Let me tell you the migration story of my grandfather, JOSIP ANTE MRDJEN DRASKOVIC.
He was born in Biograd na Moru in March 1905. His parents were named Tome and Franica. Sadly, his mother passed away during childbirth. He had two sisters and two brothers. His eldest sister, Marija, raised him as if she were his mother. His other sister was named Dana, and his brothers were Jakov and Luca. All of them remained in Biograd.
Josip at the age of 23, at the time he left to South America
On December 7, 1928, Josip departed from the port of Split aboard a ship that made stops in several Italian and other European ports. The journey lasted nearly a month. He first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, where some of the migrants decided to stay. Josip continued on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, together with a friend named Ljubo, arriving in January 1929.
He often recounted how, upon their arrival, the port was full of people from different nations—mostly Italians, Jews, and others. The authorities placed them in large storage buildings and separated them by nationality: Italians in one area, Jews in another, Spaniards in another, and there were also many Romani people. The Croats were grouped together, and representatives from the Slavic consulate took them to some barracks where they were given a place to sleep and meals.
At that time, they didn’t speak any Spanish. Josip and several other Croats were sent to work at the Swift canned goods factory. He remembered they were paid very little and were dissatisfied with the conditions. They stayed there for about eight months.
News eventually reached Buenos Aires that there was more and better-paid work in Oruro and Potosí in Bolivia, as well as in Chile, and that many Croats were already working in those places. Josip and several of his fellow countrymen decided to take the opportunity. They got in touch with recruiters looking for workers to send to Bolivia, and boarded a train at Retiro station in Buenos Aires, headed for Oruro.
They crossed the border at Villazón and continued on to Oruro. One of the first things that struck them was the extreme cold. Josip recalled that when they arrived at the train station in Oruro, everything felt very bleak—houses made of adobe and stone, with straw roofs. They were received by fellow Croats who helped them because they barely spoke Spanish. Some migrants continued on to Antofagasta, Chile, where they had heard there were also Croatian communities.
Josip and his friend were offered work at a large general store owned by a Croatian man named Don Francisco Restovich. They would weigh and prepare goods for shipment to the mines. The store handled a lot of products, and while working there they learned Spanish and enjoyed good living and working conditions. Josip remained there for a long time. He also worked at another store, El Baratillo, run by S&D Sasunic.
Croatians in the area often gathered at a club where they exchanged news from Croatia and from other places where their fellow countrymen had migrated. They would share their customs and speak their native language.
Over the years, with the growth of the mining industry, things improved for the Croatian community. They helped one another, and Josip, together with his friend Pedro Grishina, had always dreamed of opening their own store. Eventually, they managed to do so with their savings.
After Josip met my grandmother, Victoria Gomez García, they got married around 1938. With the proceeds from selling a house, they opened a store on the corner of 6 de Octubre and Bolívar Streets in Oruro. The store was called “Grishina y Mrdjen,” and it also served as their home. For many years, they did very well thanks to the mining boom.
Josip and Victoria had two daughters: Zdenka and Sonja Mrden Gomez García. Zdenka was born in 1939, and Sonja in 1941. They both attended the Anglo-American School of Oruro.
Due to a major fire that had destroyed a Slavic-owned warehouse in the past and the lack of a fire department, the Slavic community in Oruro founded their own fire brigade. Josip volunteered with them. He was also an active member of the Slavic Club, which later became the Croatian Club, as well as the Croatian Cemetery.
Eventually, Josip and his business partner decided to move their store to Cochabamba. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as they hoped, and they had to close it down and return to Oruro. Josip then began working for a mining company at Cerro Grande, owned by a Dutch engineer named Brushman, as a warehouse manager. He frequently traveled to the mines. Later, he became a partner in the SPLIT mining company, which operated a barite mine near Atocha. He relocated to the city of Tupiza, where he lived for many years before returning to Oruro, where he passed away in April 1991.
My mother Zdenka married Abel Martinez Mendez, a career military officer, in 1962. Together they lived throughout Bolivia and abroad. They had four children: Ljubica Casta, José Abel, Damir Mauricio, and Davor. Damir Mauricio passed away in 1997. Today, Ljubica and Davor live in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and José Abel lives in Asunción, Paraguay. He has two daughters, Camila and Sofia, and is currently married to Marie Lissi Arauz.
Sonja married Edgar Rocabado, a mining engineer from a prominent mining family in Cochabamba. They had four children: Claudia, Christian, Romina, and Fabricio. Claudia married Mirko Armijo Aillón, and they have three daughters—Luciana Alexis, Romina Tamara, and Rafaella Claudia Armijo—and live in Canada. Luciana married John Shaw, and they have two children—Hudson Edgar and Lupita Reign.
Christian married Daniela Valverde, and they have a son named Branko. They live in Cochabamba with Sonja. Romina married an American engineer, Brian Brodsky, and they have two children, Keira and Nathan, living in the United States. Fabricio has two sons, Nestor and Fabrizio Jr., and lives in La Paz.
By: Davor Martinez Mrden
Thanks to Snježana Dedić who connected us.