Croatian Ecuadorians are Ecuadorians who are descended from migrants from

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 ...

. There are approximately 4,000 Croats and their descendants living in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. One can mention two major periods of the immigration of Croats to Ecuador; the first one at the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century and the recent that started in the 1990s. During the first period, Croat immigrants were moistly traders from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, Split and the island of Vis who settled in agricultural parts of Ecuador, especially in the region of Manabí, and in the cities such

Bahía de Caráquez Bahía de Caráquez, officially known as San Antonio de Caraquez and founded under the name of Villa de San Antonio de la Bahía de Caráquez or simply known today as Bahía, formerly called Bahía de los Caras during the period of the Spanish co ...

, Chone,

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Bri ...

, Portoviejo and

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

, Cuenca and

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

. The current immigration of Croats began with their arrival in Ecuador and was largely motivated by the interest in the fish industry and the exploration of marine

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

. Most of these new immigrants come from the

Adriatic coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

, especially from Split, and are employed in the

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

and sardines processing industry. Ecuadorian Croats and their descendants have a high cultural and economic status in the society and are quite prominent, particularly in the agricultural and fishing fields, as well as in commerce and industry. Ecuador has a large fleet of ships for banana transportation; also fish and merchant vessels whose crew is also made up of Croats living in

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

. They are, however, not registered as Croatian immigrants. In 2004 an association was established in Ecuador where Croats and their descendants often congregate.

Notable people

* Hugo Savinovich - former

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Ecuadorian announcer and professional wrestler. *

Radmila Pandzic Radmila is a popular given female name in Serbia. It is derived from the Slavic words ''rada'' (the feminine of ''rade'' meaning "happiness") and ''mila'' ("sweet"). Nicknames Rada, Radka, Radushka, Radica, Lala, Mila, Mi Famous bearers *Radm ...

- ex-

Miss Ecuador Miss Ecuador is a national beauty pageant in Ecuador. The current Miss Ecuador is Nayelhi González from Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas Province. She won the title on September 3, 2022 and will represent Ecuador at Miss Universe 2022. History The ver ...

1995. *

Tomislav Topic Tomislav (, ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, that is widespread amongst the South Slavs. The meaning of the name ''Tomislav'' is thought to have derived from the Old Slavonic verb "'' tomiti''" or "'' tomit" meaning to "''languish ...

- Ecuadorian businessman. *

Édgar Diminich Édgar Diminich (born April 29, 1991) is a world class sailor from Ecuador. He began sailing Optimists and became Southamerican champion in 2004 when he was 12 years old. Two years later, in 2006, he won the bronze medal at the Optimist World Ch ...

- sailor.

References

Croatian Diaspora in Ecuador

Croatian-Ecuadorians
{{Portal bar, Croatia, Ecuador

European Ecuadorian *

Notable people

See also

References