Ep. 134: Julian Cattaneo - Reflections on an Immigrant Experience

This is a special episode for me. My guest is none other than my father, Julian Cattaneo. My dad is a retired university professor. He taught Business Administration at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. That’s where he is based, but it’s not where he was born, nor is it where I was born.

This conversation is based on my mom and dad’s decision to emigrate from Argentina to Canada in 1977. I was only four years old at the time. That is a major decision for anyone to make and I wanted to explore the whys and hows of that decision with him. I think there is a lot that you can take away from it.

It is nice but a bit strange to interview your father. I recorded this in early March in Canada. I am based in the UK but was visiting. This was just before the declaration of a global pandemic because of Covid19 . Like many of you with loved ones, particularly older loved ones, I don’t know when I will see him again and I am concerned for him given what coronavirus does to older people. However, I am grateful to have had this conversation and to bring it to you.

We cover:

The context around life in Argentina in the 1970s and the reasons for the move; How he and my mother made the decision; The push and pull any decision to immigrate; Life in North America; How the decision worked out; Any “rules” or a philosophy my dad has around how the runs his life

Show notes:

The University of Windsor

The University of Michigan

Argentine foods mentioned:

            Mate

            Dulce de leche

The Dirty War

Germany’s Gastarbeiter programme

Bad math on at MSNBC

Ben Goldacre

Some books on Argentine history:

            A History of Argentina in the 20th Century by Luis Alberto Romero

            Dirty secrets, dirty war by Robert J. Cox

            A State of Fear: Memories of Argentina’s Nightmare by Andrew Graham-Yooll

            Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number by Jacobo Timerman

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