Buenos Aires
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| Capital | — |
| Area | 203 km² |
| Population | 2,776,138 (2001) |
| Density | 13,679.6/km² |
| Governor | Jorge Telerman* |
| Demonym | Porteño |
| ISO 3166-2 | AR-C |
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| *Note: Governor Aníbal Ibarra is suspended because he is being impeached. |
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Buenos Aires ("Fair Winds" in Spanish), originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires ("City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as one of the largest cities in Latin America and the world. Buenos Aires is located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent, opposite Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Buenos Aires is located at 34°40′S 58°24′W (-34.667, -58.40).
After the internal conflicts of the 19th century, Buenos Aires was federalised and removed from Buenos Aires Province; its city limits were enlarged to include the former towns of Belgrano and Flores (both are now neighbourhoods in the city).
Argentines sometimes refer to the city as Capital Federal to differentiate the city from the province of the same name. In the 1994 constitution, it was declared an Autonomous City (hence the formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires).
Population
The people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños ("people of the port"), acknowledging the major historical importance of the port in the development of the city and the whole nation.
The population of Buenos Aires consists primarily of Argentines of Spanish and Italian descent. The vast majority of these originate from the Galician, Asturian, and Basque regions of Spain, and the Calabrian, Ligurian and Neapolitan regions of Italy.
There are also sizable communities of people with Arab, Jewish, Armenian, British, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean origins (see also: Asian-Argentines). Also, there is a mixed Spanish-aboriginal (mestizo/ criollo) minority, mostly immigrants from Bolivia and Paraguay.
Most inhabitants are Roman Catholic. Sizable Jewish and Muslim communities have existed for over 100 years, and Evangelic churches have steadily increased their ranks since the 1980s.
The city proper has a population of 2,776,138 according to the 2001 census [ INDEC], while the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation has more than 11.4 million inhabitants. Suburbanites are called porteños and also bonaerenses; only the last term applies to the inhabitants from the rest of the Buenos Aires province.
Economy
Buenos Aires is the financial, industrial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in the world; navigable rivers connect it to north-east Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the distribution hub for a vast area of the south-eastern region of the continent.
To the west of Buenos Aires is the Pampa Húmeda, the most productive agricultural region of Argentina (as opposed to the dry southern pampa, mostly used for cattle farms). Meat, dairy, grain, tobacco, wool and hide products are processed or manufactured in the Buenos Aires area. Other leading industries are automobile manufacturing, oil refining, metalworking, machine building, and the production of textiles, chemicals, clothing, and beverages.
History
Spanish seaman Juan Díaz de Solís discovered the Río de la Plata in 1516 but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed (and supposedly cannibalized) by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe (disputed).
The city was first founded as Santa María del Buen Ayre on February 2, 1536 by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The name was chosen by Mendoza's chaplain, who was a devout follower of the Virgine de Bonaria (Our Lady of the Fair Winds) of Cagliari, Sardinia. The location of Mendoza's city was on today's San Telmo district (south of the city center).
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 sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción (now capital of Paraguay).
From its earliest days the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. The Spanish administration of the 17th and 18th centuries insisted that all trade to Europe initially pass through Lima, Peru so that taxes could be collected. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires and a thriving contraband industry developed. Unsurprisingly, this also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards Spanish authorities.
Sensing this instability, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 1700s. Those placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the porteños, some of them versed in the ideology of the French revolution, became even more desirous of independence from Spain.
During the British invasions of the Río de la Plata British forces invaded Buenos Aires twice in 1806–1807 but were rebuffed by local militias. Ultimately, on May 25, 1810, while Spain endured the Peninsular War and after a week of mostly pacific deliberations, the criollo citizens of Buenos Aires successfully ousted the Spanish Viceroy and established a provincial government; the date is now celebrated as a national holiday ( May Revolution Day). Formal independence from Spain was declared only in 1816.
Buenos Aires historically was Argentina's main stage for liberal and free-trade ideas, with many of the provinces advocating for a more conservative-Catholic approach. Many tensions within Argentine history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the 19th century, can be traced back to this contrast.
