Location Information

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Language: Spanish, English
Currency: Argentinean Peso (ARS)

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic is a South American country, second in size on the continent to Brazil and eighth in the world. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south.

The first signs of human presence in Argentina are located in the Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz), and date from 11,000 BC. Around 1 AD, several maize-based civilizations developed in the Andean region. In 1480, the Inca Empire under the rule of emperor Pachacutec launched an offensive and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina. European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580; the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776.

Argentina is subject to a variety of climates. As a rule, the climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to sub polar in the far south. The north of the country is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has hot summers with thunderstorms and cool winters. The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones.

Argentine culture has been primarily informed and influenced by its European roots. Buenos Aires, considered by many its cultural capital, is often said to be the most European city in South America.

Argentine food is influenced by cuisine from Spain, Italy, Germany, France and other European countries, and many foods from those countries such as pasta, sausages, and desserts are common in the nation's diet. Argentina has a wide variety of staple foods, which include empanadas, a stuffed pastry; locro, a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd; and chorizo, a meat-based spicy sausage. The Argentine barbecue, asado, is one of the most famous in the world and includes various types of meats, among them chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and blood sausage.

Argentines like to party and even the smallest of towns in rural areas have late night bars and discos. Nightlife in Buenos Aires is particularly vibrant and the city has become a centre for South American clubbing, boasting line-ups of world famous visiting and home-grown DJs. Things rarely get going until midnight and the music keeps pumping until well after daylight. Tango is the traditional music and dance of Argentina and each night performers showcase this heartfelt art form in clubs in most major cities. People who want to dance themselves can learn and practice the tango at lively milongas (tango nightclubs).

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata.

Portuguese seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, and was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata, in 1516, but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed by the native Charrúa tribe, in today's Uruguay. More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away, and in 1541 the site was abandoned. A second and permanent settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who arrived by sailing down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay).

The city has a temperate climate. Rain can be expected at any time of year. Many locals leave Buenos Aires during the hot summer months (December, January and February) and head for seaside resorts on the Atlantic coast.

Tango music was born in the suburbs, notably in the brothels of the Junín y Lavalle district and in the arrabales (poorer suburbs). Its sensual dance moves were not seen as respectable until adopted by the Parisian high society in the 1920s, and then all over the world. In Buenos Aires, tango-dancing schools (known as academias) were usually men-only establishments.

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