A Long Journey from Adana to Buenos Aires: Armenian Diaspora in Argentina, Agos - 2016

This article was published in Agos Newspaper on 25th October 2016. Turkish version can be retrieved from: http://www.agos.com.tr/tr/yazi/16826/adanadan-buenos-airese-uzun-bir-yolculuk-arjantinde-ermeni-diasporasi (Link)

A LONG JOURNEY FROM ADANA TO BUENOS AIRES: ARMENIAN DIASPORA IN ARGENTINA

The Festival of Armenian Culture in Buenos Aires, 2009

Orçun Urgun is a professional guide who concerned himself with the Armenians who migrated intensively to Latin American countries. With Urgun who introduced the Brazilian Armenians from past to present in these pages, this time, we witness the story of the Armenian Diaspora in Argentina. Every stop is full of precious knowledge and experiences...

At the beginning of the 20th century, Armenians who spread all over the world from the different parts of Ottoman Empire put up a fight in order to survive. While some took refuge in European countries in which the migration policy was conducted regularly, some of them had to cover a long distance with the hope of building a new life. Latin America, endeared by the job opportunities was the choice of those who hoped to open a new page. But the other side of the ocean was filled with difficulties, they were stranger to the land they arrived than the other immigrant groups. They learned new languages, they started businesses, they engaged in protecting their cultures and collective memories for tens of years. A hundred year passed after their migration. Now, as an 'adjusted' society, they carry on with their lives in various Latin American countries. The most important country among these countries is undoubtedly Argentina. With the Armenian population, close to 70,000, Argentina is today the home to the biggest Armenian diaspora in Latin America and the ninth biggest after Iran and Turkey. Only in the capital Buenos Aires, there are many Armenian churches, around twenty foundations that carry out activities in various fields and seven private schools belonging to the Armenian community. Argentina, that recognized the genocide first in 1993, is one of the countries in which the diaspora is economically and politically the strongest. With the difference from the other Diasporas in the same continent, the Argentina Armenian diaspora is a community that has completed its intellectual development. The Armenians here managed to sustain their language and culture by

using the advantage of having a big population. On the other hand, being a nation of Caucasian roots is a case that gets attention from the other immigrant groups such as Spaniards and Italians who compose the cultural identity of Argentina. In the eyes of the locals, the Armenians are almost an 'exotic' community with their culinary culture, their language, local costumes and deep-rooted histories. The monthly magazines with high circulation include files on the Armenian cultures, the sociology departments of the universities are full of academicians that study the Armenian migration, and Armenian meals are cooked in the most famous restaurants of Buenos Aires. The Armenian communities living in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile also benefit from this cultural richness. Sardarabad, one of the important newspapers of Argentina, is published weekly like Agos in two languages: Spanish and Armenian. This newspaper, carrying on to its publication life since 1975 is one of the main information sources of both Argentina Armenian community and other Latin America Armenian communities with the news on Armenia and the diaspora. Far Near Neighbor It would not be wrong to say the Armenians pay their debt of gratitude to this country that opened to its doors to them hundred years ago, by giving support to Argentina's economic development. Armenians who operated in different sectors such as construction, furniture, jewelry, shoemaking, mining, weaving and decoration contributed to Argentina to become a developed country as much as the Spaniards and the Italians did. Today, the country's leather and textile sectors are largely managed by the Armenians; Argentina's most famous leather is engraved by craftsmen from Maraş.

An Armenian Family in Buenos Aires, 1940’s

Even though Argentina seems far to us in the map, it is closer to us than we think. After 1915, it is thought that 60% of the Armenians living in Cilicia region migrated to Argentina. Armenians that mainly migrated from Adana, Maraş and Antep moved particularly to Buenos Aires. So much so that, according to an unofficial census conducted in 1941 in Argentina, 70% of the Armenians living in Buenos Aires are from Adana. Haçinli (Saimbeyli, Adana) Armenians Foundation (Unión de Residentes Armenios de Hadjin) is only one of the foundations operating today. In short, what the Armenians are living far from their homes in this country is much more than a simple success story. Declaring its independence on July 9, 1816 with being freed from the yoke of colonialist countries, Argentina was a developing country at the end of 19th century. The country built on vast, cultivable area wanted to benefit from its agriculture and husbandry potential. On the other hand, the reconstruction activities in the city centers created new business lines. For the construction of ports, railways, sidewalks and sewers, there was need for young workforce. For this reason, the Argentine government established new laws to encourage and ease immigration with a kind of 'open door' policy. With an enactment published in 1853, local citizenship and equal social rights

