the Gran Compañía Israelita de arte, drama y comedias. Another important theatre was the Teatro Comedia located at Corrientes 3234. It housed the Gran Compañía Israelita de operetas, dramas y comedias. From the article in ] Comoedia[, it is unclear which of these "Compañía Israelita" was the home base of the actor Ben Ami.

28 In ] Bambalinas[, ]Revista teatral[, VII.312 (March 29 1924): 1-19. Play is discussed in vein of its anti-Semitic themes in Maria Ines Cardenas de Monner Sans, "Apuntes sobre nuestro sainete y la evolucion politica-social argentina" ]Universidad[, 49:73-90 (Santa Fe: Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 1961).

29 In most instances, the saineteros are more explicit when they describe Jewish cambalacheros as cheats and sharp traders, what is clearly meant is that Jews use their second-hand shops as fronts for buying stolen goods. This is clearly seen in the following sainetes: Salvador Riese y Nicolas ] Paradiso La Morralla o Las Andanzas de un Chitrulo[, which opened on May 17, 1929. In ]Bambalinas[, XII.611 (December 28, 1929):1-24. This play describes the criminal life of La Pelada "un pintoresco producto de la hampa" and Ran, a petty thief. All the pickpockets and petty thieves sell their hot goods to compra venta person called "El Ruso Do Jacobo." While this Jew always thinks he is cheating thieves by buying for less than they want, they rob from him. Clearly, the image given is that of Jews as sharp traders and dishonest; but, in this sainete, they can be "out-jewed." For example, Maria: "[[exclamdown]] Miren qué ruso chorro! [[exclamdown]]Ciento treinta mangos por todo--Che Pelada [[questiondown]]Qué le chorreaste al tipo?" Pelado: "El bobo y la marroca (watch and chain)." The image of Jews as fences is also given in] Don Juan Malevo[ by Roberto F. Cayol (first played in July 17, 1923). In ]La Escena, Revista teatral,[ VI.267 (August 9, 1923): n.p. In this sainete, which takes place in "el alegre patio de un conventillo," the petty crook, El flaco Roncoroni, makes a passing reference to fencing stolen goods with "El ruso."

30 The portrayal of Jewish women is another area of contrasts. Often they are portrayed as the instrument for inter-racial and religious understanding as the one who converts. Since, according to Jewish law, it is through the woman the transmission of religion occurs, her intermarriage is the fastest way of disappearing the Jews. In an earlier period, it was through the intermarriage of the Afro-Argentine woman, the Argentine cultural elites--again through the sainetero--felt the black "other" could be disappeared. In the 1927 sainete by Ernesto Marsili, ]Pa mujer, la de mi tierra[, another point-of-view was presented. This sainete first played on October 1, 1926. It takes place in Mataderos a rural town in the Province of Buenos Aires. The only Jewish characters in the play are Jacobo and his daughter Rebeca. She is loved by poor Valentín and rich Pandolfo. She vacillates between the two and, at last decides for Valentín, who rejects her for being too calculating---always looking for the advantage. He forgives her because she is that way because of her race...because of that they will never understand each other. When she claims that love has no "Patria," he answers that it has "raza...y la patría es lo único que puede anularla. Si usted hubiera nacida en mi patria o yo en la suya, non hubiéramos entenderse comprendido ...sus hijos podrian entenderse con mis hijos...Nosotros jámas." He sings tango by Carrero, "Güey, abrojito, güey!": "Mujer pa gusto o capricho/ puede ser de donde quiera/ mujer para toda la vida/ tiene que ser de mi tierra." In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, X.449 (February 3, 1927): n.p. A very positive image of Jewish women is in ]La botica de enfrente[ by Arturo Lorusso (first played June 17, 1920). In this sainete there is only one Jewish character Fanny Brownsky a dentist. She is important because women are not portrayed as professionals and in this exceptional case the woman as professional is Jewish. In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, III.107 (June 1920): 2-36. Another, very common and unflattering description of Jewish women, is as prostitutes. the euphemism for whore, and for Jewish whore, is "Polaca." See Julio F. Escobar ]Un cansado de la vida[, in ]Bambalinas, Revista teatral, [ VIII.380 (July 18, 1925): n.p. The sainete was first presented in July 2, 1925. In this sainete on character "La loca del Bequelo" is described as a Polaca whose ]cafiso[ [pimp] is "el pardo Reyes." See also Roberto Cayol ]El Festín de los Lobos[ in ]Bambalinas, Revista teatral[, 1.3 (April 1918): 5-35. In this sainete one character is described as "la Polaca," who speaks French.

