Croats in South America

Darko Žubrinić, 2024

Argentina

Josip Vucetic introduced scientific dactyloscopy Ivan Vucetic (1858-1925), in Argentina known as Juan Vucetich, was a criminologist and anthropologist born on the island of Hvar, in that time called Lessina. He was one of the pioneers of the scientific datiloscopy (identification by fingerprints) and occupied the position of the director of the Center for Daktiloscopy in Buenos Aires. His method of identification was in use throughout South America. Vucetic was also the one who introduced the notion of daktiloscopy in 1920, now in current use worldwide.

Josip Vucetic, discoverer of scientific dactyloscopy

Ivan Vucetic devised an original instrument for classification of fingerprints called dactilonome.

The police school in La Plata is bearing his name: Escuela de policia Juan Vucetich, as well as the Argentinean Police museum, and even a High Technical Institute Juan Vucetich. See his biography

Vida y obra de Juan Vucetich in Spanish,

offered by Argentinean Escuela de Policia, and in English.
Nearly 350,000 Croats live in Argentina today. It is interesting that in 1933 the Croatian community in Argentina collected about 50,000 signatures asking for the right of the Croats to live in the free and independent state. Similarly in the USA.

For more information see Ivan Vucetic, Juan Vucetich 1858.-1925. [PDF], concept author & event coordinator Ljerka Galic, Croatian Heritage Foundation, Zagreb 2008., ISBN 978-953-6525-47-8

Source.

A Croatian Jesuit Nikola Plantic (born in Zagreb, 1720-1777) studied in Zagreb, Graz, Vienna and Trnava in Slovakia. He was teaching logic and philosophy at the Jesuit University in Cordoba in Argentina.

In some books we can read that Plantic allegedly had an important role in the formation of the unique Jesuit Kingdom in Paraguay, established for the wellbeing of native Guarani Indians. It is true that the Jesuits managed to organize prosperous economic and cultural life, including printing in the Guarani language. This was too much for great forces, since this Jesuit-Indian Republic had shaken the existing "world order." The rebellion was put down in 1767, which led to the tragedy for Guaranis. The "international community" managed to achieve interdiction of the Jesuit order in 1773. But the claim that N.Plantic organized the rebellion is false. Some sources even claim that the Jesuit Republic was led by Plantic, and that allegedly a coin was issued with his figure in the Netherlands. Plantic was never in Paraguay, and never met Guaranis in their homeland. I owe this info to Mr. Joza Vrljicak, director of Studia Croatica, Buenos Aires. The only Croat known to have participated the famous Paraguay mission was Ivan Krstitelj Marchesetti (or Marqueseti, 1704-1767), born in Rijeka in a noble family having Italian roots, later croatized. See

[Zoric, pp. 49-51]
Mijo Korade and Mirjana Polić Bobić: Paragvajska pisma, Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 2010. (containing a collection of letters by Juan Bautista Marchesetti from Rijeka and Nikola Plantić from Zagreb, published in Croatian and Castillian
Mijo Korade: Istraživači novih obzorja, Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 2015.
Mijo Korade, Jerko Matoš and Mira Aleksić: Jesuits and Croatian culture, Most/The Bridge, Zagreb 1992.

Source.

Ivan Benigar was born in Zagreb in 1883, studied in Graz and Prague, and since 1908 lived Argentina, in Patagonia, among Mapuches or Araucanos Indians. He wrote a dictionary of Mapuche language and several other books. Since 1924 he was a member of the "Council of American history", which is today "National history academy" in Buenos Aires. Married with Eufemia Scheypuquin, grand-daughter of Mapuches chieftain Catriel, he had 11 children. When she died, after 6 years he married again with a Mapuche Indian, and had four children. Due to his intense scientific activity in Latin America, it is not surprising that he earned the title White chieftain of Mapuche Indians. Ivan Benigar and his brother were born in Zagreb, and considered themselves to be Croatians, although their parents were Slovenians, see [Verlichak Vrljicak, Hrvati u Argentini, p. 25]. Source.

