Argentina’s most popular flogger, Agustina Vivero, has catapulted herself to unexpected affluence

-ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO

The past year has been a whirlwind for Agustina Vivero, known as “Cumbio” for her love of cumbia music, a fusion of Latin pop, salsa and dance that is popular among Argentina’s lower classes. She has catapulted herself to stardom and unexpected affluence by transforming Internet fame as Argentina’s most popular “flogger” into marketing muscle, signing modelling contracts, promoting dance clubs and writing a book about her life.

Floggers take photos of themselves and friends and post them on photo blogs. Vivero’s fotolog site is among the most viewed Internet sites in Argentina, logging 36 million visits over the past year, she said.

And she is all of 17. “When people see me in the street sometimes they cry or they want to hug me or kiss me,” she said. “Or they hate me.”

A foundation featured her in a campaign to raise awareness for HIV prevention, and a filmmaker is shooting a documentary about her life. There is a Cumbio perfume and talk of a reality-based television show starring Cumbio and friends.

Her unlikely popularity is also redefining stereotypes of youth celebrity in Argentina. Vivero, who is openly gay, describes herself and other floggers as “androgynous” for their unisex clothing. She is comfortable with not being model-thin and eschews dieting.

Last year, when she invited some friends over to her family’s house in San Cristóbal, they took photos of themselves and their trademark big, carefully tousled hair, bright V-neck T-shirts and sneakers. They soon outgrew the house and Vivero proposed moving the gatherings to Abasto. The first week about a hundred kids showed up. By the fourth week the number had swelled to 2,000. Soon she was making regular appearances on television news and talk shows.

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