Lebanese Argentine
Encyclopedia
An Lebanese Argentine is an Argentine
citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab
cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity
, originating from what is now Lebanon
.
Although a highly diverse group of Argentines — in ancestral origins, religion and historic identities — Arab Argentines hold a heritage that shares common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
The majority of the 1.5 million Lebanese Argentines are Christians. The interethnic marriage in the Lebanese community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Lebanese community in Argentina shows marked language shift
away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish
as a first language.
was a territory of the Turkish Ottoman Empire
. The causes for Lebanese to leave their homeland were an accelerated increase in demographics in Lebanon, the persecution by the Ottoman Turks, and the Italo-Turkish War
. The Lebanese immigrants settle in the provinces of Buenos Aires
, Cordoba
, Salta
, Jujuy, La Rioja
, San Juan
, Mendoza
, Santiago del Estero
, Misiones, Chaco
, and the Patagonia
. A large percentage of Lebanese settled in the Cuyo
region (which is made up of the provinces of San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza, and La Rioja).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, originating from what is now Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Although a highly diverse group of Argentines — in ancestral origins, religion and historic identities — Arab Argentines hold a heritage that shares common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
The majority of the 1.5 million Lebanese Argentines are Christians. The interethnic marriage in the Lebanese community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Lebanese community in Argentina shows marked language shift
Language shift
Language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or language replacement or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community of a language shifts to speaking another language. The rate of assimilation is the percentage of individuals with a given mother tongue who speak...
away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as a first language.
History
In the 19th century, the first Lebanese settled in Argentina. From 1891 to 1920, 367,348 people of Arabic heritage immigrated into Argentina. When they were first processed in the ports of Argentina, they were classified as Turks because what is modern day LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
was a territory of the Turkish Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The causes for Lebanese to leave their homeland were an accelerated increase in demographics in Lebanon, the persecution by the Ottoman Turks, and the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
. The Lebanese immigrants settle in the provinces of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Cordoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, Salta
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
, Jujuy, La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
, San Juan
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....
, Mendoza
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
, Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero Province
Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. Neighbouring provinces are from the north clockwise Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán.-History:...
, Misiones, Chaco
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
, and the Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. A large percentage of Lebanese settled in the Cuyo
Cuyo (Argentina)
Cuyo is the name given to the wine-producing, mountainous area of central-west Argentina. Historically it comprised the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. The term New Cuyo is a modern one, which indicates both Cuyo proper and the province of La Rioja...
region (which is made up of the provinces of San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza, and La Rioja).
Notable people
- Mohamed Alí SeineldínMohamed Alí SeineldínMohamed Alí Seineldin was an Argentine army colonel who participated in two failed uprisings against the democratically elected governments of both President Raúl Alfonsín and President Carlos Menem in 1988 and 1990.Seineldín was born in Concepción del Uruguay into an Arab Argentine family...
- Omar AsadOmar AsadOmar Andrés Asad is an Argentine football manager and former player.As a player, Asad spent all of his career in Vélez Sársfield, winning 8 titles with the club ....
- Julio AsadJulio AsadJulio "El Turco" Daniel Asad is a former footballer and Manager. As a player, he participated with Argentina in Copa América 1975....
- Claudio HusaínClaudio HusaínClaudio Daniel Husaín is an Argentine footballer. He is of Lebanese and Syrian background.Husaín played for Vélez Sársfield and River Plate in Argentina, Italian S.S.C...
- Antonio MohamedAntonio MohamedAntonio 'El Turco' Mohamed is a retired Argentine football striker, and soccer manager. He is given the nickname 'El Turco' due to his Syrian and Lebanese ethnicity. In Argentina the Arabs are usually mistakenly called Turks since they came to Argentina with Ottoman documents in the 1900s...
- Daniel HadadDaniel HadadDaniel Hadad is an Argentine businessman involved in telecommunications and media.-Life and times:Daniel Hadad was born in Buenos Aires in 1961. He earned degrees as a lawyer and journalist from the Catholic University of Argentina, and completed post-graduate studies at the University of...
- Juan Luis ManzurJuan Luis ManzurJuan Luis Manzur is an Argentine surgeon and politician, currently Minister of Health and Environment to the President.-Biography:...
- Yamila DíazYamila DiazYamila Díaz-Rahi is an Argentine model.-Background:Díaz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is of Spanish and Lebanese descent. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a health care manager...
