Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AN ITALIAN IMMIGRANT
DESCRIBES HIS WORK
OPPORTUNITIES
Buenos Aires, 3 May 1903
Dearest parents, brother, and sister,
As you will see from the heading, I am once again in Buenos Aires. . . .
I am fine here, in excellent health; business is also good. As I had writ-
ten you from Santa Teresa [Entre Ríos], it is just that I had to keep on
the move. I left there toward the end of February and went straight to
Santa Fe, where I had to take a job with a French railway firm. I worked
a few days, but then, since Frenchmen and Italians don't get along with
each other, I went on my way. The next day I left for San Cristobal. I
stayed there for only three days since they are still all negroes,
*
and I
headed straight for Tucumán, where I had an excellent job. But since
there is malaria in that area . . . and at that time there was also smallpox,
and it seemed to be spreading, I got scared and took off again. I would
have liked to go to Bolivia, but since I was rather far away from the big
cities, it was not convenient for me. So I headed for the capital. Almost
two days and three nights on the train. I assure you that I am tired and
have had my fill of traveling.
For about a month I have been here and have been employed in the
work on the Congreso Nacional, which is under construction; the work
will last at least a half dozen years. I am doing very well here, and if I
did not have to do my military service [in Italy], I would stay on to the
end.
+
That would be of great advantage to me. . . .
Oreste [Sola]
*
The writer probably was referring to the native-born workers.
+
He never did return to Italy.
Source:
Baily, Samuel L., and Franco Ramella, eds.
One Family, Two Worlds:
An Italian Family's Correspondence across the Atlantic, 1901-1922
. Translated
by John Lenaghan. (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1988),
pp. 52-53.
The population of the city of Buenos Aires increased more than
eightfold between 1869 and 1914, from nearly 178,000 to more than
1.5 million. Another million more people lived in Buenos Aires when
