Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin
Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin was formed in 1939. We're a charity and all our income comes from the ca. 230 members.
We arrange and sponsor exchanges for teachers, students and ministers of religion between Wales and Argentina. We have a representative on the British Council Project which sends Welsh teachers to Chubut and students from Chubut to Lampeter for an eight-week Welsh summer course.
We sponsor an annual literary competition (in the Welsh language) at the National Eisteddfod of Wales since 1978. Two volumes of a selection of the competitions have been published. We will be publishing a volume of a selection of the entries for the 2008 Cardiff National Eisteddfod.
We sponsor students from Argentina who wish to come to Wales to expand their educational horizons. There has been close cooperation with Coleg Harlech along the years since the centenary of the Settlement in 1965; we've also sponsored students who have attended Llandovery College and Glynllifon Colleges. Llandovery College have now the Tom Gravelle Scholsrship awarded annually.
Amongst establishments that we've sponsored in recent years are Ysgol yr Hendre (the Trelew Welsh primary School), Gaiman Nursery School and the Andes Welsh Centre in Esquel.
Our AGM is held at the National Eisteddfod and we have had a presence with a stand on the National Eisteddfod field since 1997.
We celebrate the July Landing annually in Wales.
For more details contact the Secretary, Ceris Gruffudd at Rhos Helyg, 23 Maesyrefail, Penrhyn-coch, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3HE Tel: (01970) 828017 e-mail:
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Welsh Colony in Patagonia
A brief history of Y Wladfa
• Y Wladfa, the Welsh Colony in Patagonia, was established in 1865, when over 150 people from various parts of Wales sailed on the Mimosa to settle in the Chubut Valley, in Southern Argentina.
• Over the following fifty years, hundreds of Welsh people emigrated there, establishing towns such as Porth Madryn in the New Bay; Rawson, Gaiman, Trelew and Dolavon in the valley; and Trevelin in Cwm Hyfryd. Many of their descendants also live in Esquel, at the foot of the Andes; in Comodoro Rivadavia (the largest town in the province); in Colonia Sarmiento - and many other provinces throughout Argentina.
• They created thriving Welsh communities, in which the Welsh language was prominent; in cooperation with the Argentine Government, and in peaceful co-existence with the native population - the only example of non-violent colonisation in the history of the American continent.
• Today, the population of Trelew, the largest town in Dyffryn Camwy, is more than 120,000, and that of the province of Chubut around 600,000. Only a small proportion of these are of purely Welsh origin, but it is estimated that at least a third of the population have some Welsh blood in their veins - and there remains a strong sense of having Welsh roots in the area.
• A Welsh-Spanish bilingual school was established recently in Trelew and there are Welsh nursery schools also in Gaiman and Esquel; and Eisteddfod y Wladfa, which is held every October, and the youth Eisteddfod every September, are stronger than ever. Also many smaller eisteddfodau are held in Dyffryn Camwy, Porth Madryn and the Andes.
• The Government of Wales, with the support of the British Council, Cardiff University and Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin (the Wales-Argentine Society), sponsor the Welsh Language Project in Chubut, sending teachers to teach Welsh and to train the local tutors. Many young people from Y Wladfa visit Wales every year, and a delegation of Urdd Gobaith Cymru members visits Y Wladfa every autumn.
• In 1965, during the centenary celebrations of the colonization, 73 Welsh 'pilgrims', including many national figures, visited Y Wladfa to commemorate the amazing history of the pioneers. There were three weeks of celebrations throughout Chubut Province and in Buenos Aires. A contingent of young people from Y Wladfa were invited to visit Wales for the three summer months, and were shown various aspects of cultural and industrial life in the land of their fathers. This reconnection with the people of Y Wladfa was instrumental in promoting more interest in both countries in the history and development of the settlement - and inspired the descendants of the 'Gwladfawyr' to take an interest in their roots.
• Since then, there has been a close link between Wales and Y Wladfa. Nowadays, there are tours - formal and informal - annually (at least!). Also, cultural links have been established, with choirs, parties, soloists etc. from one country visiting the other.
• In 2015, Y Wladfa will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. Plans are underway to ensure that these celebrations are as successful as those of 1965:
Planning 2015 Celebrations
• In 2010, Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin decided to establish a steering committee to consider a variety of ways to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Y Wladfa in 2015.
• A public meeting was organised in Aberystwyth in May 2010 and a Steering Committee elected, with Dafydd Wigley as Chair. The names of the Committee Members can be seen at the bottom of the page.
• The Steering Committee works independently but under the auspices of the Society. In 2012, they will present their recommendations for a viable programme of activities to the Society, which will then decide how to proceed to implement those considered appropriate.
• The Steering Committee's strategy is to inspire as many of Wales' national and local institutions as possible to take an interest in the celebrations, and to include events that are relevant to Patagonia in their activities in 2015 and the preceding period.
• Work has already started on raising interest and support amongst a wide variety of bodies in Wales, including the Welsh Assembly, the National Eisteddfod, the Urdd, S4C and BBC, educational and cultural institutions, and local authorities, all of which responded positively.
• This leaflet invites all parties interested in the celebrations to present their ideas [for cultural events, recognition of pioneers, publishing of historical documents, creating materials for educational key stages, etc.]; and to raise awareness of the celebrations in any possible way amongst a wide range of societies, groups and individuals throughout Wales.
• Members of the Committee will be glad to attend meetings of any societies or groups wishing to learn more about these plans, if given sufficient notice.
For more information, or to present ideas, contact Hywel Roberts, 29 Dorset Street, Grangetown, Cardiff. CF11 6PS.
Tel: 07761 826975
Members of the Steering Committee: Dafydd Wigley (Chair); Hywel Roberts (Secretary); Gareth Tilsley (Treasurer); Gwenith ap Robert John; Eirionedd Baskerville; Walter Ariel Brooks; Elen Davies; D. Leslie Davies; Gwynfryn Evans; Hazel Charles Evans; Menna George; Jon Gower; Ceris Gruffudd; Dewi Hughes; Wyn James; Bill Jones; Rev. Eirian Wyn Lewis; Sandra de Pol; Gwyn L. Williams; Elvey MacDonald.
Read more about the celebrations in this pdf leaflet