2024-07-21 04:43:00
Enrico settled in Colonia Lucinda in Chipoletti and, like his compatriots, worked very much in the valley. The pioneer families who settled in northern Patagonia cultivated the land, planted and planted, doing a productive job that still bears fruit today.
Enrico Montelpare (Rigo) and Cunegonda Perticarini (Donina) are each from Italy looking for better opportunities in the United States. They met at a party in the port of Colonia Blanca in Rome. Don Enrico was born on January 15, 1891 in Fermo, Italy, and on November 13, 1899 in Sant’ Elipidio a Mare. Enrico was the son of Angelo Monteparre and Catarina Scola, while his wife was the daughter of Pedro Petticarini and Maria Scocco. Cunegonda came to Puerto Blanca from Italy to settle with her parents and siblings. We believe that Enrico and his brothers, accompanied by some families unknown to us, came to Puerto Blanca and first settled there.
In general, many Italians come to a villa community in Puerto Blanca called Aldea Romana, where they get their first jobs and share their experiences. Later Enrico settled in Chipoletti with his brothers José and Eduardo. His sister Maria remained in Puerto Blanca. These men built two wineries in Colonia Lucinda, with their respective vineyards and residences located on the same plot of land but separated by an internal street.
Around 1915, Enrico traveled to Puerto Blanca to attend a party at the Aldea Romana. They danced with his future wife; she told him that his parents were sending him to work on a ranch owned by some Germans in Medanos to help around the house. Upon hearing the news, Monteparre told her “she was too beautiful for this” and asked her to marry him. After talking to their parents, they were married on April 29, 1915, a few days following meeting, when Enrico and Donina were very young.
The new couple moved to Chipoletti on a horse-drawn “seeder”. The journey was long, taking regarding five or six days, and had some obstacles to overcome. But nothing can stop the couple from reconciling. They have seven children, four girls and three boys. The family was busy planting, pruning, harvesting and working in the winery from morning till night. In addition to working on the farm and in the winery, Rigo was also involved in the construction of the old bridge between Neuquén and Chipoletti.
Sometimes he did not return home and they slept in tents with his companions. Life was very difficult at the time and Enrico went out to hunt hares and wood pigeons so that Nona might use the birds to cook polenta (a typical food for immigrants, especially those from the Veneto region of Italy).
During those years, the products of the farms and wineries were delivered to the grocery store “El Diente de Oro”, which traded the goods for their production.
Additionally, it acts as a “bank” that accepts deposits for the remainder of the year. He sold wine in Bordalesa, sometimes shipping it by train to nearby towns, as well as to the ports of Olavarria and Blanca. Donina worked with her daughters around the house, sewing clothes for the family, and working together on the farm and winery. There is never a shortage of pancakes, homemade sweets, preserves and Patero wine when you visit them. As time went on, the situation improved and the children grew up and became independent. They bought a house in the town and another farm in Cinco Esquinas, where their eldest son Humberto (now married) later moved there.
In 1950, six of the seven children married and they moved to live “in the city” (as they called Cipoletti).
The children were married: – Humberto to Elvira Campetella – Adina to Octavio Campetella. -Aida and Jose Robles. Ricardo and Beatrice (Pocha) Muana. -Lía and Alberto Ferragut – Palmira and Rafael Luciani. -Armandito, his son, died of peritonitis at the age of eight.
Despite living in a “small town,” Enrico rides his bike to the farm every day. Filled with love and commitment to the task, he embarked on the journey on December 20, 1960. “He dedicated his life to work and left us a legacy of sacrifice, thinking of a better tomorrow for his descendants,” his granddaughters insist. Heartfelt words, no less sentimental, leaving us eternally grateful to our ancestors.
Beatriz carolina chavez.
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#Enrico #Monteparare #pioneer #loves #land
