The Motorcycle Diaries: German Roots

Argentina is a country of immigrants largely of Spanish and Italian decent. However, German immigrants have certainly left their footprints on the Latin American continent including Argentina. Throughout the entire trip I had heard stories about some German settlements in the Cordoba area and when I realized that these towns were just a few hours outside of the city of Cordoba, I had to go and see for myself how my German ancestors live.

There are two towns in particular that are considered very German in Argentina: Villa General Belgrano and La Cumbrecita. My first stop was in Villa General Belgrano and driving town the curvy road southward from Cordoba along rolling hill and forests, it is hard to deny the similarity to German landscapes and I could see how my compatriots would feel at home here. Entering the town, I have to confess it looked more or less like any other Argentinean town but once I approached the center the German influence and architecture became very prevalent. I decided to stop by the tourist information office to inquire about the town’s German roots and heritage. Surprisingly, I was told that most of the German heritage has faded over the generations as the Germans have mixed with other nations´ immigrants and that everybody today spoke Spanish. After insisting I was finally given an address of a restaurant of a German family how supposedly still speaks German. I was lucky; I entered just at the right time finding the owner and his family finishing lunch consisting of Schnitzel and potatoes. Indeed they did speak German and after their initial German suspiciousness had worn off, they invited me to sit down and happily told me about the town: its history, evolution and present condition. It turns out that German is still being taught at the local school today as a 2nd language and many German traditions have remained alive. Since tourism today constitutes the majority of the town’s economy some of the German traditions have turned into a bit of a show to attract tourists (e.g. the annual Oktoberfest). Nevertheless, it was very interesting to hear the perspectives of German immigrants two or three generations later, listen to their stories and hear how little by little they are starting to feel more like Argentineans than Germans.

My experience in La Cumbrecita was a completely different one. To get there I had to make it along a 40km gravel road in more or less awful condition pushing Morena to the limit. But the journey was worth it: nested into the side of forest I found the tiny town of La Cumbrecita (population 600). The most interesting aspect of the town is that it does not allow cars the enter and all tourists are asked to park their vehicle in a parking lot outside of town and make their way over a wooden bridge by foot. The architecture looked similar to mountain village in the Alps and can only be described a charming and cute. Amplified by the cloudy sky and the fog falling over the town at dusk I almost felt like I had entered one of the Grimm brothers´ fairy tales and was about to run to Snow White and the seven dwarfs.