Turning the pages back...
August 28, 1977
Twenty-three years ago on August 28, more than 6,000 Ukrainians from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, with municipal and provincial government officials in attendance, witnessed the unveiling and blessing of a monument to Taras Shevchenko in Apostoles, Argentina.
The dedication was the culmination of this year's observances of the 80th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Argentina - it was on August 27, 1897, that the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in Apostoles in the province of Misiones.
A three-day program in Apostoles highlighted the history of the city, which also observed its 80th anniversary.
On Friday, August 26, Ukrainian folk art and press were displayed, and the city's cultural council presented an entertainment program.
Saturday, August 27, was proclaimed "The Day of the Emigrant." An outdoor Mass and program were held near the Monument to the Emigrant in the center of Apostoles. In the evening a program featuring a Polish folk ballet company was dedicated to the first Polish settlers.
On Sunday, August 28, 80 years almost to the day after the first Ukrainian settled here, the provincial governor, Naval Captain Rodolfo Ramon Poletti; city manager Don Gabriel Jelabert; and head of the Ukrainian central representation, Volodymyr Kotulskyi, unveiled the new Taras Shevchenko monument in the presence of thousands of spectators and flag bearers of Ukrainian organizations and communities in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The bust of the bard of Ukraine by Argentinian sculptor Raoul Delavi stands in center-city Apostoles, off its main boulevard.
The monument was blessed by Bishop Andrew Sapelak, Apostolic Exarch of Ukrainians in Argentina, and Auxiliary Bishop of Ukrainians in Brazil, Efraim Krevey. They were assisted by clergy from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and Revs. I. Hlynka and Lubomyr Husar from Rome.
Pavlo Mykhalenko, chairman of the monument committee, then gave the care of the monument over to the city manager.
A small box containing soil from the grave of Taras Shevchenko in Ukraine was sealed into the base of the monument, and wreaths were placed around it by representatives of various organizations and communities.
After the dedication ceremonies a banquet was held at the Ukrainian Argentinian Club with over 600 persons, including officials of the provincial and municipal governments, bishops, and clergy, in attendance.
A festival of Ukrainian folk culture began at 8 p.m.
Today there are over 500 Ukrainian families in Apostoles and over 30,000 Ukrainians in Misiones.
The Taras Shevchenko monument in Apostoles is the second to be erected in Argentina and the seventh in the free world. Others have been erected in the United States, Canada, Brazil, France and Paraguay. The first Argentinian monument to the poet-laureate of Ukraine was dedicated in Buenos Aires in December 1971.
Source: "Argentinians erect 7th Shevchenko monument in the free world," The Ukrainian Weekly, September 18, 1977.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 27, 2000, No. 35, Vol. LXVIII
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