31 In ] La Escena, Revista teatral[, IX.398 (January 11, 1926): n.p.

32 In ]El Entreacto, Revista Teatral[ I:4 (1919): n.p.

33 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, VI.84 (July 23, 1923): n.p.

34 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, IV.180(1921): n.p.

35 While the association of Jews with Communists is fairly common, the tying of both Jews and Italians to supposed ethnic radicalism is not. In the sainete ] Es inútil barajar cuando quién talla es la vida,[ by Horacio V. Dutra, both Jews and Italians are jokenly portrayed as "radicals." (first played November 22, 1923). This play has both a Jewish main character as well as an Italian main character, they, along with rest, live in a conventillo on Humberto 1deg. Street. Another character, a creole, called Sinforoso Romelliares y Padia calls the Italian "cara Mussolini" and Jew Lanscandifft "cara maximalista." Pasual, the Italian makes fun of the Jew by constanly misspronouncing his name. For example, he calls him Salomón, when his name is Samoel, as pronounced by Jew (Samuel), and twists the last name into Zranscandil, when corrected by Jew it comes out as Transcandifft. The Jew, when accused of eyeing the girl friend of Pasual, claims inocence by exclaiming " [[exclamdown]]Oh! [[exclamdown]]A mi! [[exclamdown]]Te juro pir Abraham, Isaac y pu Jacob que soy mocente." When both men get angry they forget Spanish and fight in Italian and Russian which prompts Sinforoso to observe "[[questiondown]]Conferencia facista, bolsevike?" In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, VI.286 (December 20, 1923): n.p.

36 I n ] Bambalinas, Revista teatral[, VI.293 (November 17, 1923): n.p.

37 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XIII.619 (May 8, 1930): n.p. Play was by Juan Villaba and Hermido Braga. It opened on April 3, 1930. The sub-theme of the Jew as a fool is also repeated in many sainetes. For example, in the sainete ]El Mercado del Abasto[ by Antonio Botta and Antonio Molinari Lopardi, the Jew Chicoff, "el ruso," is ridiculed and made the fool by creoles. The message is clear, the creole does not need to fear the Jew because he can be bested. In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XIII.63 (July 24, 1930): n.p. Play opened on May 27, 1930.

38 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XI.528 (August 9, 1928): n.p.

39 The review is in ]Comeodia[, VI.75: 34. The play was produced by the Compañía Buenos Aires and opened in the teatro Buenos Aires on May 30, 1931. The play is reproduced in ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XIV.681 (July 16, 1931): n.p.

40 Note on opening of ]Judio[ in ]Comoedia[ 1.4 16 (May 1926): 34.

41 In ]Comeodia[, I.8 (July 16, 1926): 14.

42 This is based on a photograph in ]Comoedia[, I.6 (July 1, 1926): n.p. This character is dressed wearing a yamulka and has a beard.

43 In 1.9 (August 1, 1926): 51.

44 In 1.7 (July 1, 1926 ): 45. Impact of ]Judia[ on Argentine musical theatre is discussed in "Ensayos Criticos"]Anuario Teatral Enciclopedia práctica de la escena argentina, 1926-27 [(Buenos Aires: ATA Ediciones, 1927), II.2 (1926-27): 103-104. Review essay is signed by "L. A." ]Judia[ is described as the first musical comedy in Argentina "la primera obra del génaro." Mnne Rasimi brought to Argentina the "bataclán" (roughly a chorus-girl) and her success led to imitators. Many Argentine authors and theatre companies tried out the new génaro: Romero, Pelay, Bayón, Gonzalez, Cairo, Cayol, Alippi, Quiroga y Cía---most failed and only two had real success with the génaro, and even those have not really created musical comedy in the American sense as in New York. One thing authors learned from their efforts was "la comedia musical es algo tán variante y polimorfo como un kaleidoscopio." What they have produced? According to the critic "unos han fabricado partiendo de la opereta y otros, partiendo de la revista. La primera sería algo así como comedia-opereta, y la segunda una comedia revista. In Paris they have invented the word "pieza" [piece] to describe those works that did not fit into any genre and they did not know what to call them---when a work was not a "... comedia, ni pochade, ni sainete, ni jugute cómica, ni nada, siéndo todo, le dicen: pieza." (104). The North Americans have done the same "cuando fabrican una obra con música que no es revista, ni opereta, ni es comedia, ni es nada, y tiene un poco de todo, le llaman: musical comedy." In the teatro Porteño, Ivo Pelay has created something new, but, since he has never seen a real musical comedy or a "pieza française," he has created something new that is not exactly a model for the musical comedy; even so, it is new, fresh and interesting. What he has done is create a theme that unifies the twelve cuadros and four intermedios into an unified one-hour presentation. The public has had a hard time ajusting to this new form of theatrical production. But he has done it. It is not just a revista or a collection of isolated parts, while it is closer to a revista than to an opereta, it does represent something new.

