“O The purpose of the book is to record the history of the institution and its identity, as well as the history of the thousands of Portuguese who chose this land. This club was born with the idea that the Portuguese can kill nostalgia, ”says Lusa Victor Estanqueiro, president of the club.

The Portuguese Club of Greater Buenos Aires: From the Tagus River to the Silver River is the result of a year of research and the testimony of 40 respondents who, in 410 pages, recount how the saga of thousands of Portuguese symbolically exchanged rivers and continents.

Victor Estanqueiro, the son of a Portuguese, entrusted the job to Carlos Correa, an eminent journalist without Portuguese descent, but a specialist in this type of historical research, and the author of eight other books.

“When I wrote the book, I was surprised at the receptivity of the Portuguese community as a whole. It was touching to see the watery eyes of these people as they told their stories. They conveyed this emotion to me and welcomed me as another member. This is the history of the club, but it is also the history of life, ”describes Carlos Correa a Lusa.

The Portuguese educational institution was established on 23 August 1978 in the city of Isidro Casanova, in the La Matanza area, the most populous area adjacent to Buenos Aires, 30 km from the capital of Argentina. The city and regional chambers declared it a cultural interest.

In Argentina, Portuguese institutions are celebrating their centenary. This is the case with the Portuguese Mutual Aid Association Sallikelo (1916), the Portuguese Club of Buenos Aires (1918) and the Portuguese Association of Comodoro Rivadavia (1923), but in just 43 years the Portuguese Club of Greater Buenos Aires became the largest of 15 Portuguese educational institutions in Argentina in terms of infrastructure, number of members (three thousand) and diversity of sports and cultural disciplines.

The book, which was slated to be released with nine chapters a year ago, has been delayed due to the covid-19 pandemic. The event that moves the world inspired the tenth chapter, describing how the club’s gym was prepared to become a 100-bed “campaign hospital” for mild cases.

Also mentioned is the 1995 visit of then Portuguese President Mario Soares, who received the key to the city when he became the first foreign president in power to visit the La Matanza area.

In June 1982, the club was one of the largest donors to the Falkland Islands Patriotic Fund, created to financially support expenditures during the war with England (between April 2 and June 14), aid and compensation to former combatants and relatives.

The Portugal Day lunch that year, the most important event in revenue collection, brought in 70 million pesos at the time. Diego Maradona donated 100 million to get an idea of ​​the efforts of about a thousand Portuguese.

This generosity is one of the two main hallmarks of the Portuguese institution. Clube Português da Grande Buenos Aires, aiming to integrate with the society around them and reclaim some of what the Portuguese have achieved, is running a series of social assistance campaigns.

This winter, he distributed cold clothes to the homeless. Every year it becomes a collection and donation point for blood. On children’s day, he takes toys to the children’s hospital.

Another strategic vocation of the club is to spread Portuguese culture. It is the only Portuguese institution open to members of other nationalities and their descendants. In addition, he is most eager to transfer Portuguese culture to other regions, to festivals other than those of Portuguese origin.

“Although we have an official Portuguese ambassador to Argentina, we are also Portuguese ambassadors. Our goal is that those who have nothing to do with Portugal can listen to fado, taste our cuisine, see our typical dances and learn our language. We want to reach out to these people. This is our motto, ”explains Victor Estanqueiro.

The club has two excellent instruments for this purpose: the folklore groups Mocidade Portuguesa and Dançares da Nossa Terra, the latter of which travels the most around the country and is most eager to show Portugal at festivals of other nationalities.

“The Portuguese already know our culture. We need to open up our culture so that others can get to know us. That’s why we go to parties in other communities, ”says José Aniceto Domingos, one of the founders of Dançares da Nossa Terra in 1993 and one of the first members of the club.

This resident of the Algarve from Pecan, municipality of Olhão, arrived in Argentina at the age of 13. At the age of 48, he founded a ranch with children’s dancers from 5 to 8 years old. This first grade included Natalia Rodrigues and Pablo da Silva Pais, 6 and 8 years old, respectively. They got married and today, at the age of 34 and 36, are teachers of a new generation.

This way of communicating through networks of friends or relatives was the key to the arrival of thousands of Portuguese in La Matanza between the 1920s and 1960s. An already familiar friend invited another or brought his wife and children with him. The most commonly used letter of invitation, often with the temptation to conclude an employment contract.

The western zone of the peripheral region of Buenos Aires was a fertile belt for small-scale growing of fruits and vegetables. The area was also suitable for firing bricks. The Portuguese were both leaders in action and protagonists in transforming the region, including the Portuguese club of Greater Buenos Aires, which today is one of the main clubs in Argentina.

Read also: The book on the future presents the figures of Portugal in the colonial war.