Arab Uruguayans ( ar, عرب أوروغواي), are

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ethnic, citizens or residents whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants from the Arab world, Mostly from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and Syria.

Overview

Arab Uruguayans originated mainly from what is now

(of which there may be over 50,000 descendants). There are also individuals from other Arab countries such as

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, Syria, Morocco and Palestine. Most Uruguayans of Arabic descent are Christians, with some Muslim minorities. There was also a small influx of

Arab Jews Arab Jews ( ar, اليهود العرب '; he, יהודים ערבים ') is a term for Jews living in or originating from the Arab world. The term is politically contested, often by Zionists or by Jews with roots in the Arab world who prefer ...

, who have since lost their Arab cultural identity. Arab Uruguayans are among the smallest Arab diaspora groups in the world. There are some 500 Arab-speaking people in the border towns of

Chuy Chuy () is a city in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chuí only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by th ...

and

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...

. Lately there are two noticeable trends: * Syrian refugees who flee from the Syrian Civil War, * Arab investors interested in Uruguay, who created the Uruguayan-Arab Chamber (in cooperation with the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

Notable people

Alberto Abdala Alberto Abdala ( ar, البرتو عبد الله; 8 April 1920 – 13 January 1986) was an Uruguayan attorney, politician, painter and Vice-President from 1967 to 1972. Background Alberto Abdala was born in Maldonado, Uruguay in 1920. He was of ...

, Vice President of Uruguay 1967-1972, of Lebanese descent *

Washington Abdala Manuel Juan Washington Abdala Remerciari, aka el Turco (born 8 September 1959, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan lawyer and politician. He was a National Representative for the Colorado Party from 1995 till 2010. In 2000, with Jorge Batlle elected ...

, lawyer and politician, President of the Chamber of Deputies (2000), of Lebanese descent * Hebert Abimorad, journalist and poet of Lebanese descent * Matías Abisab, footballer * Alejandro Apud, football manager *

Cacho de la Cruz Arturo de la Cruz Feliciani, better known for his stage name Cacho de la Cruz (Buenos Aires, 8 May 1937) is an Argentine-born television presenter, humorist and entertainer who developed almost all his career in Uruguay. Son of Moroccan and Ital ...

, entertainer, of Moroccan descent *

Amir Hamed Amir Hamed (11 May 1962 – 20 November 2017) was a Uruguayan writer, essayist and translator. Background and education Born in Montevideo, he earned a degree in literature from the University of the Republic and a doctorate in Hispanoamerican ...

, writer and translator, of Syrian descent * Jorge Nasser, musician, of Lebanese descent * Amin Niffouri, politician, of Syrian descent

References

Ethnic groups in Uruguay Immigration to Uruguay Arab diaspora in South America {{Uruguay-hist-stub

Overview

Notable people

See also

References