- Omar HasanOmar HasanOmar Hasan Jalil is a retired Argentine rugby union footballer. He last played for Stade Toulousain in the domestic French club competition, the Top 14. He has also played for Argentina, usually as a prop. He has played in over 50 Tests for the Pumas and has an international career with Argentina...
- Alberto HassanAlberto HassanAlberto Hassan is a singer from Argentina, recorded tenor, directed mainly to the folk music of America and black spiritual, which integrates the vocal group Opus Four since its inception...
- Carlos BaláCarlos BaláCarlos Balá is an Argentine actor who specialized in children's entertainment.Descended from Lebanese immigrants, he was born in 1925 in the Chacarita neighborhood...
- Elías SapagElías SapagElías Canaán Sapag was a Lebanese-born Argentine politician, long-serving senator for Neuquén Province, founder of the Neuquén People's Movement and head of the locally influential Sapag family....
- Felipe SapagFelipe SapagFelipe Sapag was an Argentine politician, governor of Neuquén Province on five occasions and a leading figure in the Neuquén People's Movement and the locally influential Sapag family.-Life and times:...
- Luz SapagLuz SapagLuz María Sapag was an Argentine politician, Mayor of the city of San Martín de los Andes and formerly a Senator representing the Neuquén Province under the aegis of the Neuquino People's Movement....
- Elias BazziElias BazziElias Bazzi is a Lebanese–Argentine football defender who plays for FC Universitatea Cluj of the Liga I in Romania.-External links:...
- Alfredo AvelínAlfredo AvelínAlfredo Avelín is an Argentine politician, physician and author. He served as Governor of his province of San Juan and as a member of the Argentine Senate and Chamber of Deputies....
- Sergio AgüeroSergio AgüeroSergio Leonel "Kun" Agüero del Castillo is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester City in England's Premier League and the Argentine national team....
See also
- Argentinian people
- Immigration to ArgentinaImmigration to ArgentinaImmigration in Argentina, can be divided in several major stages:* Spanish colonization starting in the 16th century, integrating the indigenous inhabitants ....
- Lebanese diasporaLebanese diasporaLebanese diaspora refers to Lebanese migrants and their descendants who by choice or coercion emigrated from Lebanon and now reside in other countries....
- Lebanese AmericansLebanese AmericansLebanese Americans are American citizens of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States as well as Lebanese immigrants to America. The vast majority of them are Christians, in particular Maronite Catholic...
- Lebanese Canadian
- Lebanese AustralianLebanese AustralianA Lebanese Australian is an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Lebanese descent. The community is multi-religious, and includes a Christian, mostly Maronite Catholic, majority, as well as a large Muslim minority of both the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam, and various other Christian and...
- Lebanese BrazilianLebanese BrazilianA Lebanese Brazilian is a Brazilian person of full, partial, or predominantly Lebanese ancestry, or a Lebanese-born person immigrant in Brazil....
- Lebanese BritishLebanese BritishLebanese British include people originating from Lebanon who have migrated to the United Kingdom and their descendents.-History and settlement:...
- Ecuadorian of Lebanese originEcuadorian of Lebanese originThere is a significant number of people of Lebanese background in Ecuador.-Migration history:Migration from Lebanon to Ecuador started as early as 1875. Early impoverished migrants tended to work as independent sidewalk vendors, rather than as wage workers in agriculture or others' businesses...
- Arab ArgentineArab ArgentineAn Arab Argentine is an Argentine citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria but also there are some individuals from the...
- Arab MexicanArab MexicanAn Arab Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Arabic-speaking origin who can be of various ancestral origins. The vast majority of Mexico's 1.1 million Arabs are from either Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, or Palestinian background....
- Islam in ArgentinaIslam in ArgentinaIslam in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim minorities. Although accurate statistics on religion are not available the actual size of Argentina's Muslim community is estimated around 1% of the total population according to the International Religious Freedom Report...
- Latin American MuslimsLatin American MuslimsLatin American Muslims are Muslims from countries from Latin America.- History of the Muslims in Latin America :The history of the Muslims in Latin America dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross-Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492, when he left Spain and eventually "discovered" the...
- Islamic Organization of Latin AmericaIslamic Organization of Latin AmericaThe Islamic Organization of Latin America , also known as the Organización Islámica Para América Latina , headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is considered the most active organization in Latin America in promoting Islamic affiliated endeavors...