Sephardic Jews of Argentina
The New Christian history of Argentina is almost forgotten, which is a shame. It is reported that from the 1580s there was a contraband trade linking Peru via Tucumán with the River Plate route to Buenos Aires and Portuguese outposts in southern Brazil. There was a trade in contraband silver between Buenos Aires and the silver mines in Potosi. Some food for Potosi was grown in Tucuman province. In 1603 twenty-five Portuguese New Christians were expelled from Buenos Aires. This was followed by an attempt in 1628 to prevent local people from marrying the “Portuguese”.
There was a migration of Eastern Sephardic Jews to Argentina in the late 19th Century, primarily from Turkey and the Balkans. However, the largest wave of Sephardic Jewish immigration to Argentina occurred in the first half of the 20th century, with many Jews fleeing persecution and economic hardship in Europe and the Middle East. Today, the Sephardic Jewish community in Argentina is one of the largest in the world, with an estimated population of between 100,000 and 200,000. The main countries of origin are Syria, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.
The Sephardic Jewish community in Argentina is primarily centred in Buenos Aires, which is home to several Sephardic synagogues and community organizations. Some of the most prominent Sephardic synagogues in Buenos Aires include the Asociación Israelita Sefaradí de la República Argentina (the Sephardic Jewish Association of Argentina) and the Comunidad Sefaradí de Buenos Aires (the Sephardic Community of Buenos Aires). In addition to Buenos Aires, there are also Sephardic Jewish communities in other cities throughout Argentina, including Rosario, Córdoba, and Mendoza.
The principal congregations are believed to be:
- Asociación Israelita Sefaradí de la República Argentina – Buenos Aires – Founded by Jews from Turkey and the Balkans.
- Comunidad Sefaradí de Buenos Aires – Buenos Aires – Founded by Jews from Turkey, Greece, and Yugoslavia.
- Comunidad Sefaradí de Rosario – Rosario – Founded by Jews from Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.
- Comunidad Sefaradí de Córdoba – Córdoba – Founded by Jews from Turkey and the Balkans.
- Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina – Buenos Aires – Founded by Jews from Syria and Lebanon.
- Comunidad Israelita de Mendoza – Mendoza – Founded by Jews from Syria and Turkey.
- Centro Cultural y Social Israelita de Tucumán – Tucumán – Founded by Jews from Syria and Lebanon.
- Sociedad Hebraica Argentina – Buenos Aires – Founded by a mix of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, including Jews from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans.
Sephardic Jewish Genealogy of Argentina
There is or was an Asociación de Genealogía Judía de Argentina. Their website was not functioning in 2023 but is partially archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20220808230022/https://www.agja.org.ar/index.htm. AGJA published a Bulletin which is likely in the library of some other Jewish genealogical societies.
Known specifically Sephardic cemeteries or Sephardic areas in cemeteries are listed below. It is assumed that many Sephardic burials will be joint Jewish cemetries. The AGJA had a listing over 200,000 Jewish burials in Argentina.
- Cementerio de la Tablada: Located in the Buenos Aires province, it is the largest Jewish cemetery in Argentina and one of the largest in the world. It has a designated area for Sephardic burials.
- Cementerio de la Chacarita: Also located in Buenos Aires, it has a section for Sephardic burials.
- Cementerio de Liniers: Located in the Buenos Aires province, it has a designated area for Sephardic burials.
- Cementerio de la ciudad de Córdoba: Located in the province of Córdoba, it has a designated area for Sephardic burials.
- Cementerio de San Miguel de Tucumán: Located in the province of Tucumán, it has a section for Sephardic burials.
- Cementerio de la ciudad de Rosario: Located in the province of Santa Fe, it has a designated area for Sephardic burials.
A Jewish community directory, Directorio Israelita, was published in 1960.
Centro de Investigación y Difusión de la Cultura Sefari http://cidicsef.org.ar/
Civil Records in Argentina
Civil registration was introduced in Argentina in 1884. The National Registry of Persons (Registro Nacional de las Personas or RENAPER) is in charge of maintaining civil registration records in Argentina. IAlso, each province and autonomous city in Argentina has its own civil registration office, which is responsible for maintaining local records of vital events.
The first census in Argentina was conducted in 1869. Since then, censuses have been carried out periodically, with the most recent one being in 2010. The National Census Bureau (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos, or INDEC) is responsible for carrying out the national census in Argentina. The earliest census records that survive with names of individuals are from the 1895 national census. However, these records are incomplete, as many were destroyed in a fire in 1932. The next surviving census records with names of individuals are from the 1914 national census. These records are available for research purposes, subject to privacy restrictions and special permissions must be obtained to study them.
Naturalizations should be published in the national gazette , the Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina, but this is not always accessible and it is not known if historic editions have been digitized. Subject to privacy rules, also check the National Registry of Persons (Registro Nacional de las Personas) and the National Directorate of Migrations (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones).
Please support my work!
If you have found this page on the genealogy of the Sephardic Jews of Argentine useful, please consider making a small donation to support this site and my work. Do you need a professional genealogist to work on your Sephardic genealogy? Click here.