Croatian Chileans (Chileno-croatas, ; Croatian: ''čileanski Hrvati'') are

Chileans Chileans ( es, Chilenos) are people identified with the country of Chile, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, ethnic, or cultural. For most Chileans, several or all of these connections exist and are collectively the source ...

of full or partial Croatian descent. Chile has one of the largest communities of ethnic Croats outside

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, second only to

Croatian Americans Croatian Americans or Croat Americans ( hr, Američki Hrvati) are Americans who have full or partial Croatian ancestry. In 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens of Croat or Croatian descent living in the United States as per revised 2010 Un ...

. They are one of the main examples of successful assimilation of a non-Spanish-speaking European ethnic group into Chilean society. Many successful entrepreneurs, scientists and artists, as well as prominent politicians who have held some of the highest offices in the country, have been of Croatian descent – including the current president of the Republic,

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president of ...

History

Ad-of-croat-cruiser-en-route-to-sth-america

The

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

of the Croatian people and the denial of an internationally recognised nation was the principal factor leading them to embark on a constant

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

to Chile. At first they were recognised and officially registered as former citizens of the countries or empires from which they had fled. Until 1915 they were recognised as

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

, and afterwards up until 1990 as

Yugoslavians Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians (Bosnian language, Bosnian and Croatian language, Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian language, Serbian and Macedonian language, Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that w ...

. Since 1990, and in accordance to the establishment of the newly internationally recognised

Republic of 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 ...

, Chilean Croats have reasserted their cultural and ethnic identity. The Croatian community first established itself in two provinces situated at the extreme ends of

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 ...

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

, in the

Atacama The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...

desert of the north and

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Aren ...

in the

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 ...

n region in the south. The large arrival of Croats in Chile began in 1864 and the migration grew steadily until 1956 – reaching a number of more than 6,000. In the early part of this ''1864–1956'' era more Croats settled in Argentina than in Chile. For example, in Argentina the number reached 80,000, but only about 57% of Croats remained in Argentina. Some returned to Europe or moved and settled in Chile where Croats had a more rapid and successful assimilation, which led to a significant increase in the Chilean-Croat population in periods when there was no migration of Croats from Europe to the Americas. Included are

Istro-Romanians The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. However, due to se ...

, who became adjusted to Chilean society because of the linguistic similarities between Istro-Romanian and

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 ...

, as well as Latin identity of Istro-Romanians. It is estimated that there are up to 100,000–140,000 Chileans of Croatian descent. Even though the number may be much higher with some

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

analysts estimating a figure of 200,000.hrvatski.

Dalmatian-Croatian in Chile

The first issue of the publication ''Sloboda'' was published in March 1902, in

. It was the first newspaper of the Croatian immigrants in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. The Croatian

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s in Chile conducted extensive journalistic work since 1902, which includes more than 50 newspapers, publications and newsletters. The

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

, with thousands of islands of white rock, covered with vineyards, pine forests and olive trees, is similar to the geographical features of Chile. Most families have a relative or descendant in

. Chile's name, unlike other parts of the world where it is almost unknown, is loved and admired by many Dalmatians as a second home.

Croatians in Punta Arenas

is the most prominent settlement on the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

and the capital of the

Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

. It has a population of over 146,000 inhabitants (2008). The city has its roots among the population origin of the European colonists (Croatian and Spanish) that populated the area in the mid-nineteenth century. There are also descendants of people from other countries (i.e.

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

and others). Croatian immigration in Punta Arenas was a crucial development in the region of Magallanes and the city in particular. Currently, it is possible to see this influence in the names of shops and many buildings.

Chilean Croats

Political figures

* Tamara Agnic - business administrator, Superintendent of pensions (2014-16) * Ingrid Antonijevic - economist, Chilean minister (2002-06) * Vicente Merino Bielich - Naval officer, Chilean minister (1946),

Vice President of Chile The Vice president of Chile is a temporary post provided by the Constitution of Chile. The "vice president" is a person who fulfills the duties of the president of Chile when cases of incapacity and vacancy occur. This post is held by the Min ...

(1946) *

- deputy (2014-22),

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...

(since 2022) * Hernán Büchi Buc - economist, Chilean Minister (1983-84 / 1985-89) * Romy Schmidt Crnosija - lawyer, Chilean minister (2006-10) * Igor Garafulic - economist, Intendant of

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...

