The Limits of the Melting Pot in Urban Argentina: Marriage and Integration in Córdoba, 1869-1909
A FTER their arrival in Argentine cities, both immigrants and in-migrants applied themselves to seeking their livelihoods; once they contemplated remaining in the same area, they would make additional efforts to cement their social ties to their new environment through appropriate marriages. Here we will examine a random sample of the marriages that noncordobes males contracted in the city of Cordoba between 1869 and 1909, during the period of massive immigration. We will focus on the types of brides they selected and on the degrees of social integration and mobility they achieved through marriage.' The city of Cvrdoba was selected because it has always played a crucial role in Argentine political life, it has been a focus of the nation's intellectual activity, and it constituted a central juncture between the northern and western regions and the metropolis of Buenos Aires. Furthermnore, in geographical area and population it has continually vied with the city of Rosario for second place among Argentine cities. Cordoba's size facilitates research. Documentation consulted for this study is not yet available in much larger centers,