Argentine Americans
Argentina
This short history lesson happened in Argentina, and it’s now happening in the U.S. “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” or should say in “America.”
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Oscar Natalio “Ringo” Bonavena
Argentine Americans are citizens and residents of the United States whose origins are in the South American nation of Argentina.
The profile of the Argentine American population is generally similar to the overall U.S. population’s. Among the key differences, however, is educational attainment. Argentine Americans exhibit a rate of 39.5% of holders of bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degrees, contrasted with the 27.5% of the overall U.S. population. The difference is more marked among women: 40.2% for Argentine American females, and 26.7% for all U.S. females.
Another major difference is the fact that 69.1% of Argentine Americans are immigrants, which contrasts sharply with the 12.6% of the overall U.S. population.
Argentine Americans had a median household income of $55,044. Again, this is higher than the national figure, which was $50,740.
Some idea of their ancestral origins is supplied by the demographics of Argentina, which portray a nation that is as much of Italian as Spanish ancestry, but with significant German, British, French,Amerindian, Slavic, and Semitic components.
History
Prior to the 1970s, the Argentines that emigrated to the United States were classified in the category of “Other Hispanics”, therefore, Argentine immigration statistics do not exist until that time.
Early Argentines that settled in the United States arrived primarily in the 1960’s, looking for greater economic possibilities. The majority of them held academic degrees, and many were medical doctors and scientists. However, immigrants in the late 1970s arrived fleeing the political persecution of the Dirty War. They numbered 44,803 people. This new immigrant group had an educational level lower than earlier immigrants. The majority of Argentine immigrants are directed to metropolitan areas, especially New York, where 20 percent of them lived in the 1970s.
In the 1980’s, that percentage increased to just over 23 percent, and the 1990 U.S. Census recorded that New York City had 17,363 Argentine Americans and Los Angeles, 15,115. Immigration to New York City was popular because of the existing Argentine and Italian communities, as many Argentines are of Italian origin. With the goal of helping its Argentine population, the government of the city created several organizations such as the Argentine-American Chamber of Commerce, which promotes business ventures between Argentina and the United States. The 1990 U.S. Census recorded 92,563 Argentines, evidencing that nearly half of the Argentine immigrants arrived in the last two decades alone.
