Lebanese in Argentina

Resources

Cemeteries

Census Records

Civil Registration

Compiled Genealogies

  • Latin America Collection at USEK Library - A project of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Lebanon to partner with multiple institutions to compile a database of newspapers, magazines, old books, photographs, and documents produced by Lebanese and Syrian communities in Latin America. "Brazil Lebanese" e-resources search results.

Emigration and Immigration

Offices to Contact

Embajada del Libano in Argentina
Av. del Libertador 2354
C1425AAW, Buenos Aires
Argentina
Telephone:+54(11)4802-0466
Email:ellibanoar@gmail.com
Website - archived
Facebook

Newspapers

  • 1886-1987 Newspapers at the Immigration Museum of the State of São Paulo- index & images; Publications of immigrant communities in Brazil
  • Arab American database at Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies - index & images; Arab newspapers, books, magazines, and other publications
  • Newspaper database at NewspaperArchive - Contains many international newspaper publications ($)

Religious Records

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most Lebanese immigrants were Maronite and Melkite Catholics (65%), Eastern Orthodox (20%), Shia and Sunni Muslims (10%), and Druze (5%). Druze Worldwide mentions Association de Beneficencia Drusa as the Druze organization for Argentina.

  • See Argentina Church Records for databases of Christian church records in Argentina. Many Lebanese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Christian and can be found in these records.

Offices to Contact

Colegio San Marón
Paraguay 834
1057 Buenos Aires
Argentina
Telephone:(011) 4311-7299/ 4312-8313
Email:sanmaron@misionlibanesa.com
Website - archived

  • First Maronite mission in Argentina, established in 1901

Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and all Argentina
Av. Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz 1261
C1414DNM – Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Argentina
Telephone: 0054 11 4776 0208
Email:Arz.antioqueno@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

  • Greek Orthodox Patriarchate for Buenos Aires and Argentina

Centro Cultural Islámico
Avenida Cerviño 4851
Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
1425, Argentina
Telephone:+5411-4899-1144/0201
Email:info@cciar.com
Website
Facebook

  • The largest mosque and Islamic cultural center in Argentina

Background

  • 1870-1920s Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants left their native lands during the decline of the Ottoman Empire and settled in Latin America and the US in search of economic opportunity.[1] Some of the main countries in Latin America to receive these immigrants were Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, and Chile. By trade, most of these immigrants became peddlers, shopkeepers, and factory owners.[2][3]
  • 1975-1990s The Lebanese Civil War led to another 32,000 Lebanese immigrants joining the pre-established communities in Latin America to seek refuge and better opportunities abroad.
  • "Viendo de Camino a Casa: La Construcción de la Identidad Transnacional en la Comunidad Libanesa de Buenos Aires (Looking Homeward: The Construction of Transnation Identity in the Lebanese Community of Buenos Aires)," by Lindsay Miller. "Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection, 1579, 2013. At various libraries (WorldCat); Online at: SIT:School for International Training.

Naming Customs

Arabic names with letters that were difficult to pronounce in Spanish/Portuguese may have changed their pronunciation or been dropped altogether, such as the Arabic letter ghein in the name Ghosn. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Lebanese immigrants to Latin America may sometimes use a hyphen with their surname to acknowledge both Middle Eastern and Latin family names, but some Arabic names may have been lost altogether through the generations.

Not "Lebanese" or "Syrian," but "Turks"

A common term used to refer to Lebanese and Syrian immigrants in South America is "Turco," meaning "Turk" or "Turkish." Although this term is not accurate, the association probably stems from the documents brought by immigrants coming from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. it is worth noting that Lebanese or Syrian immigrants may be documented as "Turcos" or "Turco" in records from these time periods.[2]

Repositories

Archives

NC State Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Campus Box 8013
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8103
Telephone: 919-515-5058
Website

  • The archive contains photos, letters, documents, and newspaper articles about the history and culture of the Lebanese Diaspora
  • The Migration of Hanna Gaith - A collection of documents, letters, and photographs, that tell the story of a Lebanese immigrant in Argentina.

Societies

Instituto Argentino de Ciencias Genealógicas
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Email:iacgconsultas@gmail.com
Website

  • A genealogy society in Argentina that provides free access to their digital library and a forum for asking genealogy questions relevant to Argentina.

References

  1. "Why did they leave? Reasons for early Lebanese migration," Akram Khater, November 15, 2017, https://lebanesestudies.ncsu.edu/news/2017/11/15/why-did-they-leave-reasons-for-early-lebanese-migration/.
  2. 2.0 2.1 John Tofik Karam, "Syrian-Lebanese in Brazil," posted 2023, rootstech by FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/syrian-lebanese-in-brazil
  3. Wikipedia, "Lebanese Brazilians," accessed August 28, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Brazilians