Dreams of students from Patagonia come true on visit to Wales

Nation Cymru staff

The dreams of 4 pupils from Y Wladfa, came true last month as they travelled to Wales for the first time

A group of students from Y Wladfa, the Welsh colony in Patagonia, visited a Welsh university campus as part of their tour of Wales and some of the nation’s most important events and locations.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) was the most recent destination to welcome the group of students and a teacher from Patagonia to the Carmarthen campus.

The visit was organised by Llinos Howells and Ariela Gibbon, a teacher at Ysgol Gerdd y Gaiman and former headteacher of Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaiman.

The group arrived on 21 May and have been busy visiting the Eisteddfod, Glan-llyn, Aberystwyth and a number of other venues, before arriving in Carmarthen.

Coleg Camwy is a school for 11-17 year olds located in Gaiman, Chubut province, Patagonia. The students started their Welsh language journey at Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaiman at the age of 4, and Coleg Camwy ensures that students can continue to learn the Welsh language, develop their confidence to use it and promote the culture, language and heritage of Wales.

The links between Wales and Patagonia are deep and historical, starting back in 1865 when the Mimosa ship sailed to South America and specifically to the province of Chubut. Today, the ties are as strong as ever.

A number of staff from the University’s Welsh Language Services Centre have taken up the opportunity to work in Patagonia in the past as teachers or as Welsh Language Development Officers.

The University’s Welsh Language Services Centre has appreciated the support from schools in Y Wladfa while creating their new resource Dewch i Deithio a Dysgu Sbaeneg Patagonia (‘Come Travelling and Learn Patagonian Spanish’). The units include clips of learners from Y Wladfa speaking Spanish as well as instructions on how to learn one of the country’s traditional dances.

Eluned Grandis, Lecturer and Project Co-ordinator from the University’s Welsh Language Services Centre, said: “This is not the first time that the University has welcomed a group from Patagonia to the campus, and with the children and practitioners of Ysgol y Cwm, the Andes, having contributed towards the Dewch i Deithio a Dysgu Sbaeneg Patagonia project, it’s wonderful to see the partnership go from strength to strength.”

During their visit to the Carmarthen campus, the group from Yr Wladfa had the opportunity to visit the immersive room. The type of activities the Centre undertakes were demonstrated during school visits and lectures with students, sharing videos from the Dewch i Deithio a Dysgu Sbaeneg Patagonia resource.

During the afternoon, the group from Yr Wladfa performed in front of university staff and students at Canolfan S4C Yr Egin. They performed two dances, La Chacarera and the Samba, and their new clog dancing skills were showcased with a dance to accompany the song ‘Patagonia’ which won ‘Cân i Gymru’ in 2023.

Ariela Gibbon said: “I’m so happy that young people from Patagonia who have learned Welsh since they were young children and who have kept the Welsh traditions there in South America have been able to come here and have special experiences in Wales. We’re very happy and the youngsters want to come back soon! Thank you for the warm welcome in Carmarthen and thank you to everyone who has helped us on this journey.”

The Centre and the University would like to thank the group for taking the time to come to the campus. It was lovely to have the opportunity to chat, discuss resources and developments in the curriculum and the Welsh language. Best wishes to the group as they go to universities soon and we look forward to welcoming another group from Yr Wladfa next year.