Baltic Buenos Aires

Once you get past the millions of Italians and Spaniards (who heeded a young Argentina’s call for immigrant labour) and delve a little deeper, you discover that the patchwork of this country’s society is much more diverse than you may have thought.

Following in the footsteps of previous contributors to The Argentina Independent that have explored the Armenian and Catalan communities, I decided to make my own pilgrimage to uncover the little piece of Lithuania that exists in Argentina.

It is estimated that between the final years of the 1800s and 1930, around 35,000 Lithuanians made Argentina their new home, with a similar number going to Brazil and Uruguay, and a few going to Venezuela and Colombia. They initially settled in Buenos Aires or nearby Berisso or La Plata, before potentially moving elsewhere.

Following the trail, I made my first port of call La Plata, where I met Juan Ignacio Fourment Kalvelis, native of Berisso and a member of the board of trustees of the Lithuanian Youth of Argentina. The 25-year-old is also in charge of the South American branch of the worldwide Lithuanian youth organisation.

A New Home

I asked him why these immigrants chose Argentina in place of, for example, the US; a place that is a considerably shorter journey by boat and traditionally known as ‘the land of opportunity’. “Being a large country with a small population, Argentina has always promoted itself to foreigners that want to come and build up the nation” Kalvelis told me. “Also, in the years that the United States was recovering from the First World War, Argentina had the economy that appealed to immigrants who wanted to start a new life.”

I put it to him that I had previously heard that some immigrants had ended up in Argentina by mistake, thinking they were headed to the US. Assuming this might be a joke, his response surprised me: “To be honest I think that could be true. There was a lack of information back then and people would leave for anywhere in América and arrive here. However, many that arrived in the last big wave of Lithuanian immigration (1926-30) were already in a strong economic position and used Argentina as a sort of ‘trampoline’; after a couple of years here, they would move on to the US, Canada or Australia.”

Now that many in the Lithuanian community are part of the third generation, it is important that the community remains relevant to the 21st century. He told me that there is always the danger of the youth losing interest in their Lithuanian heritage, so his aim is to create the kind of place where people can get together and relax in a welcoming environment. The community gets together to perform traditional Lithuanian dances, learn the language and have the odd beer festival. Juan Ignacio has his own weekly radio show called ‘Echos of Lithuania’ that promotes topics of Lithuanian interest.

Overcoming Occupation

I inquired as to whether participation in the collective or its aims had changed since the end of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1990. He responded: “Yes things have definitely changed. Whereas before we would be united behind a single aim, the independence of Lithuania, now we strive to maintain the Lithuanian identity in the modern world, and to let more people know about the country.” There exist several different Lithuanian organisations here in Argentina. It seemed that he lamented that many will solely focus on maintaining their own collective, rather than promoting the Lithuanian community as a whole.

I continued this topic with Arturo Miciudas, the director of the Lithuanian Information Bureau in Argentina and the man to know at the Lithuanian Cultural Centre in Villa Lugano, Buenos Aires. For 35 years Arturo was denied a visa by the Soviet authorities to visit Lithuania, the land of his parents’ birth, due to his views on the occupation.

“Before the fall of communism, the principle concern of the collective here was to demonstrate to the Argentine people our complete opposition to foreign occupation, and our demands for a free and independent Lithuania,” he told me. Up to the fall of communism, every 16th February (which was the date in 1918 that Lithuanian declared itself free from the Russia) the community would perform a demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo to demand freedom for Lithuania, before a catholic mass at Buenos Aires Cathedral or the Basílica de Santo Domingo.

Past, Present & Future

The centre in Villa Lugano opened in October 1926 and nowadays is open every Saturday, allowing members of the collective to get together in a warm, welcoming environment. Once we got past the well-stocked bar, complete with beautifully reproduced shields of every region of Lithuania, I saw a language class in full swing alongside the group choir and dance group practising (it seemed a community member or two had met their wife or husband here, but unfortunately I didn’t bring my dancing shoes).

Looking for the youth angle, I chatted to Ana Savickas, 19, as to why she had become involved in the language and dance classes. She told me: “Maintaining some kind of Lithuanian culture is a part of all our lives. We want to make sure it doesn’t disappear; it’s something I got it from my parents.” She continued on the subject of developing the community, so many years after her family arrived here, “I’m the grandchild of Lithuanian immigrants, and it’s always great to find a ‘new’ member of the community; those from all over Argentina who share such a heritage.”

Though the centre was formed to meet the needs of Lithuanian descendents, it is open for anyone to visit. The collective enjoys friendly relations with other communities; they play an annual football tournament against other collectives such as the Ukrainians and Croatians, and invite the Italians and Spaniards to their festivals, where kugelis (a Lithuanian baked potato pudding that contains bacon, milk and onions) proves a big hit.

In 2001, the Lithuanian embassy moved from Caracas, Venezuela, to Buenos Aires and now serves all of South America. Laura Tupe, business attaché at the embassy explained to me the change: “We moved to Buenos Aires to better serve the sizeable Lithuanian minority that exists here, and also because Argentina offers greater opportunities to enhance and develop commercial relationships between Lithuanian and South American nations.” Recently an Argentine-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce (CALCIS) opened, which will bring over Lithuanian entrepreneurs hoping to strengthen bi-lateral economic relations.

Looking to the future, 2009 marks the 1000th anniversary of the first mention of the name Lithuania in a medieval manuscript, and the capital, Vilnius, has also been chosen as the European Union’s capital of culture. To mark both events, the Argentine collectives are gearing up to send delegations to join in the festivities. There they hope to build on already well-developed contacts between Lithuanians worldwide, and maybe show them that Argentines can dance more than tango.