In the 19th century the city suffered naval blockades on two occasions: first by the French, from 1838 to 1840, and then a joint Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to surrender the city, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands.
Railroad construction near the end of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories, and the town became a metropolitan and multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. For example, the Teatro Colón was one of the world's top opera venues. The city's main avenues were built in those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's tallest buildings and first subway.
By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favoured destination for immigrants from Europe, as well as from the poorer provinces and neighboring countries, and large shanty towns ( villas miseria) started growing around the city's industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems.
During the 20th century, the military seized power several times. Buenos Aires was also the cradle of Peronism: the now-mythical demonstration of October 17, 1945 took place in Plaza de Mayo. Industrial workers of the Buenos Aires suburbia have been Peronism's main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for social demonstrations and many of the country's political events.
On June 16, 1955, the military uprising that would (three months later) depose President Perón (the Revolución Libertadora) sent planes that bombed the Plaza de Mayo area. It was the only time the city was attacked from the air.
In the 1970s, the city suffered from the fighting between revolutionary movements (the left-wing Montoneros, E.R.P. and F.A.R.) and the right-wing paramilitary group Triple A. The military coup of 1976 only escalated this conflict; the " Dirty War" produced between 10,000 and 30,000 desaparecidos. The silent marches of their mothers ( Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) are a well-known image of Argentine suffering during those times.
The city was visited by Pope John Paul II on two occasions: in 1982, due to the outbreak of the Falklands (Malvinas) War, and a second visit in 1987, which gathered crowds never seen before in the city.
On March 17, 1992 a bomb exploded in the Israeli Embassy killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on July 18, 1994 destroyed a building housing several Jewish organizations killing 85 and injuring many more (See AMIA bombing).
Culture
Language variations
Argentines refer to their language as castellano ( Castilian). The dialect spoken in Buenos Aires (as well as in other large cities like Rosario and Montevideo, Uruguay) is characterised by voseo, yeísmo and aspiration or loss of syllable-final -s. Due to its geographical location, it is known as Rioplatense Spanish.
In the early 20th century, Argentina absorbed millions of immigrants, mostly from Italy and Spain. Italian immigrants spoke mostly in their local dialects (mainly Napulitano, Sicilianu and Genovese), and their adoption of Spanish was gradual. A pidgin of Italian dialects and Spanish called cocoliche was widely heard in the beginning of the 20th century; its usage decayed around the 1950s, and today survives mostly as comic relief.
As many Spanish immigrants were from Galicia, to the extent that Spaniards are still called gallegos (Galicians), Galician language and culture had a major presence in the city for most of the 20th century. In recent years, descendants of Galician immigrants have led a mini-boom in Celtic music (which also highlighted the Welsh traditions of Patagonia).
Yiddish was common in Buenos Aires, especially in the Balvanera garment neighborhood, until the 1960s. A lively Korean language and Chinese language press has developed since the 1980s. Most of the newer immigrants learn Spanish quickly and assimilate into city life.
The lunfardo argot originated within the prison population, and spread to all porteños with time. Lunfardo uses words from Italian dialects, and tricks such as inverting the syllables within a word ( vesre). Lunfardo is used by porteños mostly in informal settings, yet its use is decaying and it is used almost exclusively by adult people and the elderly.
Tango
Tango was originally danced only with male partners, because it was deemed too sexually explicit to dance with a man and a woman. In 1902, the Teatro Opera started organising tango balls. In the 1920s, tango was adopted by the Parisian high society and then all over the world.
The Buenos Aires style of tango music evolved into an elaborated genre. In its heyday, tango had many famous orchestras such as those led by Aníbal Troilo and Juan D'Arienzo, and singers such as Carlos Gardel and Edmundo Rivero.
Buenos Aires now holds an annual "Tango Day" each December 11.
In San Telmo, Sundays are devoted to tango shows on the streets and antiques trade in the bazaars around Dorrego Square.