For generations of Argentineans today, the name MARTIN KARADAGHIAN brings back fond memories of their childhood years when life was more simple, television was still black and white and the good guys always won.
It also means Armenian.
Karadaghian was not a heartthrob pop star but rather a wrestler who for 30 years not only filled arenas across Argentina, but also dominated prime-time television screens in every household with a young boy or girl.
"I remember him very well." said a Washington based 40 something journalist for the Clarin Newspaper of Argentina. "He was our idol. How can I forget El Armenio Karadaghian and his wrestling partner Ararat," she said. "He was, and still is a legend." Karadaghian died in 1991, but his name recognition is still very much alive, along with its association with all things Armenian in Argentina.
"I did not know what an Armenian was before Karadaghian," a young hotel clerk told me. "Growing up in Buenos Aires, we learned a lot about Armenians through him. I think it was Karadaghian who made us differentiate between an Armenian and a Turk," he said.
"He made sure that we all knew that he was an Armenian. Maybe he did not plan it, but he certainly was a great publicist for the Armenians," a taxi driver remarked.
The son of immigrant parents, Martin (Harutiun) Karadaghian was born in 1922 in Buenos Aires. His father was a butcher and a survivor of the 1915 massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
He spoke little Armenian, and did not have the opportunity to get an education. He worked at his father's shop and stayed away from Armenian community life. His singular love was wrestling, but there was something about his roots which he never forgot.
Karadaghian got involved in the world of wrestling at an early age and soon found himself in competition matches in New York's "Jamaica Arena." That was in the 1950's and Karadaghian was still an unknown in his native Argentina.
"I think my father learned some marketing in New York," his daughter Paulina says reflecting on her father's flamboyant career.
"He did not have to attend any classes, but what he saw in New York probably made him think that he could market his skills at home. After all, my father was a great showman maybe even more of a showman than an athlete," she said. Returning home, Karadaghian linked up with fellow Armenian Ararat Jelalian who was also a butcher by trade, and the two men soon hit the wrestling arenas of Argentina with performances which have not been duplicated since.
“My father formed a wrestling group which he named Titanes el ring, Titans on the rink which is still remembered as the most popular in all of Argentina even though wrestling itself is no that popular any more. “He said.
Over the years karadaghian moved from one success to another which not only helped boost his wrestling career, but also his popular weekly television show aimed mostly at a younger audience.
"He was a fixture on Argentine television for 30 years with his weekly wrestling program. I admit it was more of a show, entertainment, and fun rather than a sport, but it gave him the opportunity to advertise his Armenian background and roots," his daughter said in a recent interview.
"He used to get very upset when people referred to Armenians as Turkos, or Turks, and he spared no effort, especially on the rink, to explain who the Armenians were and what the Turks did to them," she said. "Yes, he was not involved with the community, but he was a true Armenian maybe a different Armenian."
Karadaghian's contribution to the recognition of Armenians in Argentina may be unique, but then again, hundreds of others in the community have brought their share in building up the positive image which the Armenians enjoy in present day Argentina.
NARCISO BENAYAN began his career in journalism 40 years ago, and at 70 he still writes an informative weekly column in Argentina's prestigious La Nacion newspaper, the New York Times of Argentina or the Times of London.
But Benayan is not just a regular journalist. He is more of a historian with a passion, a world traveler whose meticulous attention to detail has made him famous not only in the world of the national media, but academia as well.
"As a young man I wanted to be a lawyer, and in fact I even went to law school but I did not finish. Then I wanted to become a diplomat, and that too did not materialize," he said in a recent interview.
He did not hold a paying job until the age of 31, when he joined the Argentinean Chamber of Deputies as a researcher, an endeavor which led to his alma mater in journalism an editorial position with La Nacion in 1960.
"I have always been fascinated with genealogy and my work as journalist helped me fulfill my dream. I had the opportunity to travel and study people, their backgrounds, their lives, and their behavior," he said.
In his 30 years with La Nacion, Benayan, who is fluent in French, Italian, English and his native tongue, Spanish, has visited and written about 98 countries around the world, including Armenia, and interviewed many world leaders, including the former President of Armenia Levon ter Petrossian and Beshir Gemayel, the assassinated President of Lebanon.
"Everywhere I go, I look for Armenians," he said.
Over the years, Benayan says he has come to the conclusion that there is more to being an Armenian than just ethnic background and roots. "For me, humanity is one. We are all the same despite our differences," he said.
Although Benayan does not speak much Armenian, he still describes himself as "100 percent Armenian, a fanatic Armenian, and 100 percent Argentinean at the same time."
He has written two books, one on The Armenian Community in Argentina which was first published in 1974, and another on the Armenians in Argentina, Between the Past and the Future.
Always deeply analytical in his writings and thinking, Benayan says being an Armenian in the Diaspora does not mean life in a ghetto. "But for the most part, Armenians tend to go to extremes. They either assimilate 100 percent or live in their closed societies. This is wrong. I don't have to live in a ghetto to be a good Armenian," he said.
If Benayan is the best known Armenian journalist in Argentina, ROSA MAJIAN (pronounced Makhian) was the first Armenian woman to graduate with a degree in journalism and public relations in 1955 from the University of Argentina.
