Croatian Argentines are Argentine citizens of Croatian descent or

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n-born people who reside 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 ...

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

and their descendants settled 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 ...

, the homonymous province, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Chaco, and

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. Argentines of Croatian descent number over 250,000.

History

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries there were 133 settlements, with some 120,000 Croats in Argentina, for the most part hailing from the coastal regions of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

and the

Croatian Littoral Croatian Littoral ( hr, Hrvatsko primorje) is a historical name for the region of Croatia comprising mostly the coastal areas between traditional Dalmatia to the south, Mountainous Croatia to the north, Istria and the Kvarner Gulf of the Adriat ...

, who were among the first European immigrants to settle in the Argentine

pampa The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

s. The pioneers from the island of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, wi ...

were followed by emigrants from other parts of Dalmatia and the other historic Croatian lands, mostly present-day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The most financially successful of all the Croats in Argentina was also almost the first to arrive: Nikola Mihanović came to

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

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 ...

in 1867, and, having settled in

, Mihanović owned 350 vessels of one kind or another by 1909, including 82 steamers. By 1918, he employed 5,000 people, mostly from his native Dalmatia. Mihanović by himself was thus a major factor in building up a Croat community that remains primarily Dalmatian to this day. The second wave of Croat immigration was far more numerous, totaling 15,000 by 1939. Mostly peasants, these immigrants fanned out to work the land in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, Santa Fe, Chaco, and

. This wave was accompanied by numerous clergy to attend their spiritual needs, especially

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

s. If the first two waves had been primarily economic, the third wave after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was eminently political. Some 20,000 Croatian political refugees came to Argentina, and most became construction workers on Peron's public works projects until they started to pick up some

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, Cana ...

. Argentina today has the third-largest number of Croatian descendants in the world.

Notable Croatian Argentines

Alejandro Spajić Alejandro Raúl Spajić Torres (born May 7, 1976) is an Argentine volleyball player. Spajić is clearly a volleyball player both for Argentina and his club. His background is somewhat similar to another world-class volleyball player namely Mar ...

– Volleyball player * Alicia Kirchner Ostoić – Politician *

Mateo Bajamich Mateo Bajamich ( hr, Bajamić, ; born 3 August 1999) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primera Nacional side Estudiantes de Río Cuarto. He can also play as a striker. Career Instituto Bajamich's career started ...

– Football player *

Daniel Bilos Daniel Rubén Biloš (born 3 September 1980) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played for clubs in Argentina, France and Mexico. He made three appearances scoring one goal for the Argentina national team. Club career Born in P ...

– Football player *

Daniel Orsanic Daniel Orsanic (, ; born 11 June 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He was captain of the Argentina Davis Cup team that won the country's first title in 2016. Playing career Orsanic was a left-hander with a double han ...

– Tennis player *

Darío Cvitanich Darío Cvitanich ( hr, Dario Cvitanić; born 16 May 1984) is a retired Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Banfield Cvitanich started his career in Club Atlético Banfield's youth and made his debut for the club ...

– Football player *

Davor Ivo Stier Davor Ivo Stier (; born 6 January 1972) is a Croatian-Argentine politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Croatian Parliament in 2011–2013, a member of the European Parliament in 2013–2016, as well as the 13th Minister of Foreign and E ...

– Croatian Democratic Union politician * Antonio Mohamed Matijevich – Football player * El Trinche - Football player. Both of his parents were of Croatian descent. *

Emilio Ogñénovich Emilio Ogñénovich (January 25, 1923 – January 29, 2011) was the Catholic bishop of the Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján, Argentina. Ogñénovich was born to a father from Cetinje and a mother "from Zadar or Split"; they both died when he was te ...

–

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Estanislao Esteban Karlic Estanislao Esteban Karlic (born 7 February 1926) is an Argentine Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paraná, Archbishop of Paraná from 1986 to 2003, and was elevated to the Ca ...

–

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the Roman Catholic Church *

Fernando Siro Fernando Siro (October 5, 1931 – September 4, 2006) was an Argentine film actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and work Born Francisco Ángel Luksich in Villa Ballester, he developed an early interest in acting and in 1950 was given ...

– Born Francisco Luksich, actor and director * Iván Gabrich – Football player *

Javier Frana Javier Alberto Frana (born 25 December 1966) is a former tennis player from Argentina and former tennis commentator for ESPN Latin America. He won 1996 French Open Mixed Doubles title with compatriot Patricia Tarabini. Tennis career Frana turn ...