45] [Eichelbaums's play was great success as noted in ]Comoedia[ I.10 (Agust 16, 1926): 45. Except for these plays, ]Comoedia[ described the theatre season of 1926 as a desert.

46 In 1.9 (August 1, 1926): 45.

47 In 1.10 (August 16, 1926): 55.

48 The play is reproduced in ]Bambalinas. Revista teatral[, IX.461 (February 12, 1927): n.p. The review appeared in ]Comoedia[, I.4 (May 16, 1926): 34. Foster discusses the play in ]Cultural Diversity in Latin American Literature[, 98-103. In a review of ]El hijo del rabino [by the Jewish author M. Graiver, the critic N. Rego asks if anti-Semitism is more a "problem de forma que de fondo" and critques the work for placing too much emphasis on the message than on the theatricality of the work According to the critic too much focus was placed on the discussion of anti-semitism in Argentina, thus the work was criticised for focusing on its message than on its presentation. In ]Comoedia[, VIII.93 (November 1, 1932): 5.

49 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XV.721 (April 21, 1932): n.p. While, this play is not truely a sainete, it is almost short enough to qualify. It is in two acts and runs about a third longer than a regular sainete.

50 In ]Teatro Nacional, Revista Semanal de Teatro[, II (May 7 1919): 45-46.

51 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral, [VIII.343 (January 22, 1925): n.p.

52 In ]La Escena, revista teatral, [ XI: 502 (February 9, 1928): n.p.

53 In ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XVI.769 (March 23, 1933): n.p.

54 In ]Alberto Vacarezza[ (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Culturales Argentinos, 1975), 52.

55 Jews are not the only ones concerned with intermarriage. Salomón David, who by his name might very well be a Jew is not. He is described as a "mayorista turco en el ramo de tienda, con una cara de bruto que asuste..." in the sainete ] El que tiene tienda, que la atiende [by Antonio de Bassi (it first played in the Apollo theatre on March 14, 1930) see ]La Escena, Revista teatral[, XIII.615 (April 10, 1930): n.p. Thus Jews and Turks are interchangeable. The theme of aculturation and losing ones children to another culture is as well used for "turk," cf. ]El Turco Salomon[ by Antonio de Bassi and Antonio Batta which played in the teatro Sarmiento in July 1924. The Turco Salomon worries about his two children Ricardo, described as "acriollado." He is a student and involved in politics. His daughter, Margarita, is in love with the creole Valorio and wants to marry him. Reviewed in ]La Nación[ (July 3, 1924), in the section "Arte y teatro."

56 In ]Bambalinas, Revista teatral[, XIV.739 (December 3, 1932): 3-24. Subsequent citations from the play will be given by page number within a parenthesis.

57 Newspaper reviews were reproduced in ]Bambalinas, Revista teatral[, XIV.741 (January 7, 1933):1-2. ]Comoedia[ also had a short favorable review also. See VII.8 (July 9, 1932): n.p.] 58 For a discussion on the cultural role of the Afro-Argentine see Donald S. Castro, "The Image of the Afro-Argentine in the Argentine Popular Theatre," in Joseph V. Ricapito, ed., Selected Proceedings, Louisiana Conference on Hispanic Languages and Literatures, 1994 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995), pp. 41-60. The concept of the other in society has been studied from anthropological and sociological points-of-view for some time. The cultural aspects of this study usually take the form of a discussion of marginality. See Bernard McGrane, Beyond Anthropology, Society and the Other (New York: Columbia University Press, 1989).

59 Ministerio de Relaciones Esteriores y Culto, Documentos diplomáticos y consulares, II, Boletín No. 8 (January 1902), 23-24.

60 Damián M. Torino, El problema del inmigrante y el problema agrario en la Argentina, (Buenos Aires: Privately Printed, 1912), p. 41.

[61 In the ] Segundo censo de la República Argentina efectuado el 10 de mayo de 1895[ (Buenos Aires: Taller Tipográfico de la Penitenciaria Nacional, 1898), Vol. I, p. 662.

62 Ibid, p. 24.