Like all human beings on the planet, Italians and Latin Americans are related genetically if you go back far enough into ancient history, but more recently we can look at the Roman Empire. At its peak, of course, the Roman Empire spanned the entire Mediterranean and most of Europe, from Morocco, Libya and other North African nations to Turkey and Israel, all the way up to Great Britain. And of course, to the Iberian Peninsula where Spain and Portugal are today. Some Romans went to Spain, and some Spaniards went to Rome. In fact, some Roman Emperors were Spaniards, notably
Trajan (98-117 CE) and Hadrian (117-138 CE).
Who we today refer to as "Romans" were originally called Latins before the founding of Rome, thus the name of their language being "Latin," and they spread their Latin language and culture throughout the Empire, including to Spain. To this day, any group of people that speak a "Romance language" like Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian are speaking languages derived from Latin and could be labeled as "Latins." Italians are definitely Latins being that the Latin tribe who started the whole thing came from Italy! But I digress....
Later, through the
Hapsburgs and Bourbons, Spain ruled, directly and indirectly, parts of today's Italy for centuries and some Spaniards did migrate to it within that time.
Latin America
Coming back to even more modern times, since Italy as we know it today did not exist at the time Spain was conquering and colonizing the Americas, many of the missionaries, explorers, colonizers and even Conquistadors were of what we can now call Italian descent. (Columbus? Fr Eusebio Kino? Etc...)
Yet even later, into the 1800s and 1900s, Italians immigrated from the newly formed nation of Italy to parts of Latin America. They went to almost every nation there, but Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay received the majority. More:
Imigrantes Italianos and
ORIUNDI.net
Brazil
"Just like the United States, Brazil is a melting pot nation for immigrants. Especially for Italians, who began flocking to Brazil in the late 1800s. They came to grow coffee but were successful in business, the arts, and politics, too.
Today about 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent influence daily life everywhere. Like Brazilian pizza and wine. Sao Paulo’s famed soccer club ‘Palmeiras’ was founded by Italian-Brazilians. And even that traditional Brazilian ‘goodbye’ tchao has that Italian flair.
Famous Brazilians like singer Marisa Monte, Brazilian American actress Morena Baccarin (The Endgame, NBC), and Chicago Bears field goal kicker Cairo Santos all have Italian roots.
More Italian descendants live in Brazil than in any other county outside of Italy. That’s why Sao Paulo’s ‘Italian Immigrants Day’ on February 21st is always a special occasion. " Read more here.
More resources.
Brazil Culture
Argentina
According to "Italians & La Dolce Vita in Argentina" on WanderArgentina.com, "With several waves of immigrants arriving from the boot-shaped nation since Argentina won independence from Spain, it seems every second person here has an Italian surname, and of those who don’t, most will have an uncle or a grandmother hailing from Genoa, Sicily, Friuli or thereabouts.
An estimated 30 million Argentines out of the population of 45 million have at least one Italian ancestor. Visitors will notice the family resemblance as they try to avoid the flailing arms of an animated conversation on any of the narrow sidewalks of downtown Buenos Aires.
These Italian descendants refer to themselves proudly as ‘tanos,’ Lunfardo slang for Italians.
Even Argentina’s beloved Pope Frances’ father was from Italy and he grew up speaking Italian.
Argentina may have been colonized by the Spanish originally, but it is fair to say that the Italians had an equal, if not even greater influence, over many areas of Argentine life, such as politics, food, fashion and language.." Read more here.
And according to Italian-Argentinean culture: that’s amore! on SouthAmericaWineGuide.com, "There’s no other South American country that is quite so… Italian. Clorrie Yeomans explores the Italian connection in Argentina, and discovers how Italian culture has influenced the language, cuisine and customs of Argentina.
"If you have been to Argentina, then you might have wondered, ‘Why do Argentineans eat so much pizza and pasta?’ Or ‘Why are there so many Argentinean words which don’t exist in standard Spanish?’ Argentina is commonly considered to be the most European country in Latin America, due to mass immigration during the late 19th and 20th century. However, there is a common preconception that Argentinean culture is primarily influenced by Spanish culture. In reality, if you visit Argentina, then you will notice that there is a huge Italian influence which has enriched their national identity." Read more here.
More resources.
Mexico and the American Southwest
Fr. Eusebio Kino Statue in Tijuana
Fr. Eusebio Kino statue in Tucson, AZ
As said above, many of the explorers, missionaries, and colonizers of the Americas were of Italian descent, though they worked under the flags of other nations, most notably France and Spain. One was Fr Eusebio Kino, a priest born in modern day Trentino-Alto-Adige that set up missions across northern Mexico and what is now Arizona. He is famous for defending the Indigenous peoples from being enslaved in the Spanish mines. There are statues of Fr. Kino in Washington, DC, Tucson, Arizona, and Tijuana, Mexico. Not to mention in other parts of Mexico and back in Italy itself. You can learn more about Fr. Eusebio Kino in the following links:
In California, there were Italians in Los Angeles even when it was a Spanish colony. Like Giovanni Battista Leandri who owned Rancho Los Coyotes in present-day Buena Park, and the neighboring Rancho Cañada de la Habra, and married Maria Francesca Uribe, the daughter of a prominent Californio family. (The Californios were Spanish-speaking people of Latin American ancestry who were born in California during the era of Mexican and Spanish rule. During this era, Italians and Mexicans intermarried more frequently than any other group, according to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles at IAMLA.org and at their permanent online exhibit here.) Leandri changed his name to Juan Leandry to better fit in among the Californios.
Pepino and The Mexican Revolution
To be continued....
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
%20(1).jpg)
