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officially ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Argentina: occupying most of the southern portion of South America. It is the eighth largest country in the world, with an area of 1,073,399 square miles (2,780,092 square kilometers). Shaped like an inverted triangle with its base at the top, it is only about 884 miles (1,423 kilometers) across at its widest from east to west, but it stretches 2,360 miles from the subtropical north to the sub Antarctic south. This great length embraces regions of striking diversity, including the Andes Mountains; the thorny scrubland and seasonal swamps of the Gran Chaco; the broad, fertile plains of the Pampa; the stark tableland of Patagonia; and an undulating Atlantic coastline of 2,936 miles. Argentina also claims a portion of Antarctica, as well as several islands in the South Atlantic, including the British-ruled Falklands (Islas Malvinas). It is bounded by Chile on the south and west, Bolivia and Paraguay on the north, and Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. For many foreigners, especially Europeans, Argentina has presented the traditional New World image of a land of romance and opportunity. It received its name, roughly translated as "land of silver" or "silvery one," from Spanish explorers of the 16th century who were lured there by rumors that portrayed the presence of vast mineral wealth. In the 19th century the former colony of Spain was the land of gauchos, the lone horsemen of the pampas, and of estancieros, ranchers who lived like kings on estancias the size of small countries. In the last part of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th, Argentina became for the poor of Europe a place where they could earn a decent living on the expansive farmland of the interior or in the growing cities of the coast. During this period millions of immigrants came to Argentina, bringing skills that helped transform it into a modern country whose agriculture and industry remain among the most productive of Latin America. Historically, Argentina has repeatedly been subject to rule by a caudillo figure, a strong leader, often of the military, who dominated the nation, usually until he was deposed or died. During its periods of democratic rule, Argentina has been administered as a federation of autonomous states with a republican system of government. In the late 20th century, Argentina has been set back by failed policies that led to misadventures such as the Falkland Islands war of the early 1980s, a venture that cost Argentina dearly in terms of both morale and finances. Moreover, economic policies promulgated by the government have at times bought or exacerbated hyperinflation. Its recovery from such disappointments and its future development are based on the potential manifested in its excellent resources and its well-educated populace. Argentina encompasses a variety of major landforms that are often grouped together into four major regions: the Andes, the North, the Pampa, and Patagonia. The Andean region extends some 2,300 miles along the western edge of the country, from Bolivia to southern Patagonia, forming most of the natural boundary with Chile. It is commonly subdivided into two parts: the Northwest and the Patagonian Andes, the latter of which is discussed here under Patagonia. The North is commonly described in terms of its two main divisions: the Gran Chaco, or Chaco, comprising the dry lowlands between the Andes and the Paraná River, and Mesopotamia, an area between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. The centrally located plains, or Pampa, are grasslands subdivided into arid western and more humid eastern parts called, respectively, the Dry Pampa and the Humid Pampa. Patagonia is the cold, parched, windy region that extends some 1,200 miles south of the Pampa, from the Colorado River to Tierra del Fuego.
Cultural life Heritage and daily life Because almost all Argentines are descendants of relatively recent immigrants from Europe, their culture has a more distinctly European orientation than that of their fellow Latin Americans. The people of Buenos Aires, the porteños, often call their city the Paris of South America, and, with its culture and glamour, it probably earns that name. But there is another Argentina away from the capital: this is the Argentina of the Pampa and the interior. The interior gave to all Argentines their symbol of national identity, the gaucho, who occupies a position in South American lore similar to that of the cowboy in the United States. Scorned in his heyday of the 18th and 19th centuries as a drinker and vagabond, this mestizo ranch hand rode the open rangeland of the huge estancias in pursuit of wild horses and criollo cattle. Eventually Argentines came to see him as a character whose solitary life in the open taught him self-reliance, courage, indifference to hardship, and love of the land--traits that represented the ideal of their national character. Another hybrid of the Old and New Worlds is the tango, which emerged from the poor immigrant quarters of Buenos Aires toward the end of the 19th century and quickly became famous around the world as the Argentine national dance. Influenced by the Spanish tango and, possibly, the Argentine milonga, it was originally a high-spirited local dance, but, popularized by such singers as Carlos Gardel, it became an elegant ballroom form danced to melancholy tunes. The combination of Old and New World cultures is also seen in the Argentine diet. Southern European influences appear especially in the cities, where breakfast is often a light serving of rolls and coffee, and supper is taken, in the Spanish tradition, after nine o'clock at night. The Italian influence is seen in the popularity of pasta dishes. But the New World asserts itself in the Argentine passion for beef, which is overwhelmingly preferred to other meats and fish. Mate, the native tealike beverage brewed from yerba mate leaves, is popular in the countryside. |