Ljerko Spiller (1908-2008) was a famous Croatian and Argentiean violinist, of the Jewish origin. He graduated the study of violine from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. In 1930 he started to lecture at the Paris École Normale de Musique. In 1935 he was one of the winners of the prestigious Warsaw Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition. On the eve of WWII he moved to Argentina, where he continued his very fruitful activity. Spiller is the author of one of the best violin textbooks for children (Kinder lernen Geige spielen, published by PAN in Zürich, Switzerland). He frequently played Croatian composers, like Ivan Mane Jarnovic, Franjo Dugan, Milko Kelemen, Krsto Odak, etc. In 1997 he obtained the Order of Danica Hrvatska (The Order of Croatian Morning Star) from president Franjo Tudjman. More information by Zlatko Stahuljak, in Croatian. Source.

Tomas Felipe "Trinche" Carlovich, of Croatian origin, is considered to be one of the greatest Argentinean football players. More information: info1, info2, info3, info4. Source: Croatian Sports.

Brasil

Chile

Croats in Punta Arenas, Chile, with their tamburitzas (photo from Lj. Antic, Hrvati u J. Americi, Zagreb, 1991)
Croats in Punta Arenas, Chile (Magallanes region), with their tamburitzas
Croatian tamburitza band Tomislav in Punta Arenas, 1905
Hrvatsko tamburasko društvo Tomislav, Punta Arenas, 1905
(photo from Lj. Antić, Hrvati u J. Americi, Zagreb, 1991, pp 182 and 266)

Hrvatsko tamburaško društvo Tomislav (Croatian tamburitza band Tomislav), Punta Arenas, Chile, 1916.

Podatci koji slijede su iz ove knjige:

Petar Lovrić: Kad planine progovore, Laudato, Zagreb 2022.

Hrvatski dom u Punta Arenasu, str. 272, ima tri kata, knjižnicu, galeriju, upravni prostor i restoran.
Rudi Mijač je počasni hrvatski konzul u Punta Arenasu.

str. 274:
Trg Plaza Croata, jedan je od najljepših trgova u Punta Arenasu. U samom središtu trga je pet metara visok hrvatski grb. Kamen je za taj grb stigao s otoka Brača i isklesan je u Punta Arenasu. Više od 50% žitelja Punta Arensa su potomci Hrvata.

U gradu Porvenir, Chile, nalazi se Spomenik hrvatskom doseljeniku u obliku obeliska. Porvenir je glavno sjedište Chileanskog dijela Ognjene zemlje. Osnovali su ga doseljenici iz sela Mimica kod Omiša. To dokazuje spomenuti visoki obelisk, spomenik hrvatskom doseljeniku, podignut 1990. Od 6980 stanovnika Porvenira, 5000 su potomci Hrvata. Klima je ovdje još oporija nego u Punta Arenasu, prosječna godišnja temperatura je 6 stupnjeva celzijusa.

str. 276
Na ulazu u grad Ushuaia se uz argentinsku zastavu nalazi i hrvatska. Ovdje su se Hrvati počeli doseljavati još 1890. Hotel Mustapić u Ushuaii ima pored argentinske zastave i hrvatski grb. Kroz imanje obitelji Bronzović u Ushuaii protječe rijeka Milna! Naime, svi ovdašnji doseljenici potječu iz Milne na otoku Braču. U Ushuaii se nalazi klub koji se zove Club Croata.

str. 278
Prva naseobina Hrvata stigla je na otok Lenox na samom jugu Ognjene zemlje. Jedan potok na tom otoku je dobio ime Arroyo Borić. Borić je bio jedan od 500 Hrvata koji su na otoku za 26 dana iskopali 115 kg zlata.

