A teen was killed in Córdoba, Argentina a few months ago for having  a page on Fotolog.com. Other Fotologgers (better known as “Floggers”) have been found brawling in the streets with “Cumbieros,” who are fans of cumbia music.  This reminds me of the Mods and Rockers in the movie Quadrophenia, amongst other conflicts between urban tribes. (Note: Some worthwhile links in the text, especially if you understand Spanish.)

There are various urban tribes of Argentine teens who identify themselves in different ways, but a flogger primarily by having a page on fotolog.com. To be a flogger is obviously about more than just having a fotolog page, but that is where the name comes from. These are youths who are growing up in the age of technology and use online social media as a natural extension of their lives. Amongst the floggers, the most famous teenager in Argentina is one of them. Her name is Cumbio, an androgynous girl who has published books, attracts throngs of people in public, and has even been featured internationally in the New York Times.

The Cumbieros generally come from poorer backgrounds and resent the floggers for being more middle class, and sexually ambiguous (yes, you could say there is homophobia amongst the Cumbieros). And there are many more urban tribes. Beneath all these specific identities, the members of these tribes are all teenagers struggling with similar issues of self-identity. There are just too many to name, but I have taken a stab at listing a few groups here:

Emo: Long straight black hair, with bangs obscuring at least one eye. Slightly gothic in dress, but more casual with black jeans, etc. The idea with the hair like that is, more than fashion, a statement that the emo is closing out the rest of the world which is harsh and unfair. Here is a parody of an emo by TV personality Peter Capusotto.

Cumbiero: Working-class teen who identifies with Cumbia music. Appear much like hip-hop kids in the US, with nice sneakers, caps and sport pants.

Rollinga: Rocker who identifies with the music of the Rolling Stones and other bands of a similar style. More here about Rolinga and others, if you understand Spanish.

Flogger: Identified by having a page on fotolog.com or other copycat web sites. Their pages are not about photography but contain self-portraits and group shots of friends along with commentaries that can be very personal or philosohpical.

Punkero: Yeah, punk’s not dead!

Alterno: Identified by listening to alternative rock, but toward the more pop side. Bands like Miranda, Babasonicos, possibly Madona. They tend to be androgynous with piercings.

Animero: Fan of Japanese Anime. Like comic book fans in the US, they have big gatherings in halls.

Glam: Very oriented to fashion and dressing well.

Cheto: Chetos are not just teens, but used to describe people of the upper class, the more snobbish ones.

Ok, too many to describe even, and many names are self-explanatory: metalero, rapero, reggaetonero, skater, and the classic Argentine tanguero.

And there are even more of course. Maybe below, you can describe a group below that I have left out. I have found mentions of more group names still on various forums. And one guy took the trouble to make a grid of alliances and enemies between various groups. After all this, many teens resist labels. I’ve even found a group on Facebook for the “Nada,” someone who identifies with none of them.