"My father always wanted me to go to business school, and as a good Armenian girl, I did go to business school for one year," she said in an interview.
"When I told my mother that 1 wanted to become a writer, she said I would never make any money and die from hunger. Well, I have not died," Ms. Majian said.
After graduating in 1955, Ms. Majian did her post graduate studies first in Spain and Chile and then from 1965 to 1969 at the University of Michigan and Columbia University, spending the last four years of her U.S. stint training with the news department of the New York Times newspaper.
"Those were very valuable years for me and they paved the way for my career not only as a journalist but also as a professor of journalism," she said.
Returning to Argentina, Ms. Majian continued her education and received her doctorate degree from the Kennedy University in social psychology. Her dissertation was on the Armenian psychological reality in Argentina.
While still working on her Ph.D., Ms. Majian, with funding from the United States, in 1970 established the School of Journalism and Communications at the privately owned Kennedy University where she not only still teaches but also heads the department.
Over the span of her long career, Ms. Majian, the daughter of immigrant parents, has published extensively in Argentinean newspapers including La Nacion and Clarin on a number of Armenian issues and subjects such as literature, poetry and history.
"I have trained and taught hundreds of new journalists over the years, but unfortunately I have had only three Armenian students. It seems Armenians are more interested in other professions," she said.
"You don't have to be a political activist to inform non-Armenians. Journalism is a good vehicle," she said.
"The important thing is how you attract the attention of a wide audience to who you are, where you come from, and what you stand for," she said.
A group of young Armenians from the LIGA DE JOVENES, or the youth organization of the AGBU are doing just that.
While there are two Armenian newspapers and several radio stations already in existence, the group of young professionals and university graduates have launched a glossy Spanish-language magazine—Genera- cion 3, or the Third Generation. The 40-page quarterly publication, still in its infancy, has a circulation of several thousand. It is not only aimed at reaching a new generation of Armenians, especially the under-30 group which is more at ease with Spanish, but also the Argentinean public at large.
Its contents vary from sports, features on Armenian issues, literature, poetry, culture and even a food column.
TOROS GURLEKIAN was a six year-old boy when his family moved to Argentina in 1927. His father, a volunteer in the French Foreign Legion, had plans to settle in the United States but was unable to get a U.S. visa.
"Our early years were the same as every Armenian refugee family in this country. We shared a house with friends, did not mix with outsiders and stayed within a tight Armenian circle," said Gurlekian, now 80 years old and recognized as one of the better known painters in Argentina. "My father did not have a profession when he came here, but he learned how to make shoes while working full time at an auto factory. He opened his own shoe store which was later passed on to me - but not before I finished my education," he said. Gurlekianstarted painting from the early age of seven. At first he just copied works by world famous painters and in 1942 gave his first exhibition which was organized by the Armenian General Benevolent Union in Buenos Aires. "I did not sell anything then and I am sure I could not have survived and continued painting if not for my father who took me into his flourishing business," he said.
Over the years, painting turned from a hobby to a passion for Gurlekian, and his works began attracting attention. One small exhibition led to another until his works began finding their place as permanent displays at top government offices, institutions, hospitals, banks, and universities across Argentina.
In all, Gurlekian, who is better known for his murals which are part of his more than 450 works, has had at least 60 one man exhibitions in Argentina, two in Armenia, one in Brazil and another in Germany and his art has always told the story of not only his adopted country, but also of his Armenian roots.
"I am the product of two cultures but have always maintained my Armenian identity and roots and have always tried to reach out and inspire others with the beauty of everything Armenians stand for," he said.
At the age of 80, Gurlekian still paints and remains one of the most popular artists in the country. If Gurlekian's tools were the brush and palette, ANDRES MANOUKIAN made his mark on the stage of the famous Teatro Colon (the Colon Theater) as a leading tenor soloist and member of its choral ensemble since 1974.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Manoukian immigrated to Argentina with his parents in 1954. He was only 16 then and singing was the last thing on his mind.
"At first I used to make fun of my brother who sang at various Armenian community functions," he explained. "I did not know that I had enough of a voice to even carry a tune."
As a teenager, Manoukian was encouraged to join an Armenian choral group and soon he was on his way to formal voice lessons and training at the Institute Superior de Canto del Teatro Colon, from where he graduated in 1961. He was the only Armenian student there and his aim was to stay with the prestigious theater, one of the most famous opera houses in South America. Manoukian's fame soared after winning the first prize in 1979 at an international contest for "Nuevas Voces Wagnerians", or the new Wagnerian voices. Apart from his regular solo and choral performances as a tenor, Manoukian has on many occasions trained as a backup singer for such international performers as Placido Domingo and traveled extensively not only in South America, but also the United States, Europe and Australia.
Today, he is one of Argentina's most famous tenors, continuing to perform regularly and is also a recording artist.
"Throughout my career, I never lost sight of who I am. It was not easy to enter the Argentinean world of opera, and especially through the tight doors of Teatro Colon.
"I am proud of my heritage and singing has always been a vehicle, a tool, which I have used to expose Armenian music to the outside world," he said.
Each in their own field, hundreds of Armenians are helping make a difference, helping get the word out, helping the Armenian image and helping break old barriers and further bring out the best in the community for all to see.
