Seeking historical records of my father's life in 1930s Buenos Aires

[nicknack24]

Hi.

In the 1930's my father lived and worked in BA - he was a translator for the Bank of London and South America. He was a keen sport player and loved tennis. He also did a lot of cyclo touring etc.

I have three full days in BA in January. I am staying in Palermo and I am keen to finy any historical items dealing with his time there...

Does anyone have any suggestions for places where I could look for old archival material dealing with expats in BA from 1930 to 1935?

Historic sports clubs... expat clubs ... etc?

Many thanks

Nick

 

[jantango]

The Biblioteca Nacional on Av. Las Heras near Av. Puerreydon has a newspaper archive that will provide a good source. I knew a tango dancer who spent many hours searching El Mundo for the weekend ads for tango clubs. He very discreetly scanned pages of these ads which he shared with me. They will give you only one issue to look through at a time, so you could spend hours searching, just as my friend did.

 

[nicknack24]

That's great - thanks!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Gosh! It would have been a very different Buenos Aires in those days! Neither the Kavanagh building nor Ave 9 Julio nor many other landmarks of today would have been completed by 1935 and life would have been very different.

Ironically, the best place for your research is probably University College, London where the archives of BoLSA are held and available for research by appointment. Organisations like BoLSA often had their own sports and social clubs in those days (I don't know if BoLSA did) and you may be lucky and find out more about his life outside work.

Be aware that Buenos Aires can be extremely hot in January. As well as looking after your own health in those conditions you should know that many businesses and institutions are closed during January and some February as well. You may need more than one visit to find out everything you want so I hope you enjoy your few days and come again

 

[nicknack24]

Hi - sorry for delay - crazy busy getting ready to depart!

So I actually spent the day with the BoLSA archives in London. Box loads of bank correspondence but no mention of my father!

Thanks for the tip about the heat and possibility of places being shut. I will definitely call them first tocheck if they are open!

Thanks for the tips

 

[nicknack24]

My father lived in BA in the 1930s. He obviously loved the place and wrote many entries in his journal about holidays in Bariloche etc. But I have virtually no information on his BA life.

The only 'lead' is that he was a member of the "Club Anglo-Americano" in Tucuman

I can see that there is a modern day sporting club of the same name, but its not clear if there is any link.

Does anyone have any ideas of places where i could research this when in BA? I am coming in early January...

 

[Redpossum]

Oh, boy, Tucuman in January. That will be fun.

 

[Cambalache]

In Buenos Aires, the oldest club related to tennis and English immigration is the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club. It was founded in 1892, but the original clubhouse became too small and was moved in 1909 to where it is today, in the middle of the Bosques de Palermo (a very nice place). I don't know if they have historical archives there, but you could try to contact them before you go, as three days is not enough for a city as big as Buenos Aires:

Fundación y construcción de sede

En una circular con fecha 5 de abril de 1892, los señores Arthur Herbert, W.H. Watson, Adrian Penard, C.R. Thursby, H.M. Mills y F.LE. Wallace propusieron…

www.baltc.net

On the other hand, Tucumán Lawn Tennis seems to be the same institution since 1915.
I leave you a link with the presidents and the history, maybe you will find your father's name there!

Tucumán Lawn Tennis Club | Tucumán - Argentina

www.tucumanlawntennis.org.ar

Tucumán Lawn Tennis Club | Tucumán - Argentina

www.tucumanlawntennis.org.ar

And I agree with the previous comments, Tucuman in January can be a nightmare due to the high temperatures! It is common to take a "siesta" from noon to the afternoon to avoid the peak temperatures. At these times it's common to find many shops closed.