Peruvian Argentines (Quechua: Piruwnu Arhintinapi, Spanish: Peruano-argentinos) are Argentine citizens of partial or full Peruvian descent, or Peruvian citizens who have migrated to and settled in Argentina.
According to the 2010 national census, there were 157,514 Peruvians living in Argentina, making them one of the largest immigrant communities in the country; many more are descended from Peruvians but were born in Argentina, thus counting as full Argentine citizens. Argentina is home to the fourth largest Peruvian community worldwide, after the United States, Spain and Chile.
History The Peruvian-born population of Argentina has grown considerably since the 1980s. The 1980 national census registered 8,561 Peruvian-born residents in the country; that number had grown to 15,939 in 1991. The 2001 census registered 88,260 Peruvian-born residents, making up 5.8% of Argentina's immigrants and making them the seventh largest immigrant community in the country, behind Bolivians, Paraguayans, Chileans, Italians, Spaniards and Uruguayans. The following decade's national census registered another considerable jump, with 157,514 Peruvian-born residents in Argentina.
On 17 April 2006, President Néstor Kirchner launched the "Patria Grande" plan, an initiative to grant legal resident status to immigrants from Mercosur member states (including observer states such as Peru) with an irregular migration status. The policy was continued by Kirchner's successor, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. By 2010, of the 423,697 migrants registered in the programme, 47,455 were Peruvian-born.
Since 2007, the Peruvian Embassy in Argentina and the Buenos Aires City government have organised the yearly PerúBA festival, wherein members of the Peruvian community celebrate and share their cultural heritage, with shows of music, dance and food.
Territorial distribution
Peruvian-born residents and their descendants have primarily settled in large urban centers such as those of the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, Córdoba, and Rosario. In Buenos Aires, the neighbourhoods of Balvanera and San Telmo are known for their considerable Peruvian communities.
The 2010 national census yielded the following results for the geographical distribution of Peruvian-born people living in Argentina:
# Province Peruvian-born people # % 1 Buenos Aires Province 69,395 44.05% 2 City of Buenos Aires 60,478 38.00% 3 Córdoba 12,442 7.90% 4 Mendoza 5,360 3.40% 5 Santa Fe 4,010 2.54% 6 Tucumán 1,013 0.64% 7 Chubut 564 0.39% 8 San Luis 431 0.27% 9 Neuquén 376 0.24% 10 Tierra del Fuego 341 0.21% 11 Salta 340 0.21% 12 Santa Cruz 321 0.20% 13 Entre Ríos 294 0.18% 14 La Rioja 291 0.18% 15 Río Negro 280 0.17% 16 Jujuy 275 0.17% 17 Catamarca 233 0.15% 18 Santiago del Estero 208 0.13% 19 San Juan 205 0.13% 20 Corrientes 187 0.12% 21 Misiones 156 0.10% 22 Chaco 142 0.09% 23 La Pampa 100 0.06% 24 Formosa 72 0.04% Total Argentina 157,514 100%
Notable people Ignacio Álvarez Thomas (1787–1857), Independence-era military commander and politician Catriel Cabellos (born 2004), footballer Enrique Carreras (1925–1995), film director Teófilo Castillo (1857–1922), painter Nathalie Kelley (born 1984), actress Carolina Freyre (1844–1916), poet and novelist Helba Huara (1900–1986), dancer Carlos Huntley-Robertson (1908–1982), rugby union player Hugo Guerrero Marthineitz (1924–2010), journalist Clorinda Matto de Turner (1852–1909), writer Benjamín Ubierna (born 1991), footballer
See also
Argentina–Peru relations Immigration to Argentina Racism in Argentina Bolivian Argentines Venezuelan Argentines
References