Basque Argentines are Argentine citizens of Basque descent or people from Basque residing 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 ...

. Basque Argentines are one of the largest Basque diaspora groups in the world. Basque settlement in Argentina took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when many immigrants arrived in

from the Basque Country. Basque people had already played a large part in the conquest and development of Argentina as a

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 ...

colony and in its independence, including

Juan de Garay Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador. Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's n ...

, the founder of the capital

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 ...

History

Between 1857 and 1940 more than 2 million

Spanish people Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...

emigrated to Argentina, mostly from Galicia and the Basque Country, which is a region in the western

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

mountains straddling parts of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Spain. Both Spanish and French Basques (including

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

ns) arrived in Argentina as part of a wider

Basque diaspora The Basque diaspora is the name given to describe people of Basque origin living outside their traditional homeland on the borders between Spain and France. Many Basques have left the Basque Country for other parts of the globe for economic a ...

. Today, around 10% of the Argentine population are of Basque descent. The destination of the majority of Basque emigrants was Argentina, with Basque culture contributing much to Argentine culture.

Basque cultural influences

There are Basque cultural centres ('' Euskal Etxeak'') in most large cities, as well as pelota courts and Basque language schools. Buenos Aires has a major Basque centre, the

Laurak Bat The current Basque coat of arms ( es, Escudo del País Vasco, eu, Euskal autonomi erkidegoaren armarria) is the official coat of arms of the Basque Country, Autonomous community of Spain. It consists of a '' party per cross'' representing the th ...

, and a cultural foundation, the Juan de Garay Institute, named after the city's Basque founder. Politicians from the Basque Country

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of Spain, including the ''

lehendakari The President of the Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritzako lehendakaria, es, presidente del Gobierno Vasco), usually known in the Basque language as the Lehendakari ( eu, lehendakari, es, lendakari), is the head of government of the Basq ...

'', are regular visitors to the country, and the Basque government has diplomatic representation in Argentina, currently María Elisa Díaz de Mendibil.

Basque heritage

Basque festival in Buenos Aires August 2011

Many places have been given Basque names, including the city of Ezeiza and its surrounding partido, best known as the location of Argentina's main international airport, Ministro Pistarini. The seaside resort of

Necochea Necochea is a port and beach city in the southwest of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, along the mouth of the Quequén Grande River, from Buenos Aires and southwest of Mar del Plata. The city proper ...

is a major centre of Basque culture and also has a Basque name. Several

Presidents of Argentina Argentina has had many different types of heads of state, as well as many different types of government. During pre-Columbian times, most of the territories that today form Argentina were inhabited by Amerindian peoples without any centralized ...

have been of Basque descent, including

Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was bo ...

José Evaristo Uriburu José Félix Evaristo de Uriburu y Álvarez de Arenales (November 19, 1831 – October 23, 1914) was President of Argentina from 23 January 1895 to 12 October 1898. He was an adept diplomat; participating as arbiter on the peace negotiati ...

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

José Félix Uriburu Lieutenant General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu (20 July 186829 April 1932) was the President of the Provisional Government of Argentina, ousting the successor to President Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a military coup and declaring ...

and

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an Argentine Army general. He was a major figure behind the ''Revolución Libertadora'', the military coup against Juan Perón in 1955. He became dictator of Argentina, serving ...

, not to mention other figures, notably Eva Perón,

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

, Maxima Zorreguieta and well-known football players as

Julio Olarticoechea Julio Jorge Olarticoechea (born 18 October 1958) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a defender. At international level, he represented Argentina at the 1986 and the 1990 World Cups, winning the former edition of the tournament. He s ...

Sergio Goycochea Sergio Javier Goycochea (; born 17 October 1963) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for helping his country reach the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final with his penalty kick saves. Career Goyco ...

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

. There are an estimated 15,000 Basque surnames in Argentina.

Notable people

* Alfredo Arrieta, military and politician, brother-in-law of

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

. *

, a major figure of the Cuban Revolution. *

, professional footballer who plays for MLS club Inter Miami. * Aníbal Ibarra, lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Buenos Aires from 2000 to 2006. *

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...

, the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. *

, two-time President of Argentina. * Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, married to King Willem-Alexander. *

, former President "de facto" of Argentina *

, 1990 World Cup starting goalkeeper of Argentina *

, former football player *

Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Luis Burruchaga (; born 9 October 1962), nicknamed ''Burru'', is an Argentine association football coach and former professional football player. He played both as an attacking midfielder and forward and scored the winning goal in the fi ...

, former football player * Mauro Burruchaga, football player *

Pablo Zabaleta Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (; born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a right back. Zabaleta could operate on both sides of the pitch as a full-back and was known for his tenacious style of play, an ...

, football player for West Ham United. *

Gabriel Goity Gabriel Goity (born c. 1960) is an Argentine theatrical, film and television actor. He was born in the small Argentine town of El Palomar. Biography Goity left Palomar and moved to Buenos Aires with his family. His grandparents in particular ...

, Actor * Macarena Achaga, TV personality *

Ezequiel Garay Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (; born 10 October 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He started his career with Newell's Old Boys but moved to Spain at the age of 19, going on to amass La Li ...

, footballer * Magdalena Mouján, mathematician and science fiction writer *

Adolfo Zumelzú Adolfo Bernabé Zumelzú (5 January 1902 – 29 March 1973) was a football player from Argentina. Career Zumelzú represented the Argentina at the South American Championship 1927 and the South American Championship 1929 both won by Argentin ...

, 1928 Olympian in Argentina football team * Olga Zubarry, actress * Jorge Zorreguieta, Minister of Agriculture during the Videla Regime *

Héctor Zelada Héctor Miguel Zelada Bertoqui (born 30 April 1957) is a former Argentine football goalkeeper. He started his career at Rosario Central but he played mostly in Mexico, for Club América. He was the third-choice goalkeeper for the Argentina si ...

, 1986 World Cup Winner * Héctor Aramburu, musician known as Atahualpa Yupanqui *

Rogelio Yrurtia Rogelio Yrurtia (December 6, 1879 – March 4, 1950) was a renowned Argentine sculptor of the Realist school. Life and work Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Basque immigrants in 1879, Rogelio Yrurtia enrolled in the local Society for the ...

, sculptor *

Bautista Ezcurra Bautista Ezcurra (born 21 April 1995) is an Argentine rugby union player. He currently plays for Rugby ATL of Major League Rugby (MLR). He was selected for 's sevens squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ezcurra was named in the training squad ...

, rugby union player *

Felipe Ezcurra Felipe Ezcurra (born 15 April 1993) is an Argentine rugby union player. He plays as a scrum-half for French Pro D2 side FC Grenoble. Born in Buenos Aires Ezcurra played for Hindú Club in the Nacional de Clubes. He played for Pampas XV and fo ...

, rugby union player

References

{{Authority control * Argentine European Argentine Spanish Argentine French Argentine Immigration to Argentina

History

Basque cultural influences

Basque heritage

Notable people

See also

References