– Tennis player * José María Buljubasich – Football player *

Juan Vucetich Juan Vucetich Kovacevich (born Ivan Vučetić; 20 July 1858 – 25 January 1925) was a Croatian-Argentine anthropologist and police official who pioneered the use of dactyloscopy (fingerprint identification). Biography Vucetich was born ...

–

Anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and police official who pioneered the use of fingerprinting *

Juan Yustrich Juan Elías Yustrich (9 July 1909 – 6 October 2002) was an Argentine football goalkeeper who won two league championships with Boca Juniors. Yustrich was born in Rosario, Argentina to Croat parents, originally ''Justrić''.Leonardo Pisculichi Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi (; born 18 January 1984) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He won the Copa Sudamericana in 2014 and Copa Libertadores in 2015 with River Plate. Club career Pisculichi started ...

– Football player *

Lita Stantic Élida Stantic (born April 7, 1942), and more commonly known and credited as Lita Stantic, is an Argentine cinema producer, screenplay writer, and director. Stantic is one of the most important producers working in the "New Argentine Cinema," re ...

– Filmmaker *

Ljerko Spiller Ljerko Spiller (22 July 1908 – 9 November 2008) was a famous Croat and Argentine violinist. Early life and education Spiller was born in Crikvenica to a Croatian Jewish family. After World War I Spiller moved with his family to Zagreb, where h ...

– Violinist *

Marcos Milinkovic Marcos Antonio Milinkovic (born December 22, 1971 in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine volleyball player. Milinković is 203 cm tall and weighs 100 kg. Milinkovic started playing the sport at age 17, a relatively late age ...

– Volleyball player * Martin Šarić – Football player *

Nicolás Mihanovich Nicolás Mihanovich (1846–1929) was a Croatian Argentine businessman closely linked to the development of the Argentine merchant marine. Life and times The Beginnings Nicolás Mihanovich was born Nikola Mihanović in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, A ...

– Shipping magnate *

Nicolás Pavlovich Nicolás Pavlovich (born 14 February 1978) is an Argentine football coach and a former striker. He is an assistant coach with Newell's Old Boys. He has played professional football in Argentina, Russia, Germany and Mexico. Career Pavlovich sta ...

– Football player *

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...

– Former President of Argentina * Juan Pablo Krilanovich – Football player *

Pablo Vranjicán Pablo Andrés Vranjicán Storani (born 11 December 1985) is an Argentine footballer. His last club was Deportes La Serena. Vranjicán also holds a Croatian passport due to his Croatian ancestry. Club career On 29 June 2013, he signed a contrac ...

– Football player *

Sandra Mihanovich Sandra Mihanovich (born April 24, 1957) is an Argentine singer, musician, and composer of Rock, Blues, and Tango rhythms. Biography She was born in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the daughter of Iván Mihanovich, a po ...

– Singer/songwriter *

Sebastián Crismanich Sebastián Eduardo Crismanich (born 30 October 1986 in Corrientes) is an Argentine taekwondo athlete. He won the gold medal in the men's 80 kg division at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Sebastián has the distinction of being the second indi ...

– Taekwondo athlete *

Federico Grabich Federico Grabich (born 26 March 1990) is an Argentine competitive swimmer. In August 2015, Grabich won the bronze medal at the World Championships, being the first medal for his country in a World Championship and the silver medal at the 2015 ...

– Swimmer *

Maximiliano Stanic Maximiliano Ariel "Maxi" Stanic (born December 2, 1978 in Morón, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player who currently plays for Atenas Cordoba, from Argentina. He plays at the point guard position. Professional c ...

– Basketball player *

Drago Pilsel Drago Carlos Pilsel (born 21 September 1962) is an Argentine Croatian journalist and human rights activist. Early years Drago Pilsel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a politically engaged family. His parents were Croatian immigrants who came ...

– Civil rights activist *

Mario Markic Mario Markic (born 1953 in Río Gallegos, Argentina) is an Argentine journalist and writer. He has written "Cuadernos del camino" and "Patagonia de puño y letra", he also hosts "En el camino" and "La mejor publicidad del mundo", TV shows. In 2 ...

– Journalist and writer

References

External links

Croats in Argentina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croats In Argentina *

European Argentine Immigration to Argentina

History

Notable Croatian Argentines

See also

References

External links