Croatian Argentines are Argentine citizens of Croatian descent or

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n-born people who reside in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and their descendants settled in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Argentines of Croatian descent number over 350,000.

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 (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

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

pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

s. The pioneers from the island of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For''; ; ; ) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis (island), Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, with a high east–west ridge of M ...

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

. 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 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

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, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, 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 organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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

Notable Croatian Argentines

* * Alejandro Spajić – Volleyball player * Alicia Kirchner Ostoić – Politician * Mateo Bajamich – Football player * Daniel Bilos – Football player * Daniel Orsanic – Tennis player * Darío Cvitanich – Football player * Diego Maradona – Football player. His maternal grandmother, Salvadora Kariolic, was of Croatian origin. * Davor Ivo Stier – 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 t ...

–

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Estanislao Esteban Karlic Estanislao Esteban Karlic (born 7 February 1926) is an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paraná from 1986 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007. Biography Estanislao Karlic was born in Oliva ...

–

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the Roman Catholic Church * Fernando Siro – Born Francisco Luksich, actor and director * Iván Gabrich – Football player *

Javier Milei Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician and economist who has served as President of Argentina since 2023. Milei also served as a national deputy representing the City of Buenos Aires for the party La Libertad ...

- President of Argentina * Javier Frana – Tennis player *

José María Buljubasich José María Buljubasich (born 12 May 1971 in Firmat, Argentina) is a former Argentine football player who played as a goalkeeper in Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Chile and Paraguay. He won two titles, one in Argentina and the other in Chile. B ...

– Football player * Juan Vucetich –

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

and police official who pioneered the use of fingerprinting * Juan Yustrich – Football goalkeeper * Leonardo Pisculichi – Football player * Lita Stantic – Filmmaker * Ljerko Spiller – Violinist * Marcos Milinkovic – Volleyball player * Martin Šarić – Football player * Nicolás Mihanovich – Shipping magnate * Nicolás Pavlovich – Football player *

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

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

Sandra Mihanovich Sandra Mihanovich (born April 24, 1957) is an Argentina, Argentine singer, musician, and composer of Rock (music), rock, blues, and Tango music, tango rhythms. Biography She was born in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta neighbourhood of Bueno ...

– Singer/songwriter *

Sebastián Crismanich Sebastián Eduardo Crismanich (born 30 October 1986) 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 individual athlete to win ...

– Taekwondo athlete * Federico Grabich – Swimmer *

Maximiliano Stanic Maximiliano Ariel "Maxi" Stanic (born December 2, 1978, in Morón, Buenos Aires, Morón, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player who currently plays for Asociación Deportiva Atenas, Atenas Cordoba, from Argentina. He ...

– Basketball player * Drago Pilsel – Civil rights activist * Mario Markic – Journalist and writer * Ramón Miérez – Football player. His mother is of Croatian origin. * Roberto Curilovic - Navy pilot awarded with Medal of Valour in Combat

References

External links

Croats in Argentina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croats In Argentina *

Argentina–Croatia relations

History

Notable Croatian Argentines

See also

References

External links