by Eva Neisser Echenberg

In 2007 Spain passed the Historical Memory Law, that allows Argentinians of Spanish descent, often several generations ago, to regain Spanish citizenship. Italy has a similar law. That is, a person whose grandparents or great-grandparents left Italy or Spain well over a hundred years ago can return there now as full-fledged citizens.

These Argentinians want to go to Italy or Spain for the same two reasons that their ancestors left: social mobility and economic advantages. Resuming Spanish or Italian citizenship gives them access to live legally not only in Spain or Italy, but in all the countries of the European Union.

This arrangement, returning citizenship to grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants, is beneficial for the Europeans since they have a high elderly population and a low birth rate. Europe needs young people.

Around the turn of the 20th century, immigration to Argentina was massive with millions arriving in search of a better life. The expression in Spanish is "Hacer la América", to "do" America. Three million Italians moved to Argentina in a migratory flow that lasted almost 100 years (1870 - 1970). The first Spaniards arrived much earlier as colonizers, but Spanish mass immigration took place in the same years as the Italian, with two million Spaniards leaving for Argentina. While Italians and Spaniards arrived in greatest numbers, there were also Germans, Jews, Russians and Syrians. Between 1880 and 1915 more than seven million Europeans settled in Argentina.

In a poem called Song to Argentina / Canto a la Argentina, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío gave voice to their golden dream. Here is ​​a stanza:

The new Italian and Spanish arrivals never lost touch with their countries of origin. They got off the boat with the names and addresses of relatives and acquaintances. They found people from their region of origin, and joined a variety of mutual aid associations: cultural, sports, professional... To this day there are thousands of these associations throughout the country.

Two factors made integration to Argentina easy for Spanish and Italian immigrants. First, the language, which was the same for the Spanish and easy to learn for the Italians, and second, it was another Catholic country.

Some Spaniards and Italians were indecisive. They went back and forth from the New World to the Old. They were called "swallows" because the swallow is a migratory bird that always returns to its home. Some followed the rhythm of the harvests, working in the Southern Hemisphere for a season and then returning to their home countries by the boatload to work the harvest in the north.

But the vast majority of Spanish and Italian immigrants stayed in Argentina. They settled throughout the national territory and their impact has been very important both on the language and on the customs of the country.

Immigration from Great Britain was very different from the Italian or Spanish experience. In the 19th century, Britain was the greatest power in the world. English companies had branches in every Latin American country. Some British citizens were branch managers of English companies, others upon arriving, bought land, opened factories and otherwise invested in the country. In Argentina, the English founded banks, built railroad lines, opened bookstores, and transported Argentine meat to European markets.

In addition, they introduced British sports such as golf, polo, tennis, and above all soccer, which today is the passion of Argentines. They founded the first soccer clubs and gave them English names such as Newell's Old Boys, which was Messi's first team.

While the vast majority of immigrants were economically or socially motivated, the first Jews came in search of religious freedom. At the end of the 19th century, several thousand Jews founded agrarian colonies financed by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. With no previous farming knowledge, the first years on the land were hard and hunger prevailed. But the gauchos in the area taught them, and eventually they became known as "Jewish gauchos."

Jewish gauchos
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Long-time San Miguel resident Hernán (Nano) Drobny shares this reminiscence about his family:

The bloody Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired another migratory wave. Although more Spaniards fled to France and Mexico, a significant number settled in Argentina. Previous Spanish immigrants had been poorly educated and the vast majority were illiterate. But many Civil War exiles were intellectuals and professionals.

However, a good number of these Civil War exiles did not stay permanently in Argentina. Although they could not return to Spain until the end of the dictatorship there, they left Argentina and took asylum in other countries.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries has brought Koreans, Bolivians and more. Only time will tell how well they will integrate into the Argentine reality.

In comparison, the United States received approximately 5.3 million Italian immigrants. But immigration to Argentina has been very different from that to the United States and Canada. Like those who went to Argentina, there were some who had no intention of staying in the U.S. They just wanted to make money and return to Italy. Yet the vast majority did stay.

In contrast, the Argentine migratory movement has been more fluid. Migrants have come and gone, from one continent to another, motivated by economics and politics. At present, after several generations, some are returning to Europe, another unique feature that has characterized Argentine immigration.

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Eva Neisser Echenberg is a Canadian teacher, writer, and presenter who spends winters in SMA. Born in Lima, she has spent her adult life in Montreal. She has written a memoir, Walter's Welcome, the Intimate Story of a German-Jewish Family' s Flight from the Nazis to Peru. In SMA, she volunteers at the folk-art museum, La Esquina, where she also gives weekly guided tours of this outstanding gallery.

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