Every Summer, an Argentine Beach Town Goes a Little 'Shtetl'

Beach-goers in the resort town of Miramar join in some Israeli dancing. (JTA Photo)

Diego Melamed
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

MIRAMAR, Argentina

It is said that there are two kinds of religious people in Miramar: the surfers who pray for the fantastic waves for which the Argentine beach town is known, and the Jews who flock here in the summer and turn Miramar into something resembling a shtetl.

And then there are the Jewish surfers.

Daniel Pezzente, who recently opened a bed-and-breakfast surfing school in town, said that four of his first students were observant Jews who kept kosher and took breaks from surfing to pray. Two were locals, but two came all the way from California.

In January and February, Miramar is to the Jews of Buenos Aires what Miami during Passover is to the Jews of New York.

This country of 40 million has some 200,000 Jews, making the Miramar phenomenon rather rare. About 250 miles south of Buenos Aires and about a half-hour's drive from the famed beach town of Mar del Plata, it has become a favorite summer spot for the country's Jews.

Mezuzahs are common on doorways here, and restaurants offer Jewish fare like kasha varnishkes and knishes. At night, some resorts organize Israeli-dance performances.

"Jews are more than tourists here," said Maria Eugenia Bove, secretary of tourism in Miramar. "They are part of the history and the future of this city. They are honorary citizens."

The Jewish connection to Miramar dates back to the 19th century, when a ship full of Jews fleeing Europe arrived at Argentina's shores in 1891. Financed by Baron Hirsch, the Pampa first landed at the port of Buenos Aires. The refugees were supposed to be housed in the province of Entre Rios, but their complex wasn't ready, and the ship was ordered to sail farther south.

So the Pampa's passengers were put up at the Atlantic Hotel near Miramar, a city founded just three years earlier.

"The first testimony of the relationship between our city and the Jews was marked by a devastating tragedy: a high number of children were infected with a disease transmitted by birds and died here," said Carlos Pagliardini, Miramar's director of tourism. "After this incident, most of the parents moved to Entre Rios province, and while there was no Jewish cemetery in Miramar, many returned to see the graves of their children."

During the boom times in the 1950s, many of these immigrant families rose out of poverty to reach the middle class. For the first time, they could afford to buy houses, send their children to college and enjoy another luxury: vacations by the sea.

While Mar del Plata was the most popular resort in Argentina, it wasn't so welcoming to Jews.

"It was an expensive place, where the Argentinean upper class vacationing there didn't always look favorably upon the arrival of Jews," said Anita Weinstein, director of the Jewish community's documentation center.

So the Jews began moving to Miramar, 27 miles down the coast from Mar del Plata and less expensive. It quickly soared in popularity among the nation's Jews.

Ricardo Gaudini, owner of the Tiburon resort, said that 85 percent of his February clientele is Jewish. The numbers are only slightly lower in January. Other resort owners report the same.

"Even 35 years ago, my first clients were Jews," he said. "Today, most families are also my friends. I was even invited to Bar Mitzvahs of many of the boys."

Miramar has grown considerably more Jewish over time. In 1998, the city opened its first kosher store, selling falafel, the Sephardic specialty lahmajun and other delectables.

"I make the best knishes in Argentina," boasted the store's cook, Gladys Linares, who is not Jewish. "In the recent seasons, we sold more than 30,000 meals, 2,200 pounds of meat and more than 1,000 pounds of chicken. We also offer kosher wine imported from the United States."

Jacobo Simantov, who owns the store, is also in charge of the city's synagogue, Beit Yaakov, open only during the summer.

There's also a monument in the city's central square dedicated to the victims of the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires.

The prestigious La Nacion newspaper recently dubbed Miramar the star of the Argentine coast. If so, then it seems fair to say that it's a Star of David.