This was our first trip to the country of Argentina. After traveling 1117 Nautical miles from Rio de Janeiro,we arrived on November 19, 2007 at 6:28 am. Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world and is the second largest country in South America in area and in population. Only Brazil covers a greater area and has more people. Argentina has a long, tapered shape and occupies most of the southern part of South America. It is made up of 23 provinces. The landscape varies dramatically throughout Argentina. The rugged Andes Mountains strech along the country's western border. A bare, windswept plateau called Patagonia extends across the south. The Pampa. a fertile, grassy plain, lies near the middle of the country. Forests spread across much of the north. The first Spanish settlers came to Argentina in search of silver and gold during the 1550's. For nearly 300 years Argentina was a Spanish colony. Argentina gained its independence in the early 1800s and became a republic in 1853. Most of the time since 1930, military dictators have ruled the country. Argentina's Constitution, which was adopted in 1853, established the country as a republic. About 86 per cent of Argentina's people live in cities and towns. Large parts of the country are thinly settled. Santiago del Estero, in the foothills of the Andes, in 1551 was founded by colonists from Peru. It is the oldest permanent Spanish settlement in Argentina.
Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city, is the nation's leading center of industry, trade, and culture. About a third of all Argentines live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Buenos Aires is divided into 47 different barrios (districts). It has a population of 3 million, stretching to 13 million in greater Buenos Aires area. The Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza established a riverside city in 1536. A fort was established, but abandoned after a few years because of the conflicts with the Native Americans. A permanent base was founded in 1580, but grew slowly. The easternmost section of the city along the bank of the Rio de la Plata is the main area of interest for tourists.
We purchased a tour of Buenous Aires Highlights which gave us an overview of the city and took us to a number of common visited areas. We saw the downtown area, the La Boca area, the Recoleta Cementary.
The Cementerio de la Recoleta is the burial ground for the rich and famous, and the most expensive property in the country. It was inaugurated in 1882 and contains the remains of the nation's great leaders. One of the most visited tombs is that of Evita Peron. She is buried here with other members of the Duarte family, 30 feet underground to keep her enemies from stealing her body, as happened in 1955.
Juan Peron was born Oct 1895 in Southern Argentina. He moved up through the government and was the reputed power behind the new military government after a revolution in June 943. He met Eva (known as Evita) Duarte in 1944 when she was a successful Radio actress. Evita was born in the squalid village of Los Toldos in 1919, one of five illegitimate children her mother bore to Juan Duarte. She married Juan Peron in 1945. Evita assisted him in his rise to power and called his constituency to his aid. In 1945, an army coup was on the point of success when Evita called in her chips. Upwards of 200,000 supporters entered the capital city and demanded that Peron be their president. The colonel accepted the mandate of the Argentine people. Evita became Peron's contact with the country's labor unions by establishing the social Aid Foundation. Evita died of cancer on July 26, 1952. Juan Peron lost his presidency after the Roman Catholic Church broke with him when he challenged the church's authority in 1955. Peron did not qualify to be buried in the Cementerio de la Recoleta and is instead buried in a cementary in another part of town.
The Tango was the first Latin American dance to gain great international popularity. The Tango is a ballroom dance in slow time with an irregularly accented beat.The dancing couple glide smoothly through a variety of step patterns. The music for this dance is also called tango, and is very dramatic. Todays tango probably began as an Argentine dance called the milonga and includes elements of the Andalusian tango from Spain and the Cuban habanera. The tango was popularized in the United States about 1912 by Vernon and Irene Castle, a famous ballroom dance team.
La Boca, one of the 47 Barrios, became home to Spanish and Italian immigrants who settled along the Riachuelo, the sinuous river that divides the city from the surrounding province of Buenos Aires. Many came during the booming 1880s and ended up working in many meat-packing plants and warehouses here, processing and shipping out much of Argentina's vital beef. After sprucing up the shipping barges, the port dwellers splashed leftover paint on the corrugated-metal siding of their own houses - unwittingly giving La Boca what would become one of its claims to fame.
Caminito is the barrio's most famous street.
Florida Street, located in the downtown business district, is the main shopping area. There are good buys on leather and unique stones from Argentine.
©:2008 Bob Fox