were entitled to all the individuals and their families who wanted to move to Argentina. The biggest reason for Armenians to choose Argentina to migrate to was this hospitable attitude. Historians generally examine the migration of Armenians to Argentina in three parts. The first migration was the migration that took place between 1910 and 1923 after the Lausanne Treaty. Armenians that ran away from the Russian Civil War between 1917 and 1921 were included in this group. Relatively less number of citizens of Armenian origins first moved to Buenos Aires and started to work there. The second and the biggest migration wave took place between 1923 and 1940. This group of displaced Armenians, most of whom migrated from Adana, Antep, Maraş, İzmir and İstanbul were welcomed by their relatives or friends who migrated before. The last group consisted of Armenians who migrated to Argentina between 1940 and 1980. Armenians who migrated from the Soviet Union, Syria and Lebanon after the Second World War and Armenians who migrated from Iran after the 1979 Iran Islamic Revolution were accepted in this group. The voyage to Argentina could not be actualized without transit and at once with the ship. Mostly the ships taking off from the ports in Ottoman Empire were going to Argentina after they stopped in Cyprus and Greece. Most of the immigrants were orphans who were placed in orphanages in various places all over the world after 1915. These kids were generally going to France and after they saved enough money, they were taking a ship going to Argentina because most of the ships going to Argentina were coming from the port of Marseilles. It is difficult to give numbers about the Armenian population arriving to Argentina ports in this period. Immigrants coming to Argentina from different parts of Ottoman Empire such as Lebanon, Egypt and Syria were called 'los turcos' (The Turks) and they were gathered under a single roof without consideration to their ethnic identities. The only unit that had official record about the Armenian population during the immigration period was the Armenian Apostolic Church in the city. According to the church records, only in 1935, 9,400 immigrants of Armenian roots entered to Argentina. New Life Argentina which was the largest grain, meat and wool exporter in South America, was providing support loans to immigrants, especially to those who wanted to do farming. For this reason, the first Armenian immigrants moved not only to the city centers but also to the rural areas. Those who moved to the city centers lived off generally with trade and street vending. The first generation who came to Argentina at the beginning of the 20th century was meeting in a café called Esmirna, ran by a Jew from İzmir, every Sunday in Buenos Aires. The first churches and schools belonging to the community were built by the immigrants. This way, there was preparation made for the second and big migration wave that started in 1923 and continued for twenty years. Especially the second group emigrating from the Anatolian lands could settle in Argentina thanks to the opportunities provided by the first group of immigrants. This group who predominantly settled in Buenos Aires and surroundings both made the city's business life to revive and helped the country's construction by working in big construction projects. Armenians who lived in rented houses since 1930's started to buy their own estate after this date. They built their first houses with wooden pieces obtained from unused furniture. Bricks were expensive. As the climate was quite humid, they could not produce bricks by drying them. Several families would live all together in wooden houses they built in the three hundred square meters they bought together. Majority of them did farming where they came from and knew how to cultivate but they had to give that up since the land was expensive in the city centers. Buenos Aires was an expensive city and Argentina did not have a settled immigrant policy like the other countries. In other words, the immigrants were not classified according to their expertise areas or line of business and they could not receive advice on where to live, which work to do. This

