 Argentina
Argentina
Prayer Coordinator
Sandy Whittall
swhittall@samregion.com
Argentina's
Team Websites
Full country name:
República Argentina
Area: 2.77 million sq km
Population: 37.81 million
Capital City: Buenos Aires
People: 85% European descent,
15% mestizo, Indian and other minorities
Language: Quechua, Guarani,
Araucanian, Spanish
Religion: 93% Roman Catholic,
2.5% Protestant, 2% Jewish, 1.5% Ukranian
Catholic, 1% Armenian Orthodox
Government: republic
Culture
European influences permeate Argentina's
art, architecture, literature and lifestyle
yet it manages to retain a healthy and unique
identity of its own, evident in the writings
of Argentinian authors such as Jorge Luis
Borges and Manuel Puig, whose works have
pushed Argentina onto the world stage. Known
for the liveliness of the tango, the exploits
of Maradona and the beauty of the language,
Argentina prides itself on its energy and
its talent for sumptous living.
With the education of many Argentines taking
place in Europe, Buenos Aires in particular
has self-consciously emulated European cultural
trends in art, music and architecture. As
a result, there are many important art museums
and galleries in the city. Argentine cinema
has also achieved international stature,
and has been used as a vehicle to purge
the horrors of the Dirty War.
In the field of literature in particular,
there has been a significant cross-cultural
transaction with Europe, with Argentina
producing writers of international stature
such as Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar,
Ernesto Sábato, Manuel Puig and Osvaldo
Soriano.
Meat dominates Argentina's menus, and 'meat'
means beef. Mixed grills (parrillada) are
apparently the way to go, serving up a cut
of just about every part of the animal:
tripe, intestines, udders - the lot. In
this vegetarian's nightmare, Italian favorites,
such as gnocchi (ñoquis), are a welcome
alternative. Exquisite Argentine ice cream
(helado) deserves a special mention - again
reflecting Italian influences. The sharing
of mate, Paraguayan tea, is a ritual more
than a beverage, and if offered is a special
expression of acceptance. The leaves, a
relation to holly, are elaborately prepared
and the mixture is drunk from a shared gourd.
Probably the best known manifestation of
Argentine popular culture is the tango -
a dance and music which has captured the
imagination of romantics worldwide. Folk
music is also thriving, as is a vigorous
theater community.
Spanish is the official language, but some
immigrant communities retain their language
as a badge of identity. Italian is widely
understood, reflecting the influence of
the country's single largest immigrant group,
and BBC English is the preserve of the Anglo
community. There are 17 native languages,
including Quechua, Mapuche, Guaraní,
Tobas and Matacos.
Environment
Argentina forms the eastern half of South
America's long, tapering tail. It's a big
country - the eighth largest in the world,
and the second largest on the South American
continent. It borders Chile to the west
(separated by the Andean Cordilleras range)
and Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia
to the north and east (separated by rivers).
It also shares the offshore island territory
of Tierra del Fuego with Chile, and continues
to dispute the ownership of the Islas Malvinas
(the Falklands to the Brits). Argentina's
topography is affected by both latitude
and altitude, and is accordingly varied.
The country can be divided into four major
physiographic provinces: the Andes to the
west (with arid basins, grape-filled foothills,
glacial mountains and the Lake District),
the fertile lowland north (with subtropical
rainforests), the central Pampas (a flat
mix of humid and dry expanses) and Patagonia
(a combination of pastoral steppes and glacial
regions).
The diversity of Argentina's landscape
from north to south, east and west preserves
unique thorn forests, virgin rainforests,
flowering cacti, extensive forests of araucarias
(monkey-puzzle trees) and southern beech.
These are protected and managed within the
country's extensive national park setup.
More than twenty national parks preserve
large areas of these varied environments
and protect wildlife (much of it unique)
such as the caiman (or yacaré), puma,
guanaco (a lowland relative of the upper-Andean
llama), rhea (similar to an ostrich), Andean
condor, flamingo, various marine mammals
and unusual seabirds such as Magellanic
penguins.
Teams
in Argentina
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