Bulgarians (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and pt, búlgaros) have been settling in South America ( bg, Южна Америка, ''Yuzhna Amerika'') as economic

emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

since the late 19th century. Their presence has been documented in

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 ...

since 1905, in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

since 1906 and in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

since the early 20th century.

History and distribution

The Bulgarian diaspora in South America is strongest in Argentina, where 40,000 people of Bulgarian descent are thought to live, the diaspora itself assessing its size to be at least 80,000. However, according to official data, only around 3,000 people have declared Bulgarian nationality in Argentina. Bulgarians mainly live in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Berisso, Mar del Plata,

Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña (normally known as Sáenz Peña) is a city in the . It is the second largest in the province. It is located west-northwest of the provincial capital Resistencia, on the main rail and road route across northern Arg ...

Las Breñas Las Breñas is a city in Chaco Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Nueve de Julio Department, Chaco, Nueve de Julio Department. The economy of Las Breñas is centrad around agriculture and farming. It is home to an Instituto Nacional ...

and Comodoro Rivadavia. The most significant wave of emigration was in the 1920s, following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when over 20,000 Bulgarians (mostly from northern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

: around

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near ...

, Pleven,

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

and

Targovishte Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of ...

) settled in Argentina. Some of them formed a compact community in the agricultural

Chaco Province Chaco (; Wichi: ''To-kós-wet''), officially the Province of Chaco ( es, provincia del Chaco ), is one of the 23 provinces in Argentina. Its capital and largest city, is Resistencia. It is located in the north-east of the country. It is borde ...

, introducing the first

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

to Chaco. According to estimates, 1,800–5,000 Bulgarians live in Brazil, chiefly in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

and Belo Horizonte, including many

Bessarabian Bulgarians The Bessarabian Bulgarians ( bg, бесарабски българи, ''besarabski bǎlgari'', ro, bulgari basarabeni, uk, бесарабські болгари, ''bessarabski bolháry'') are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region ...

and some

Bulgarian Jews The history of the Jews in Bulgaria goes back almost 2,000 years. Jews have had a continuous presence in historic Bulgarian lands since before the 2nd century CE, and have often played an important part in the history of Bulgaria. Today, ...

and Bulgarian Armenians. The most famous Brazilian of Bulgarian origin is President

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...

from the Workers' Party. Her father Pétar was born in

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internatio ...

and, as an active member of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...

in the 1920s, had to flee from Bulgaria in 1929 due to political persecution. Rousseff's wide margin over her rivals sparked a "Dilma fever" in Bulgaria.Eleição no Brasil provoca 'febre Dilma' na Bulgária

Folha de S.Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã c ...

. Retrieved on 2010-10-02. . Although she does not speak Bulgarian she said in an interview that she does feel like a Bulgarian to a certain extent.Dilma Rousseff: I Feel Like I Am Partly Bulgarian

Sofia News Agency Novinite is a Bulgarian English-language news provider based in Sofia. "Novinite" ( bg, Новините) means "The News" in Bulgarian. It is also sometimes referred to as SNA by its forum users. Through its website novinite.com/sofianewsagency.co ...

. Retrieved on 2010-10-02. During her state visit to Bulgaria, on October 5, 2011, Rousseff was awarded Bulgaria’s highest state honour, the Order of Stara Planina. A notable Bulgarian diaspora also exists in Uruguay, numbering around 2,000. Most Bulgarians in this country live in Montevideo, with some in

Fray Bentos Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. ...

