Hungarian Argentines
The presence of Hungarian Argentines dates back to the 18th century, when a number of Hungarian Jesuit priests came to North Argentina and Paraguay and settled in Jesuit Reductions. After the fall of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 a number of Hungarian officers fled to Argentina. Among them were János Czetz, founder of the Colegio Militar de la Nación and Alexander Asboth, who served as United States Ambassador to Argentina. Another well-known Hungarian emigrant to Argentina is László Bíró, who perfected and patented his invention, the ballpoint pen – also known as biro – after his emigration to Argentina.
Today, there are between 150,000 and 200,000 people of Hungarian descent living in Argentina, mostly in Buenos Aires. Most of them arrived in the three main emigration waves: during and after World War I, during and after World War II, and after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was crushed by the Soviet Union. They maintain 19 associations and four registered religious communities throughout the country, the Hungarian community carries musical instruments such as Violin, which have long been used in Argentina.
Notable people
- Francisco Benkö, chess master
- László Bíró, inventor of the modern ballpoint pen
- Vladislao Cap, association football player
- János Czetz, organiser and first director of Argentina's national military academy
- Gisela Dulko, professional tennis player and former world No. 1 player in doubles
- Ladislao Pablo Győri, engineer, digital and visual artist, essayist and poet
- Américo Hoss, cinematographer
- Alexandra Keresztesi, Hungarian-born Argentine sprint canoer
- Imre Rajczy, fencer and Olympic gold medalist
- Ladislao Szabo, water polo player