(2008-10) * Carolina Goić Borojević - social worker, deputy (2006-14), Senator (2014-22) * Alejandro Jadresic Marinovic - industrial engineer, Chilean minister (1994-98) * Carlos González Jaksic - teacher, Regidor (1963-69) and Alcalde of

(1964-67 / 1992-96), deputy (1969-1973) * Cedomil Lausic Glasinovic - agronomist,

MIR ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

activist * Yerko Ljubetic - lawyer, Chilean minister (2005-06) * Miodrag Marinović - businessman, deputy (2010-14) *

Vlado Mirosevic Vlado Mirosevic Verdugo (born 23 May 1987 in Arica) is a Chilean political scientist and politician who currently serves as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile. He is one of the founders of the Liberal Party of Chile, and served as ...

- political scientist, deputy (since 2014) * Baldo Prokurica - lawyer, deputy (1990-2002), Senator (2002-18), Chilean minister (2018-20 / 2020-22) * Claudio Radonich - lawyer, Intendant of

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region ( es, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second lea ...

(2013-14), Alcalde of

(since 2016) * Esteban Tomic - lawyer, Ambassador to the

OAS OAS or Oas may refer to: Chemistry * O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis Computers * Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards * OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...

(2000-06) *

Radomiro Tomic Radomiro Tomic Romero (7 May 1914 – 3 January 1992) was a Chilean politician of Croatian origin. He was one of the most prominent leaders of that country's Christian Democratic Party. Born in Calama, Tomic received his law degree from the Un ...

- lawyer, deputy (1941-49), Senator (1950-53 / 1961-65), Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(1965-68) * Tomás Vodanovic - sociologist, Alcalde of Maipú (since 2021) *

Pedro Vuskovic Pedro Vuskovic Bravo (February 25, 1924 – May 10, 1993) was a Chilean economist of Croatian descent, political figure, minister and author of the economic plan implemented by Salvador Allende during his government called the '' Vuskovic plan''. ...

- economist, Chilean minister (1970-72) *

Edmundo Pérez Zujovic Edmundo Pérez Zujovic (May 11, 1912 - June 8, 1971) was a Chilean businessman and politician, militant of the Christian Democratic Party (Chile), Christian Democratic Party (PDC). He served as Minister of State during the government of president ...

- businessman, Chilean minister (1965-67 / 1968-69)

Academics and scientists

* - biologist, National Prize for Natural Sciences (2020) * Lily Garafulic Yankovic - sculptor, professor of fine arts * - literary critic and professor of literature at

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

* Eric Goles - mathematician and author, National Prize for Exact Sciences (1993) *

Alfredo Jadresic Alfredo Arturo Jadresic Vargas (18 September 1925 – 30 September 2021) was a Chilean scientist and professor of medicine. As a high jump, high jumper he competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, and placed ninth. Personal life Jadresic was born in ...

- professor of medicine (also Olympic high jumper) * Ernesto Livacic Gazzano - academic, author * - academic, economist * Mateo Martinić Beroš - academic,

Chilean National History Award The Chilean National History Award (Spanish: ''Premio Nacional de Historia''), part of the National Prize of Chile, is an award given for contributions to the historiography of Chilean history. It was first awarded in 1974, is given every two years ...

(2000), founder of Institute of Patagonia * Luis Advis Vitaglich - philosophy academic, composer of Santa María de Iquique * - academic, electrical engineer

Writers

* Lenka Franulic - journalist, author, the annual ''Lenka Fraunlic Award'' for the best journalist of the year was named in her honour * Astrid Fugellie Gezan - poet * José Goles Radnić - music writer and composerhttp://www.musicapopular.cl/artista/jose-goles/ Jose Nicolas (Pepe) Goles Radnić *

Eugenio Mimica Barassi Eugenio Mimica Barassi (4 November 1949 – 27 March 2021) was a Chilean writer, born in Santiago. He made his literary debut in 1977, with the short story collection ''Comarca fueguina''. In 1979 he published his next book, the short story colle ...

- author * Andrés Morales Milohnic - poet, author, academic, Prize Pablo Neruda 2001 * Cristián Contreras Radovic - journalist, author, speaker, Doctor of Philosophy, leader of the

United Centre Andriy Baloha's Team ( uk, Команда Андрія Балоги, Komanda Andriya Balohy; formerly United Centre) is a Ukrainian political party. It is an offspring of Our Ukraine. Legally, Andriy Baloha's Team is the successor of the Party o ...

Roque Esteban Scarpa Roque Esteban Scarpa Straboni (March 26, 1914 in Punta Arenas - January 11, 1995 in Santiago) was a Chilean writer, literary critic and scholar. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1980. He was of Croatian and Italian descent. Sca ...

- poet, author, academic * Antonio Skármeta Vranicic - author, novelist

Sportspeople

Auto racing

* Boris Garafulic Litvak - racing driver * Boris Garafulic Stipicic - racing driver

Basketball

* Andrés Mitrovic - basketball player *

Juan Ostoic Juan Benito Ostoic Ostojic (21 March 1931 – 25 June 2020), known as Juan Ostoic, was a Chilean basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1956 Summer Olympics. After his playing career, Ost ...

