This paper confronts various representations of people of African descent in Buenos Aires during the nineteenth century, contrasting the discourses of elites, the enslaved, their masters and writers of African descent. These discourses are key in understanding the role assigned to people of African descent in the society of the time, showing also the tensions that prompted ideas about the whitening of the nation. Historical sources that reveal discourses and actions of enslaved and African descent peoples question the hegemonic representations produced by the elites.