promiscuity, even though provided somewhat freedom, made it hard to find a job and it caused the Armenian population to center upon in one point: Buenos Aires. In that period, an Armenian who worked in a central district of Buenos Aires narrates: "We shared the same room with four, five people. I was working in the marketplace in Lima and I was staying with others in San Telmo as it was close to my work. We had a kitchen made out of wood, we would cook bulgur and rice pilaf here and melt butter on it and we would put these in vine leaves or chard we would boil. A monthly rent of a room in San Telmo was 40 pesos and our wage was 4 pesos..." Painful Times On the other hand, political conditions must be added to this period's difficulties. The global crisis created by the Second World War influenced Argentina's political life as well. The time period known as the 30s crisis or 'decada infame' (terrible ten years) in the Argentina history caused bad results for everybody living in the country. When the president of the period Hipólito Yrigoyen was overthrown by a military coup in September 6th, 1930, the country's economy turned upside down. The farmers living in the inner parts of the country were forced to migrate to the big cities, especially around Buenos Aires. Lots of slum districts were formed. For ten years, opposing views were suppressed, the country was shaken with scandals and there was phobic and aggressive attitude especially to the immigrant groups. This period, which ended in June 4th 1943 with another military coup, displaced all the Armenians like the other immigrants from their land and forced them to change their line of business and start all over again. Armenians who supported each other in every condition managed to survive the chaotic climate of 1940s. They succeeded in every sector they worked in. While in 1926, there were 9 Armenian businesses registered to the Buenos Aires Chamber of Trade, this number increased up to 250 businesses in 1941. While the first generation Armenian women contributed to the home economics usually with sewing and cleaning, this situation changed in the second generation; the women started to get education and started to work in many fields. The line of business the Armenians were most successful at was undoubtedly textile and shoemaking. Especially the Armenians immigrating from İzmir and İstanbul showed big success in these sectors and established their own businesses. Today, textile products shops such as Atlantidas founded by Sarkis & Hovannes Diyarbekirian and Danubio which has a branch in almost every city in Argentina, belonging to Armen Bergamalı family can be seen as the sign of commercial success the Armenians had in this country, far from their home. Armenians who struggled for fifty years after their primary migration settled down in Argentina and built new lives as a result of their hard work. Today, they carry on with their lives as being one of the most respected ethnic communities of Argentina. Meeting Point Still, 80% of the Armenians in Argentina live in Buenos Aires. Armenians who want to benefit from the job and education opportunities the capital provides, have settled down in this city since they immigrated. The district they intensely live is Palermo Viejo. Palermo Viejo, which is one of the most touristy and attractive places of Buenos Aires, has a sentimental value for the Armenians living in this country. The street and the surrounding in this district called Armenia is a neighborhood where the Armenians have continuously settled down. The most important Armenian church in Argentina, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church (Iglesia Apostólica San Gregorio El Iluminador) and the school with the same name, connected to this church are on this street. This church which started to operate on April 10th, 1938 was constructed as a mini copy of Yerevan Cathedral as many other churches in the diaspora. It is surely not surprising that it was dedicated to Saint Gregory. Saint Grigor Lusavorich who lived in the 4th century contributed a lot

to Christianity becoming the official religion of Armenia and he was the first official leader of Armenian Apostolic Church. Baltasar Ayvazian who painted the frescoes of the church was a second generation Armenian immigrant in Buenos Aires. Baltasar Ayvazian, born in Adana in 1869, went to Adana St. Paul College. He was exiled first to Rodosto (Tekirdağ) with his orphan siblings and then to İzmir. After staying in İstanbul for a while, he then went to Germany from here. Following his art education in Munich, he got accepted to Stuttgart Academy of Plastic Arts and somehow, settled down to Buenos Aires after taking a ship going to Buenos Aires in 1923. Ayvazian who took an active role in the community was also one of the first Armenian teachers of the Armenian school students. Scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, twelve apostles, four biblical writers, Saint-Gregory frescoes he painted with a unique style made the church one of the touristy places of Buenos Aires.

Artist Baltasar Ayvazian from Adana

Another factor that makes this church important is that the Orthodox Armenians are more than Catholic Armenians and Evangelical Armenians. The member of the community come together here on every Sunday and they have also their weddings at this church. Archbishop Kissag Mouradian is also the official leader of the Armenians in Chile. Beyond spiritual authority, he also has political power. The communication between the community and the local government is mostly realized under his leadership. The church would help the community members most of the time about finding a job or somewhere to stay and it was a social place that brought all the Armenians in the city together. Armenians who were an Orthodox community in a society that was mostly Catholic were afraid of assimilation more than all the other immigrants. Their language and culture not being similar to the other communities made Armenians more sensitive to preserve their cultural identity. Saint Gregory School that provides service in a building jointed with the church was opened with this concern in 1932. This school which only accepted students with Armenian origins at the beginning opened its doors to students from every walk of life in the last few years. Today, 70% of the students in Saint Gregory School which provides primary and secondary school education are the children of Armenian families. The quality of education and the high level of success caused other families to choose this school as well. Another important location belonging to the Armenian culture in Palermo Viejo is the Armenian Square, ‘La Plaza Armenia’. This square which is very close to the church and the school had been surrounded by old houses and mechanic shops until the 1990s. Later on, it was constructed again and was named by the Buenos Aires City Council this way in order to honor the contributions of the Armenians to the city. Today, it is surrounded by cafes and bars, also it hosts a crafts market each week.