- basketball player * Milenko Skoknic - basketball player, also diplomat

Football

* Ivo Basay Hatibovic - football manager and footballer * Marko Biskupovic - footballer * Yerko Darlić - footballer * Felipe Seymour Dobud - footballer * Peter Dragicevic - football administrator, former president of

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has played ...

* Juan Koscina - footballer *

Benjamín Kuscevic Benjamín Kuscevic Jaramillo (; born 2 May 1996) is a Chilean Association football, footballer who currently plays as centre-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fortaleza Esporte Clube, Fortaleza, on loan from Coritiba Foot Ball Club, ...

- footballer * Vladimiro Mimica - sports radio personality, also

Alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

(2008-2012) * Milovan Mirošević - football manager and footballer * Nicolás Peranic - footballer * Nicolás Peric - footballer and sports commentator * Harold Mayne-Nicholls Sekul - football administrator, former president of ANFP and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

official * Jaime Lo Presti Travanic - footballer * Luka Tudor Bakulic - footballer and sports commentator

Other sports

* Neven Ilic - sports official, member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Iván Morovic Iván Eduardo Morovic Fernández (born 24 March 1963) is a Chilean chess player with the title of International Grandmaster. Born in Viña del Mar, he began to play chess at age 9. In 1979 he won the Pan American Junior Chess Championship. In 19 ...

- Chess

International Grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it ha ...

* Juan Papic - table tennis player * Johnnathan Tafra - canoeist

Media personalities

* Cristián Arriagada Bižaca - actor * Jéssica Eterovic - model *

Carolina Fadic Carolina Fadic Maturana (Santiago, February 27, 1974 – ibid, October 12 of 2002) was an actress and television presenter from Chile. She started her career when she was only 19 years old, when she was chosen by the director Vicente Sabatini ...

– actress * Alejandro Goic - actor * Carolina Mestrovic - singer, model *

Julio Milostich Julio Pelegrin Milostich Muñoz (born October 5, 1966) is a Chilean theater, film and television actor. The cynical and morally antagonistic style of many of Milostich's characters and his condition as an unconventional heartthrob are some of t ...

- actor * Paulina Mladinic - model * Isidora Cabezón Papic - actress * Martín Cárcamo Papic - television presenter * Pedro Pavlovic - journalist * Santiago Pavlovic - journalist *

Mauricio Pesutic Mauricio Santiago Pešutić Pérez (b. Punta Arenas May 3, 1948) is a Chilean Actor with a long career on tv soap operas, film and theatre. He studied Drama and Film Direction at the Catholic University of Chile. He also wrote and directed 3 sh ...

- actor * Simón Pesutic - actor * Ángela Contreras Radovic - actress * Manuela Martelli Salamovich - actress * Tonka Tomicic Petric - television presenter, model *

Antonio Vodanovic Antonio Vodanovic (born March 2, 1949, Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean television presenter known for being the presenter of Viña del Mar International Song Festival from 1976 to 2004. From the late 1970s to 1982 he was programming director of Tel ...

- television presenter * Sergio Vodanović - screenwriter, journalist, dramatist, lawyer * Carolina Arregui Vuskovic - actress

Business people

* Pascual Baburizza Šoletić *

Andrónico Luksic Abaroa Antonio Andrónico Luksic Abaroa (5 November 1926 – 18 August 2005) was a Chilean businessman of Croatian and Bolivian origin. He founded the Luksic Group, becoming the richest person in Chile, the fourth in Latin America, and the 132nd ...

Andrónico Luksic Craig Andrónico Mariano Luksic Craig (born 16 April 1954) is a businessman and chairman of Quiñenco, a holding of the Luksic Group, one of Chile's largest conglomerates. Biography Andrónico Luksic Craig is the eldest son of Andrónico Luksic and ...

* Guillermo Luksic Craig * Jean-Paul Luksic Fontbona

Other notable Chilean croats

Alejandro Goic Karmelic Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander ( Czech, Polish), Alexandre (French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro ( Italian), Aleksandr ...

- clergyman * Leonor Oyarzún Ivanovic - First Lady of Chile * Antonio Rendić Ivanović - doctor, a.k.a. "Ivo Serge" as poet *

Koko Stambuk Cristián Daniel Stambuk Sandoval (born March 16, 1977 in Osorno, Chile) better known by his stage name Koko, is a Chilean singer-songwriter and producer, known for being the singer of the band Glup! and producing artists like Kudai, Luis Fons ...

- Chilean musician

References

External links

Diaspora Croata
{{Use British English, date=August 2010 Croatian diaspora by country European Chilean