The first South American Chess Championship (Torneo Sudamericano, Torneio Sulamericano) was held in Montevideo (Carrasco), Uruguay, on December 25, 1921 – January 22, 1922. The eighteen-player single round-robin tournament was won by Roberto Grau 14/17, followed by Benito Villegas, Valentin Fernandez Coria and Rolando Illa, all got 12.5/17, etc.
The Torneio Sulamericano was replaced in 1951 by the Torneio Zonal Sulamericano, except for 1962 (*) when the Torneo Latino-americano was played.
References
South American Chess Championship Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA