The Other Latin American Ethnic Groups You Never Knew

The Other Latin American Ethnic Groups You Never Knew

We Americans, sadly tend to think of Latin America as a monolithic culture. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The impression that I got in school – even in Spanish class, where I did NOT do so well – was that the countries primarily consisted of a European Spanish or Portuguese elite with a large mestizo class (Spanish + Indian blend). It was/is not that simple.

First, the word mestizo means mixed, and does NOT necessarily contain the derogatory wallop that a term like mulatto used to carry, and might carry still, in the USA. But then there is a subcategory called castizo which means only one-quarter Indian and three quarters European Spanish. That term, castizo, has fallen out of use.

But the racial lines in Latin America are not so clearly delineated. A person who is one-quarter Indian would usually be considered White.

Okay, that part you may have known.

BUT DID YOU KNOW THIS?

The largest ethnic group in Argentina is Italian, not Spanish. And half of those Italians are Northern Italians, not the Mediterranean complected Sicilians. Indeed, though Argentina speaks Spanish, the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area speaks Spanish. but with an Italian accent, and they often say Ciao instead of Adios.


Posted on YouTube: November 3, 2017

Indeed, in the early 20th century, so many Italians were leaving Italy for South America that Italy had to make emigration illegal. About 60% of Argentines have some degree of Italian ancestry, albeit not necessarily pure. Chile is roughly 3.5% Italian, but Uruguay is about 44% Italian in whole or part, while Brazil is about 15% Italian in whole or part.

And then there are the Germans. Somewhere between 6-10% of Argentines are German. The problem is that Germanic immigration started to Argentina before Germany was unified in 1871; and so were not properly registered as German. If you add in the German speaking Swiss, Austrians, and ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe, the number could go much higher.

Chile is about 2-1/2% German, with small Uruguay slightly over 1%; and Brazil comes in at 2.5%.

Of course, many are intermarried with other ethnicities now.

So NO, the German-Argentines are NOT all descended from those who fled to Argentina after WW 2. There had been a considerable amount of Germans in Argentina before the war, many of them had been there for generations; and some of the then newer German-Argentines had even fled Hitler in the 1930s. Those Nazis who fled after WW 2 were a relatively small group compared to the German-Argentine population and they only fled so they could hide.


Posted on YouTube: March 7, 2016

South Brazil is heavily German and Italian.

Further complicating the matter is that many of the Spanish immigrants to South America were not Spanish, but rather Basque and Galicians, who technically are not ethnic Spaniards, but come from the Whiter regions of Northern Spain.

Okay, you say, so Argentina is relatively White. Well, the same is true of some other Latin Countries. Costa Rica is heavily European White; with two-thirds identifying as White.

Chile has a considerable British population (about 3.5%).

To further add confusion to the mix, a large amount of South America’s founding fathers were from the British Isles.

Bernardo O’Higgins – half Irish, founding father of Chile.
Admiral Cochrane – Scottish, father of Chilean Navy
Admiral Willian Brown – Irish, founder of Argentine Navy

And not just these. A lot of mercenaries from Britan and Ireland fought in South America’s patriot armies.


Posted on YouTube: April 7, 2009
Today, between 1% to 2%, over a half million, of Argentines are Irish in whole or part.

Uruguay has over 10% French ancestry in whole or part, while Chile is roughly 4% French in ancestry, with Argentina having a whopping 17% French ancestry in whole or part.

Ukrainians, in whole or part, are roughly 3.5% of Argentina’s population.

The Croatians settled large parts of Chile and Argentina.


Posted on YouTube: December 15, 2017

The current president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is of Croatian and Italian ancestry. A former president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, was of Croatian and Swiss-German ancestry.

Okay, you say, but one does NOT normally see this in Mexico.

Well, most of Mexico and most of Central America is mestizo to be sure. But that is not true of all of Latin America. And even Mexico has some Germans and Arabs.

However, as so common in demographics, Wikipedia (2025) lists more Lebanese-Mexicans than Arab-Mexicans, which is ridiculous. This is a nightmare for historians and demographers, often caused by Lebanese Maronite Christians who refuse to consider themselves Arabs.

Large sections of South America, the southern tip (called the Southern Cone of South America) – Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and South Brazil – are very White, albeit with a looser definition of white. Being one half Indian may not necessarily disqualify a person. Then general rule is: if you are more than half white, you can be considered white. However, I have known a green-eyed Chilean who was majority White in ancestry, and called herself mestiza. South America does have a racial divide, but it is not so sharp as it was historically in the United States.

It could be argued that Argentina is whiter than the USA, except that American Whites are more Northern European in ancestry and usually pure White. Argentina does have Northern European Whites, but most Argentines are Mediterranean in ancestry, and half of Argentine Whites have some degree (small or large) of non-White (usually Indian) ancestry.

BTW: Some Latin Americans often prefer the term indigenes (Indigenous) to Indian, as they sometimes treat the term indio (Indian) as derogatory.

Brazil is about 1% Japanese, with a smaller concentration in Argentina.

Essentially, ethnically, Argentina is similar to the United States, only with the proportions of each ethnic group varying.

Religiously, another difference between the USA and Latin America used to be religion, with the USA being majority Protestant and Latin America being majority Catholic.

