01/23/09 07:13:08PM @claudio-vincent-williams:
Yes Karen, it's a very worthwhile video, despite of the atmosphere of decadence that comes from the words of the commentator, in fact in 1961 all the history, culture and heritage was in a certain decadence, there was a time when the motto "galenso" was used with a pejorative meaning. Maybe because of the isolation of the pioneers and their children, and the low number of welsh immigrants, regarding the fast increase of the Latin population in the valley, specially Spaniards, Italians and Arabs, the welsh descendants mixed with the rest of the population, in fact, my mother is of Spaniard descendants. All this led to the loss, in part, of the welsh identity, but in many of the welsh descendants it has reemerge, and the language is still spoken, and the Eisteddfod is in good health. The story of the relation of the welsh and the natives Indians of Patagonia is amazing, they lived in harmony, except for a single incident in which three Welshmen were slain by Indians of a distant place, not tehuelches. And none of the Welshmen, as far as I know, injured an Indian never. Many native children were bred by the welsh, and many Indians spoke welsh perfectly well, because they attended to welsh schools. Of course there were disappointments with the Indians, because they were very fond of stealing, they used to steal one to each other, and they stole the welsh cattle and horses. the welsh used to say: "All is good with Indians, but each one in his house".well, I have to listen to your music in this weekend.Regards.
01/22/09 07:08:54PM @karen-ann:
This is great! Thanks for sharing it, Claudio. What is really heartening though, is the fact that while Welsh was dying as a language in Patagonia in 1961 when this film was made, nowadays more and more Welsh-Argentine people are interested in their heritage and speaking Welsh. The Welsh government has also made efforts to be more active towards providing Welsh teachers to Gaiman and Trelew. Perhaps there's someone here that knows more?I was really happy to hear the mention of Trelew - a town in Patagonia founded by Lewis Jones. My band is called Trelew because of that Welsh-South American connection. I'm Welsh and the rest of the band is from Uruguay where I live. You can hear us at www.myspace.com/Trelew . We've written a few songs about the Welsh emigration to Patagonia. One of them is online and called Cacique ("Chief" in Spanish)."Cacique" means chief. This song is dedicated to Francisco, an indigenous chief from the 1860s whose tribe lived in harmony with the Welsh settlers recently arrived to Patagonia. Francisco did not quite believe the Welsh when he heard they were Christians. "You can't be Christians," he said, "We know Christians, they steal our horses and our land, they would try to kill us if they could." Several years later, Francisco was taken fatally ill in Buenos Aires, and on his death bed, a nurse heard him resign himself to his coming death, saying "I am going to the heaven of the Welsh, and I have no fear, because where those good people go, it must be a happy place." Anyway, check it out if you're interested
01/22/09 06:21:00PM @claudio-vincent-williams:
This is a video posted in Youtube by "styfin" along with this information, I hope it is interesting for all in this site: "Extracts from a documentary made in 1961 about the Welsh colony founded in the Chubut province of Argentina in 1865. The original Welsh settlers were looking for a "New Wales" where they could live free from the influences and domination of English. They were offered land in the still unconquered and unexplored area of the Chubut valley in Patagonia. After initial hardships they began to prosper and opened further settlements inland away from Porth Madryn right up to Cwm Hyfryd in the foothills of the Andes. Bonds have been strengthened in recent years between Wales and Y Wladfa with support from the Welsh Assembly Government. There is now a Welsh school and frequent visits between the 2 countries to compete in Eisteddfods and other cultural exchanges. On a recent visit to Argentina, the Welsh rugby team played one of their test matches in the "old colony" to highlight and strengthen this link. There are also links between the Welsh of Patagonia and the Welsh communities in the USA, Canada and Australia.A lot has changed in the 50 years since this was made and this may be of particular interest to the peoples of the townships of Trelew, Gaiman etc. Especially the families of the people who were featured in the documentary".
Yes Karen, it's a very worthwhile video, despite of the atmosphere of decadence that comes from the words of the commentator, in fact in 1961 all the history, culture and heritage was in a certain decadence, there was a time when the motto "galenso" was used with a pejorative meaning. Maybe because of the isolation of the pioneers and their children, and the low number of welsh immigrants, regarding the fast increase of the Latin population in the valley, specially Spaniards, Italians and Arabs, the welsh descendants mixed with the rest of the population, in fact, my mother is of Spaniard descendants. All this led to the loss, in part, of the welsh identity, but in many of the welsh descendants it has reemerge, and the language is still spoken, and the Eisteddfod is in good health. The story of the relation of the welsh and the natives Indians of Patagonia is amazing, they lived in harmony, except for a single incident in which three Welshmen were slain by Indians of a distant place, not tehuelches. And none of the Welshmen, as far as I know, injured an Indian never. Many native children were bred by the welsh, and many Indians spoke welsh perfectly well, because they attended to welsh schools. Of course there were disappointments with the Indians, because they were very fond of stealing, they used to steal one to each other, and they stole the welsh cattle and horses. the welsh used to say: "All is good with Indians, but each one in his house".well, I have to listen to your music in this weekend.Regards.
This is great! Thanks for sharing it, Claudio. What is really heartening though, is the fact that while Welsh was dying as a language in Patagonia in 1961 when this film was made, nowadays more and more Welsh-Argentine people are interested in their heritage and speaking Welsh. The Welsh government has also made efforts to be more active towards providing Welsh teachers to Gaiman and Trelew. Perhaps there's someone here that knows more?I was really happy to hear the mention of Trelew - a town in Patagonia founded by Lewis Jones. My band is called Trelew because of that Welsh-South American connection. I'm Welsh and the rest of the band is from Uruguay where I live. You can hear us at www.myspace.com/Trelew . We've written a few songs about the Welsh emigration to Patagonia. One of them is online and called Cacique ("Chief" in Spanish)."Cacique" means chief. This song is dedicated to Francisco, an indigenous chief from the 1860s whose tribe lived in harmony with the Welsh settlers recently arrived to Patagonia. Francisco did not quite believe the Welsh when he heard they were Christians. "You can't be Christians," he said, "We know Christians, they steal our horses and our land, they would try to kill us if they could." Several years later, Francisco was taken fatally ill in Buenos Aires, and on his death bed, a nurse heard him resign himself to his coming death, saying "I am going to the heaven of the Welsh, and I have no fear, because where those good people go, it must be a happy place." Anyway, check it out if you're interested
This is a video posted in Youtube by "styfin" along with this information, I hope it is interesting for all in this site: "Extracts from a documentary made in 1961 about the Welsh colony founded in the Chubut province of Argentina in 1865. The original Welsh settlers were looking for a "New Wales" where they could live free from the influences and domination of English. They were offered land in the still unconquered and unexplored area of the Chubut valley in Patagonia. After initial hardships they began to prosper and opened further settlements inland away from Porth Madryn right up to Cwm Hyfryd in the foothills of the Andes. Bonds have been strengthened in recent years between Wales and Y Wladfa with support from the Welsh Assembly Government. There is now a Welsh school and frequent visits between the 2 countries to compete in Eisteddfods and other cultural exchanges. On a recent visit to Argentina, the Welsh rugby team played one of their test matches in the "old colony" to highlight and strengthen this link. There are also links between the Welsh of Patagonia and the Welsh communities in the USA, Canada and Australia.A lot has changed in the 50 years since this was made and this may be of particular interest to the peoples of the townships of Trelew, Gaiman etc. Especially the families of the people who were featured in the documentary".