1. IDENTITY AND BELONGING: DISCOVERING OUR ROOTSINSTITUTO FEDERICO BRANDSENBRANDSEN PROV. BUENOS AIRES

2. Argentina is unlike any other placein the world, while at the sametime curiously familiar with itsdash of European customs andtraditions 3. IMMIGRATION IN ARGENTINAThe most importantimmigration periodwas from 1857 to1940. 6.6 millionimmigrants wereestimated to havearrived in Argentinaamong which wereItalian, Spanish, Polish, French, Russian, Turkish, German,Swiss and Britishpeople. 4. 45%32%3%4%1%15%Immigrants in ArgentinaITALIANSPANISHPOLISHFRENCHBRITISHOTHERS 5. All the immigrants arrived in Argentina in search for a better life.Poverty and the world wars were the main causes. 6. Most of the immigrants arrived at the port in Buenos Aires.They stayed at the Immigrant Hotel for some days and thenthey settled down either in the city or the country. 7. CONVENTILLOSIn the city some people went to live to conventillosConventillos were long houses with small rooms thatopened out onto a common patio. The conventillos wereconstructed from scrap corrugated metal and wood fromold ships, and the faades, doors and windows were thendecorated with the leftover paint from the port. 8. A typical conventillo in Caminito, La Boca 9. The Italian and Spanish cultures are deeply rooted in oursociety: the food we eat, the language we speak, somesports and family traditions are some of the invaluablethings we have inherited from these European countries. 10. Argentine cuisine has been strongly influenced by the Italian.Typical Italian dishes in Argentina are pasta and pizza.if you want to eat a delicious pizza follow this linkhttp://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/homemade_pizza/ 11. Spanish cuisine has also made its contribution. Today inalmost every restaurant of Argentina you can order avariety of seafood. 12. DANCESMany Argentine folk dances were influenced by Spanishdances. This is the case of Bailecito and cuecahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRonMRWsYM0(this link shows a video of Ballet Brandsen dancing cueca)Nicolas is a member of this ballet. 13. SPORTSHand pelota also known as Basque pelota is also played inmany clubs in Argentina. This Spanish sport is a court sportplayed with a ball using ones `s hands or a racket against awall. 14. The following bar chart shows our origins.In our class most of us areItalian or Spanish descendants.024681012Italian Spanish Croatian Russian Swiss German Welsh 15. Most of our ancestors do not speak their native language athome any more but they still keep some traditions such asfamily reunions on Sundays or some religious celebrations.Here is Augustos family. They meet every Sunday. 16. In Brandsen there are two immigrants clubs: TheSpanish Society and the Italian Society.There they meet to recall the childhoods listen to anddance traditional music and tell anecdotes about theirdistant past.Last years celebration at the Italian Society 17. Stories from the past I`m Argentinian but half of my heart is Italian. My grandparents and my father are from a small town inthe centre of Italy called Guardia- Grele. When my father was young, the Second World War took place.Life was hard and they lived with fear and hunger. My grandpa, later known as El Nono, went to fightfor his country. He was taken prisoner by the English and he was sent to Africa. The family rarelyreceived news from him and little by little they lost his track. They imagined the worst, but my grandmawent on working and breathing for her two children. One day while my father and my uncle were atschool, the headmistress told them to go home because a relative had come to visit them. When theyarrived home, their mother was hugging a man they did not recognize. They did not realize that thatman was their father because six or seven years had passed without any news and they thought himdead. It`s impossible to describe the situation with words: just imagine Then it was time for adecision: where was the best place to start a new life with the family? There were two options: Africa orArgentina. Luckily the choice was our beautiful country and when he was settled here, the rest of thefamily arrived after a long journey by ship. Now my father says to everybody that he is proud of beingItalian but he`s much more proud of living in Argentina, where he could have a nicefamily, friends, work and peace! There`s no better place to live than Argentina, he says.Story told and written by Cristina, an English teacher that works at school. 18. My great great grandmother came with her family fromGenova, Italy in 1884. Poverty and an oncoming war pushedthem towards the promise land . With four children and asuitcase with some clothes and tools they set off toArgentina. They travelled in the ship holds with some otheremigrants for long days and nights.Once in Argentina they settled down by the Samborombonriver (a river in the province of Buenos Aires). They built arancho (a hut with mud, straw and some logs.) They livedin a very primitive way with the sole company of the fauna ofthe place. When they were finally settled Jose, the youngestof the family, returned to Italy to fetch his girlfriend. Theymarried and had four children, three daughters and ason, my great grandfather.That old rancho where my ancestors had once lived is nowover 130 years old. Some months ago, my grandmotherJosefina restored it. And there is stands, solid , erect and fullof my family anecdotes that my granny loves telling us.AUGUSTO 19. Augustos familys rancho 20. The Argentine are not a singletribe, and we don`t come from a singleplace. But we are building a home wherewe are all able to be who we want tobe, yet still be Argentine. That is what wedo: we take, we adapt and we moveforward.Adapted from Benjamin Zephaniah `s words in his book ofpoems We are Britain!