The capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, the most atypical and Europeanized of all cities in South America, is located in the central-eastern part of the country, on the western bank of the Rio de la Plata, in the steppe pampa zone. This largest city in the country has the status of a special subject of the Argentine Republic - the Federal District. The capital is an autonomous city, one of the 24 provinces of Argentina. The autonomous city of Buenos Aires, in turn, is divided into 15 communes and 48 districts.
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| Buenos Aires |
Population
The population of Buenos Aires today is 3,063,728 people, but in general, with the suburbs, 14,598,065 people live in the so-called Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration. It is one of the most densely populated cities in South America, and its inhabitants proudly call themselves "porteños", which means inhabitants of the port. After all, despite the fact that it is quite far from the Atlantic Ocean, Buenos Aires lies on the shores of the widest oceanic bay, La Plata, and has always been the largest port in this region.
Buenos Aires, or Baires for short, has always been a very cosmopolitan city thanks to a powerful wave of immigration from Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, Argentina was considered one of the richest countries in the world, mainly due to the export of grain, meat, and wool. Hence the thousands of European immigrants who came here in search of prosperity.
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| Buenos Aires |
The bulk of the city's population are Spaniards and Italians of the first and second waves of immigration. The first wave is the direct descendants of the settlers of the Spanish colonial period, the second is the descendants of European immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Approximately 30% of the population are mestizos, as well as representatives of such nationalities as Jews, Arabs, Chinese, British, Armenians and others. Emigrants from different European countries created a special gene pool of the Argentine nation, and thus a completely white country appeared in South America, Catholic in spirit, Spanish-Italian in mentality and more or less European in style of life. The division of communities can be traced here very clearly, but it occurs not only along racial, but also along class lines, which is quite typical for the countries of Latin America.
Speaking about the appearance of porteños, we can say that almost all of them are white-skinned, unlike other South American countries, mixing with Indian tribes did not occur here. The indigenous inhabitants of Byres are surprisingly pleasant in communication, they are distinguished by a special ease, optionality, great self-confidence, the ability to keep up a conversation on any topic, the obligatory presence of their own opinion on any issue, from politics to household chores, as well as an irrepressible passion for life for show. Hence their way of life follows, with such obligatory attributes as going to cafes, restaurants, theaters. Porteños do not lock themselves in a home environment, they love to live outside the home, and even now, despite the crisis in the country, they live brightly and cheerfully. The same applies to travel, the passion for them is in the blood of Argentines.
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| Buenos Aires |
Geography
In terms of geographical conditions, Buenos Aires is located on a flat area, replete with rivers and lakes. This is the so-called steppe evergreen pampa, covered with herbaceous cereal vegetation. The Pampa is the main agricultural region of Argentina and is mainly used for cattle breeding. It was these geographical conditions that led to the cattle breeding boom in the country at the end of the 19th century. After all, the local soils and pastures are unusually favorable for the development of cattle breeding in general and special breeds of Argentine cows in particular. From here came the fame of the delicious and unsurpassed Argentinean meat, which has become a kind of hallmark of this South American country.
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| Buenos Aires |
Culture
Another peculiar visiting card of the country can be safely called the Argentine tango, which owes its origin to mass immigration. At the end of the 19th century, people from all over the world came to Buenos Aires in search of a better life, bringing the musical traditions of their countries here. Thus, a new dance arose in Buenos Aires, as a result of a mixture of different cultures and directions in music. You can read more about tango, its history and modernity - places where you can still enjoy this sensual dance today - in the " Things to do " section.
Another national tradition that you can touch in Buenos Aires is football, which in Argentina is the national sport and the biggest hobby of its inhabitants. Literally at every step you can buy all kinds of T-shirts and other souvenirs with football symbols of the Argentina national team and national football clubs. Another sacred name for Argentines is soccer player Diego Maradona.