The most interesting structure of the square is the khachkar (Armenian cross-stone) monument. This khachkar, made by the artist Grigor Baghumyan was brought from Armenia. It was officially opened with a ceremony in 2015. Using khachkar instead of an inscription or sculpture as a memorial stone is important for Armenians living in Argentina to highlight the historical roots. The square and the khachkar remain important today for Armenians in Argentina. Little Armenia Contrary to Buenos Aires, Córdoba which is located in the inner and mountainous parts of Argentina is the second biggest city of the country. The Armenian migrants, especially those who did farming moved here at the beginning of the 20th century as the land was cheaper in this city. According to the story, they liked Córdoba very much as the land and the climate were similar to where they migrated from. The first immigrants benefited from the cheapness of the land prices and bought land for their relatives that would come later. Today, more than 8,000 Armenians live here. What makes Córdoba important for our topic is that the Armenians here live in a district far from the city center. The population of this district called Pueyrredón is around 20.000 and almost half of them are Armenian immigrants. This co-occurrence is very precious for the community because since it is harder to preserve the cultural values for the 4th generation Armenians that are teens in metropoles such as Buenos Aires, the situation is different in Córdoba. That the Armenians here always lived in the same place since their immigration makes the transmission of a number of cultural values to the new generation easier. The children born here are sent to the Armenian school, they are raised in an environment where there are mostly Armenians and the use of Armenian language is very common among the individuals. In other words, 'the feeling of being Armenian' is in a level that can be felt in Córdoba. The Armenians are one of the oldest immigrant groups in this city. They contributed to the reconstruction of the city after 1950s. The provincial parliament of Córdoba issued a law in September 6, 2005, recognizing April 24 as the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. There are more than one Armenian Church in the city. The most important one among these is the Church of Surp Kevork, constructed in 1925 by the community who collected money among themselves. This church in the garden of which there is a statue of a torch, the same of which is in Armenia, is the oldest Armenian church of Latin America. Sahag Mesrob School, situated in the same place as the church still provides education. In the streets of Pueyrredón, it is possible to find many Armenian courses or Armenian folk dance centers. The Villain: Martín Karadagián It is possible to come across to many famous people of Armenian origins in the culture and history of Argentina. The world-famous tennis player David Nalbandian, 1950's football player Efrain Chacurian, writer and journalist Bedros Hadjian are some of the names when Argentina Armenians are mentioned. But there is one name that is never forgotten and gained fame not only in the diaspora but also in Latin America, the professional fighter and the irreplaceable villain of the black and white films: Martín Karadagián. Son of a Spanish mother and an Armenian father, born on April 30, 1922 in Buenos Aires, Karadagián started to take wrestling classes in a foundation called Young Christian Boys Foundation (Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes) when he was 15 years old. This foundation with religious characteristics funded activities, especially those related to sports in many countries in the world. Karadagián who showed success in a short amount of time went to Europe with this foundation and continued to his studies there. After he came back to Argentina in 1947, he started to take part in fight competitions organized at the Luna Park Stadium. These competitions watched by ten thousands of people was the most popular entertainment of the 1950s. Those who joined to the fights were becoming legends like gladiators

and gaining huge fame. Karadagián, who was beating down all the famous fighters in the first days, he started gained a considerable reputation. In 1957, he played a boxer who accidentally killed his opponent and lived in regret in the movie called Meeting with the Glory (Reencuentro con la Gloria) in 1957.

Martin Karadagian against La Momia, 1982

What essentially gained fame to Karadagián was the TV show in 1962. The fight program called ‘Giants in the Ring’ (Titanes en el Ring), produced by him came to the big screen in one of the popular TV channels, Canal 9. Karadagián hired all the famous fighters of that time for this show. In this show, which was more than a direct violence show, the most famous fighters of the time such as the Mountain Man, Eagle Hans, and The Mummy were fighting in colorful, exaggerated costumes. Many characters were created and inspired by famous comic books. Martín Karadagián was also often showing up in these fights. Giants in the Ring which aired for fifteen years was marketed abroad in 1973 and made Karadagián famous in all countries speaking Spanish. Karadagián lost one of his legs in 1980s because of his diabetes. When he died on August 27, 1991, he was buried to the Recoleta Cemetery with a ceremony, attended by thousands of people. The gym, constructed to his name, still operates in Buenos Aires. Karadagián who was undoubtedly scraped into the memory of everyone who lived their childhood in the 1970s is certainly a phenomenon. Today, you can see his posters in bohemian venues of Buenos Aires, on the walls. Giants in the Ring characters are immortal just like the characters of Turkish cinema; Yeşilçam...

Orçun Urgun