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

, Maldonado,

Durazno Durazno is the capital city of the department of Durazno in Uruguay. Durazno is characterized by being the most central city of Uruguay. It has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants. In the past it was the capital of Uruguay; today the ca ...

and Rocha. In the late 1920s, there were around 4,000 Bulgarians in Uruguay. A smaller number of Bulgarians have also settled in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

(today around 150, mostly in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

(today around 130),

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and Colombia. Among Bulgarians are

Banat Bulgarians The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćene'' or ''Banátsći balgare''; common bg, Банатски българи, Banatski balgari; ro, Bulgari bănățeni; sr, / ), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics and Bulgarians Paulician ...

from Romania,

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

and

Megleno-Romanians The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites ( ruq, Miglinits), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs ( ruq, Vlaș), are a small Eastern Romance people, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis re ...

who became adjusted to South American, and Latin American, society because of the linguistic similarities between Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian,

, and Portuguese, as well as Latin identity of Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians, and Banat Bulgarians are predominantly Roman Catholic.

Notable figures

* Sasha Aneff (b. 1991), Uruguayan footballer *

Luis Bacalov Luis Enríquez Bacalov (30 August 1933 – 15 November 2017) was an Argentine-born film composer. He learned music from Enrique Barenboim, father of Daniel Barenboim the conductor of the Berlin, and Chicago orchestras, and also Berta Sujovolsky ...

(b. 1933),

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning Argentine composer * Stephan Doitschinoff (b. 1977), Brazilian plastic artist * Iván Drenikoff,

n scholar * Alphonse Emanuiloff–Max, Uruguayan political scientist, journalist and honorary consul *

Fabián Estoyanoff Fabián Larry Estoyanoff Poggio (born 27 September 1982) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a winger for Centro Atlético Fénix. Club career Born in Montevideo, Estoyanoff started his career at Centro Atlético Fénix in 2000, ...

(b. 1982), Uruguayan footballer *

Juan Carlos Bacileff Ivanoff Juan Carlos Bacileff Ivanoff (born 1 January 1949) is an Argentine politician who served as interim governor of Chaco Province from 2013 to 2015. He was vice governor of Chaco from 2007 to 2015, serving under Jorge Capitanich; upon Capitanich's a ...

, Argentine politician, governor (2013–) and vice-governor of

(2007–13) * Jorge Kurteff (b. 1916), Argentine metal sculptor * Jorge Lazaroff (19501989), Uruguayan composer * Miguel and Juan Lazaroff, founders of

an football club Danubio F.C. (named after the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

) *

Luis Petcoff Naidenoff Luis Carlos Petcoff Naidenoff (born 13 July 1967) is an Argentina, Argentine lawyer and politician. He is Argentine Senate, National Senator and is the leader of the opposition political coalition Juntos por el Cambio in the Argentine Senate, Sen ...

(b. 1967), Argentine politician, senator *

Luben Petkoff Lubin (; german: Lüben, szl, Lubin) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of ...

(1933-1999), Venezuelan politician and entrepenour * Teodoro Petkoff (1932-2018), Venezuelan politician and former government minister * Miguel Rojas Naidernoff (b.1989), Venezuelan baseball player *

(b. 1947),

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

* Carlos Tenev (19411997), Argentine politician, senator (1988–1989) and deputy (1993–1997) * Florencio Tenev (19291999), Argentine politician, governor of Chaco Province (1983–1987) * João Cláudio Todorov (b. 1941), Brazilian psychologist, former rector of the

University of Brasília The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...

Aleksandar Tsankov Aleksandar Tsolov Tsankov ( bg, Александър Цолов Цанков; June 29, 1879 – July 27, 1959) was a leading Bulgarian politician during the interwar period between the two world wars. Biography A professor of political econom ...

(18791959), Bulgarian right wing politician who spent the last 10 years of his life as an exile in Argentina * Jaime Yankelevich (18961952), Argentine

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

mogul who introduced

television in Argentina Television is one of the major mass media of Argentina. As of 2019, household ownership of television sets in the country is 99%, with the majority of households usually having two sets. Cable television has become the most used type of delivering ...

References

* *

External links

Asociación Civil "Los Búlgaros"

Fundación Argentino Búlgara
{{European Argentine

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Ethnic groups in South America European Argentine European Brazilian European Uruguayan

History and distribution

Notable figures

See also

References

External links