Forget that, now! Evangelical Christianity has made massive inroads into Latin America, with Brazil about one-third Evangelical and growing. In some Central American countries, Evangelicals are approaching or now outnumber Catholics in percentages.

As for Jews, America has more Jews by percentage than Latin America, but Argentina still has a massive number of Jews, and has the seventh largest community of Jews in the world. At one time, the percentage of Jews in Argentina rivalled that of the USA.

The Jews have had a massive effect on the Argentine nation to this day.


Posted on YouTube: July 10, 2024

Jews made an important contribution to the development of tango.

Unfortunately – and beyond the scope of this post – anti-Black discrimination is still strong in sections of Latin America, particularly Argentina.

So, if you thought that so many Arabs going to Latin America was that unbelievable, think again. Latin America is more of a melting pot than you probably realized.

Argentina’s President Milei Rejects ICC Ruling Against Netanyahu

Argentina’s President Milei Rejects ICC Ruling Against  Netanyahu


Posted on YouTube: November 22, 2024

Source: Milei rejects international arrest order against Israel’s Netanyahu
Buenos Aires Herald
November 21, 2024

Argentine President Javier Milei rejected the arrest order the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is being accused of committing crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Milei posted a statement on X on Thursday backing Netanyahu on behalf of Argentina. He said that the country deeply disagrees with the arrest order that also involves former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“This decision disregards Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself from the constant attacks of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah,” Milei wrote.

(Read More)

Argentina’s President Milei has declared his affinity for Israel, and also for the Jewish religion. So this is no surprise.

But it goes deeper than that, Argentina – unlike other Latin nations – has had a large Jewish population for over a century, and they have greatly affected Argentina’s politics and culture. There have been Jews on the Argentine Pampas to Jews in Argentine music, etc.

Milei has broken ranks with much of Latin America’s drift to the left by being a free market advocate and a friend of Israel – he even considered converting to Judaism.

Last year, Milei even went so far as to fly up to New York to consult with Hasidic rabbis.


Posted on YouTube: November 27, 2023

President Milei takes this seriously.

To see the effect of Jews on Argentina:


Posted on YouTube: July 10, 2024

Argentina has the seventh largest community of Jews in the world, and the largest in Latin America.


Posted on YouTube: November 20, 2013

There were some rough times during the general’s dictatorship from (1976-1983), but that was due more to politics than religion.

Historically, Argentina has been one of the more friendly countries in the world to Jews. Herzl actually considered a province in Argentina as an option for a Jewish state, if the Jews could not get back the Holy Land.

Due to the influence of Arabs in Latin America, particularly Palestinian-Latins, there has been a diplomatic move away from Israel by some Latin countries.

Argentina has been the notable exception.

This does not mean that things have been perfect for Jews in Argentina. After the October 7 attack, antisemitism has gone up, even in Argentina.


Posted on YouTube: November 2, 2023

But President Milei remains friendly to Israel and to Judaism.

The Palacio Árabe in Mar del Plata

The Palacio Árabe in Mar del Plata


This is a modified version of a public domain picture on Wikipedia
(Click Here) if you want to see the original.

This story starts in Mar Del Plata, in Argentina. It is Argentina’s second biggest city, and a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean, and also a famous summer resort. Buenos Aires has atrociously hot and humid summers, so a portion of the population flees to Mar del Plata for the season – for its beaches.

One of the landmarks Mar Del Plata, on Córdoba Avenue, is called the Palacio Árabe, and the project was started by a Syrian immigrant. Jalil Mahmud Hassein (which got turned to Julián Galli in Spanish)

He was born in Syria, but as a young man, he had to flee when he approached draft age. No one wanted to serve in the brutal Ottoman army at that time. He first went to Spain, but then set out for New York. By mistake, he ended up in Argentina.

He envisaged this architectural masterpiece to have Islamic styles in a Neo-Mudéjar style.

What is mudéjar style. It refers to the Islamic influenced styles of architecture found in Spain.

For more information, one has to see the video (below).


Posted on YouTube: October 11, 2024
(This video can be auto-translated)

The building is now a landmark in Mar del Plata.

But it shows the major influence that Arabs have had in Argentina.


(Click Here) to see Google Map.

PS: We here at Latin Arabia did an earlier and brief story on this in 2013, about 11 years ago (Click Here).

Argentine Pope Calls For An Investigation to See If Gaza Is A Genocide

Argentine Pope Calls For An Investigation to See If Gaza Is A Genocide


Posted on YouTube: November 18, 2024

Remember that the Pope (born: Jorge Mario Bergoglio) is an Argentine, born in Buenos Aires. Hence this does bear on the subjects of Arabs and Latin America.

Source: Pope Francis calls for investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide
MSN
By Giada Zampano
November 17, 2024

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year.

It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, he said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon had been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its military had gone beyond the rules of war.

The book, by Hernán Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the pope, is entitled “Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Towards a Better World.” It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 jubilee, a yearlong celebration that’s expected to bring more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

(Read More)

Needless to say: pro-Jewish, pro-Israel advocates are furious, as seen from these other sources.

(Click Here) for a rebuke opinion piece at the Times of Israel.

Also see the Comments section at another Times of Israel (Click Here) article, where one commenter (see picture below) calls the accusation of genocide to be a new blood libel against the Jews.

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