Armenian Argentine

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The Armenians in Argentina are ethnic Armenians who live in Argentina. In South America the largest population of Armenians is in Argentina where some 130,000 Armenians live ^[3]. The core of the population came from Cilicia, Syria and Lebanon following the massacres of Adana in 1909 and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. In Buenos Aires, the Armenian community is known to share their common culture with the Basque community through musical events and cultural activities.^[4]

History

Armenians from Cilicia, Syria and Lebanon escaped from the Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey after 1915, and lastly, between 1947 and 1954 many Armenians from the Soviet Union, Syria and Lebanon and came to Argentina as a consequence of the Second World War and from Iran because of Iranian Revolution in 1979.

The Armenian community of Argentina has maintained its identity with flying colors thanks to its stubborn devotion to the church, school and the family structure. The battle has not been easy, and the war goes on. Most of those who came in the mid-1920's were poor. They were the so called lucky to be alive Genocide survivors who had taken refuge in Aleppo from places like Ainteb, Kilis, Ourfa and Hajin. The first Armenians came in 1908 and some came in 1915, but it was not until 1924-1930 that the community took shape when some 10,000 people settled in Buenos Aires. Subsequent waves of immigrants came from Romania and Greece. The influx dried up in the early 1950's. Today, the community is estimated to number 380,000. While survival was of paramount importance, education was also high on the agenda of the early immigrants. They had no money and few of them spoke a foreign language, therefore they gave a great deal of attention to education. This community survived the difficult years but it is now time to plan for the next fifty years.

Notable Armenians in Argentina

• David Nalbandian, tennis player
• Martín Karadagian (1922- 1991), wrestler and actor
• Martín Adjemián (1932-2006), actor
• Paz Merdirossian Lenchantin, musician
• Ana Merdirossian Lenchantin, musician
• León Carlos Arslanian, former Federal Judge, former Minister of Security of the Buenos Aires Province
• Bedros Hadjian (1933-), journalist, writer and educator.
• Eduardo Bakchellian, businessman and writer
• Eduardo Eurnekian, businessman
• Juan Martin Berberian, professional rugby player
• Fernando Zagharian, professional footballer
• Efrain Chacurian, former professional footballer
• Ernesto Vaneskeheian, musician
• Ramiro Dagavarian, chef
• Roberto Mesrobyan, industrial designer
• Carlos Khatchikian, software developer

References

See also

• Club Deportivo Armenio
• Armenian Genocide

External links

• (Spanish) IAN - Spanish speaking armenians around the world
• (Spanish) Armenios online
• (Spanish) Armenian Institute
• (Spanish) Diario Armenia
• (Spanish) Cámara Argentino - Armenia

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