At first I was sceptical. A 17-year-old girl was on the cover of Perfíl for having posted pictures of herself online each day for the past two years. That’s it. Mind you, these are not pictures of her camping in the Antarctic or doing extreme sports in an armadillo costume. These are pictures of her doing absolutely nothing.
This is Cumbio, queen of floggers. Her fotolog (like a blog, but with photos instead of words) gets tens of thousands of hits each day, and has been so inundated with worshipful feedback from fans that there is now a discrete line beneath her picture that reads: “User cumbio is not accepting guestbook posts at this time.” Nightclubs pay her between $300 and $500 just to make an appearance, and even Nike has bought a piece of her image.
Flogging is such a phenomenon among porteño youth that an entire cultural subset, or tribu urbana has been built around it. Among the morbid, melancholic emos, the swaggering raperos and the track-suited cumbieros, floggers are set apart by their affinity for brightly coloured clothing, electro music and odd haircuts (choppy layers, straggly ends and an angular fringe that sweeps across the face).
On the first day of spring, I set out to observe the floggers in their natural habitat. Abasto Shopping is their place of worship. Every Sunday, hundreds congregate on a wide staircase outside of the mall to socialise and take photos for their respective flogs.
Somewhere amidst the chaos, a TV camera crew is buried beneath a swarm of peacock-like teenagers, all vying for a moment of onscreen glory. Fame is the floggers’ drug of choice, and the internet is their clubhouse. This is a tribe born of our society’s fascination with stardom; they flog to get noticed.
Cumbio has succeeded on a grand scale. Her look is so emulated among the flogging masses that searching for her at Abasto is like a game of ‘Where’s Wally?’
When she finally does appear, she looks so cool swishing through her mob of admirers that my hands grow clammy and my cheeks turn pink. Even I, the sceptic, get high on the fame radiating from her hooded sweatshirt.
If only I had asked who cuts her hair…
Nicolas, 14
Why do floggers flog?
It’s a way to get yourself recognised by a lot of people on the internet, to make friends, to go out.
What kind of music do you listen to?
You don’t have to listen to electro to be a flogger. I like electro… but Cumbio, the most famous flogger, listens to Cumbia.
Do you know Cumbio? Are you friends with her?
Yeah, I know who she is. I know her from Abasto, I don’t know her well.
Why is she so popular?
Because she’s been doing it for long enough, a lot of people know her, and a lot of people go to her fotolog- hers is the most famous.
Kevin, 18
Why is flogging so popular with young porteños?
Because the more people look at your fotolog, the more recognised you become.
What do your parents think of your style?
They don’t really like it, but they don’t say much about it.
Hernán, 16
Do you have friends who are emos or cumbieros or glams?
Cumbieros yes, but not emo. I don’t like the onda. And I have a few friends who are glams.
Agustina (Cumbio), 17, Flogger Queen
Is there an ideology or philosophy behind being a flogger?
No. No no no. No. The only thing that defines a flogger is having a fotolog, the rest is up to the individual.
Anabella, 17
Why do young porteños like dividing themselves into tribes?
I think the onda right now is to be in a tribe. It depends on your personality. You can say I’m a flogger, or I’m an emo… it makes you feel like you’re part of something, like you’re not excluded, I think.
