Welsh in Argentina

Topics:oTheir beginnings

oTraditionsoFestivalsoCustomsoReligionoJobsoMusic

oContact with the old world

Their beginnings

The first Welsh settlers came to Argentina in 1865. They first settled in Chubut and later in Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Buenos Aires. Now there are approximately 25.000 Welsh people in Argentina.

Traditions & Festivals

Welsh culture and traditions survive in Welsh Patagonia. Many festivals are held at Porth Madryn, in the Chubut Valley and in the Andes.

Customs

Customs come from far, such as the traditional Welsh tea, accompanied by pastry, cakes and delicacies.

Religion

Religious Beliefs. Various Protestant churches are dominant in Wales

Religious Practitioners. Ministers are respected leaders and moral exhorters in their individual parishes

Jobs

The Welsh contributed to the progress of Patagonia and brought farming techniques that were carried all over Argentina

Music

Religious music emphasized choral singing over instruments. It was generally associated with drunkenness and immorality

Contact with the old wold

• Over the years there was comparatively little contact between Wales and Chubut for many years after 1914. Things began to change when a large number of Welsh people visited Patagonia in 1965.