Nedavno je u Chileu izabran novi predsjednik, Gabriel Borić.

str. 281
Procjene su da u Chileu živi čak 200 000 potomaka Hrvata od prve do pete generacije. Obitelj Lukšić čine u Chileu gospodarske divove. Hrvati su u Chileu vlasnici velikog broja ribarskih i ribarsko-prerađivačkih poduzeća.

str. 282
Restaurante CLUB CROATA u 10-milijunskoj Limi, glavnom gradu Perua.

Croatian coat of arms in Antofagasta (!), Chile, 1892
from the cover page of Ljubomir Antic: Hrvati u Juznoj Americi (Croats in South America)
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia. This photo is a part of the following:

A Croatian journal in Antofagasta from 1892, decorated with the Coat of Arms
of the Uniteg Kingdom of Croaita, Dalmatia and Slavonia.
Source: Croatian Folk Culture, Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb, 2004.
Bilingual Croatian-English edition.

Source: Croatian Coat of Arms, part 3

In Antofagasta, a city on the north of Chile, there is an important community of Croatian immigrants.
Their presence can be seen among others in one of the three pavillions (Music Pavillion) errected in the central park of the city.
The music pavillion bears the inscription:

LA COLONIA SLAVA
DE ANTOFAGASTA
AL PUEBLO CHILEANO
EN COMMEMORACION CENTENARIO
1810 - 1910

However, it is clear from the above photo (a detail of the octagonal music pavillion), that La "COLONIA SLAVA" was in fact "LA COLONIA CROATA".
This can be seen from the Coat of Arms of the then Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia from 1910, which is a part of the pavillion.
For more details, see the following video:

One of important members of the Croatian community in Antofagasta, Chile, Pasko Baburizza (1875-1941, born on the island of Koločep near the city of Dubrovnik), in cooperation with Frano Petrinović, owned as many as 74 factories in Antofagasta, with 70,000 workers. He became one of the richest persons in Chile. He worked tirelessly until the end of his life (and died at the age of 67), without entertainment and luxurious life. He was helping his native island of Koločep in various ways, as well as to the famous city of Dubrovnik.

Source: Croatian Coat of Arms, part 4

Peru

Gerardo Zerdin is a Croatian Franciscan born in 1950, and a missionary in Peru since 1975. He is living already for 32 years among Peruvian Indians as a priest, and since 2001 as a bishop appointed by the rescript of Pope John Paul II. Msgr. Zerdin learned several Indian languages, and now basic Christian prayers are available in these languages. Extremely important work is devoted to Indian children, first to teach them to read and write, both in their native languages and in Castellano.

Msgr Zerdin initiated a very complex and notrivial task to start the university for Peruvian Indians, Nopoki - Universidad para indigenas, in cooperation with the Catholic University in Lima. It started to work in 2006/07 with 57 students. The aim is to educate future school teachers for work within their native communities, in order to preserve their roots, language and customs, and ensure material and cultural prosperity.

Source

Venezuela

Fra Augustin Augustinović (1917-1998), born in a village near the town Prijedor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, served during many years (for nearly half a century) as a missionary in Venezuela. A result of his Cursillios was a two volume book entitled Historia de Jesu, published in 1981 in Spanish. It was translated by the author into Croatian (Povijest Isusova I, II) in 1984 and published in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Among important sportsmen and sportswomen of Croatian origin in Venezuela, Argentina, Equador, and USA, are

Marco Milinkovic, voleyball, Argentina
Zdenko Morovic, football, Venezuela
Iru Balic, diving, Venezuela
Branko Jardas, wrestling Venezuela
Tomislav Klepic, wrestling, Venezuela
Ivan Cochesa (Kokeza), automóvil champ, Venezuela
Jasenka Hauptfeld, swiming, Ekvador
Paige Spiranac, golf, USA

Many thanks to Mr. Josip Hrgetić (Venezuela - Croatia) for his kind information.

In general

Carmen Verlichak

Croatia, its History, Culture and Science