Spanish Argentines

Spanish Argentines
Hispano-argentinos (Spanish)
Hispano-arxentinos (Galician)
Hispano-argentinarrak (Basque)
Argentina Spain
Spanish community from Trelew (Chubut) during a parade for May 25.
Total population
68,748 (by birth, 2023)[1]
+ 20,000,000 (by ancestry, 2015)[2]
43.4% of Argentina's population
Regions with significant populations
Throughout Argentina
(The Pampas, the New Cuyo, the Littoral, the Northwest and Patagonia)
Languages
Majority: Spanish
Minority: Galician, Catalan, Ladino, Basque and Asturleonese.
Religion
Majority: Roman Catholicism
Minority: Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards, Galicians, Castilians, Catalans, Asturians, Cantabrians, Aragonese, Basques and Sephardic Jews

Spanish Argentines (Spanish: hispano-argentinos) are Argentine-born citizens who are predominantly or totally of Spanish descent. The arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina took place first in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the Spanish Empire was the sole colonial power in the territories that became Argentina after the 1816 Argentine declaration of independence. Thus, before 1850, the vast majority of European settlers in Argentina were from Spain and they carried the Spanish colonial administration, including religious affairs, government, and commercial business. A substantial Spanish descended Criollo population gradually built up in the new cities, while some mixed with the amerindians (Mestizos), with the slave population sub-saharan descended (Mulattoes) or with other European immigrants. Currently, a large part of Argentines can be considered Criollos or Castizos.

Since a great portion of the immigrants to Argentina before the mid-19th century were of Spanish descent, and a significant part of the late-19th century/early-20th century immigrants to Argentina were Spaniards, almost all Argentines are at least partly of Spanish ancestry. Indeed, the 20 most common surnames in Argentina are Spanish. The prevalence and the numerous shared cultural aspects between Argentina and Spain (the Spanish language, Roman Catholicism, Criollo/Hispanic traditions) has been mixed with other European and Latin Mediterranean cultures with the immigration to Argentina during the 20th century. This has led to a hybrid Argentine culture which is among the most distinct from traditional Spanish culture in Latin America. Furthermore, a large proportion of Spanish immigration to Argentina during the 20th century was from the North Western region of Galicia, which has a separate language and distinct culture from other parts of Spain.

  1. ^ "Datos sociodemográficos por país de nacimiento". RENAPER - Dirección Nacional de Población. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ^ Clarin.com (12 November 2015). "Cuáles son los 200 apellidos más populares en la Argentina". clarin.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.