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You are in the Croatian Quarter, a few blocks back from the Strait, north of the Río de las Minas. Most Croatians in Magallanes came from one island, Brač, in Dalmatia. Phylloxera was killing its vines, young men were fleeing long service in the Austro-Hungarian army, and from here came news of gold on Tierra del Fuego and the islands to its south. By 1907 there were more than seventeen hundred. Many settled here as bakers, carpenters, boat builders and masons; nearby Calle Croacia was once Calle Progreso. Their surnames are still all over the city.
Source: Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales de Chile, ficha «Inmigrantes Croatas». · Gobierno de Chile, Embajada en Croacia, «El embajador Cristián Streeter realizó visita a la isla de Brač, cuna de…», 2021. · Memoria Chilena (Biblioteca Nacional de Chile), «Inmigración croata en Chile (1864-1930)». · Visitando Punta Arenas, «Barrio Croata». · barriocroata.cl, «Historias / Límites» and «El barrio Croata». · La Prensa Austral, «Deportivo Progreso: 78 años de historia en el Barrio Croata», 23 de diciembre de 2020.