Buenos Aires
Ray Mas
- For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation).
| Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires |
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| Nickname: Reina del Plata | |||
| Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:34|36|36.00|S|58|22|11.99|W|type:city | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| name= }} | |||
| Established | 1536, 1580 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Chief of Government | Jorge Telerman (Mauricio Macri elected as successor) | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 203 km² (78.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 203 km² (78.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 4,758 km² (1,837.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2003 est.) | |||
| - City | 2,768,772 | ||
| - Density | 13,679.6/km² (35,430/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 13,349,000 | ||
| Website: http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/ (Spanish) | |||
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port. It is located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent.
After the internal conflicts of the nineteenth century, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province in 1880; its city limits were enlarged to include the former towns of Belgrano and Flores; both are now neighborhoods in the city.
Names
Buenos Aires (English: Fair Winds, pronounced [ˈbwe.nɔs ˈaj.ɾɛs]) was originally named after the Virgine de Bonaria of Cagliari, Sardinia.
Argentines sometimes refer to the city as Capital Federal to differentiate the city from the province of the same name. In the 1994 constitution, the city was given autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
The abbreviations Bs. As., Baires and B.A. are sometimes used, the first one mostly in writing and the latter two in everyday speech. The city is sometimes called La Reina del Plata, that is, "The Queen of the Plate" (a reference to the Plate river basin).
History
Portuguese seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata, in 1516, but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe, in today's Uruguay.
The city was first established as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre[1] (literally "City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") on February 2, 1536 by a Spanish expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The location of Mendoza's city was in 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 arrived by sailing down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay).
From its earliest days, the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. During most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Spain insisted that all trade to Europe 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 (residents of Buenos Aires) towards Spanish authorities.[1]
Sensing these feelings, Carlos 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 repulsed 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 provisional government. May 25 is now celebrated as a national holiday (May Revolution Day). Formal independence from Spain was declared only in 1816.
Historically, Buenos Aires has been Argentina's main center for liberal and free-trade ideas, while many of the provinces, especially to the Northwest, advocated a more conservative-Catholic approach to political and social issues. Many tensions within Argentine history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the nineteenth century, can be traced back to these contrasting views.
In the nineteenth century the city suffered naval blockades on two occasions: by the French from 1838 to 1840, and a joint Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to gain surrender of the city, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands.
During most of the nineteenth century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. It was already capital of Buenos Aires Province, and between 1853 and 1860 it was the capital of the seceded State of Buenos Aires. The issue was debated more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880, when the city was federalized and became the seat of government, with its mayor appointed by the president. The Casa Rosada became the seat of the office of the President.
Railroad construction in the second half of the nineteenth century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories; Buenos Aires became a multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. The Colón Theater became one of the world's top opera venues. The city's main avenues were built in those years, and the dawn of the twentieth century saw the construction of South America's then-tallest buildings and first subway network.
By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favored destination for immigrants from Europe, as well as from the poorer provinces and neighboring countries. Large shanty towns (villas miseria) started growing around the city's industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems, which contrasted sharply with Argentina's image as a country of riches.
Buenos Aires was the cradle of Peronism: the now-mythical demonstration of October 17, 1945 took place in Plaza de Mayo.[2] Industrial workers of the Greater Buenos Aires industrial belt have been Peronism's main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for demonstrations and many of the country's political events.
On June 16, 1955 a splinter faction of the navy bombed the Plaza de Mayo area, killing 364 civilians (see Bombing of Plaza de Mayo). This was the only time the city was attacked from the air. This event was followed by a military uprising that would depose President Perón three months later (see Revolución Libertadora).
In the 1970s, the city suffered from fighting between the left-wing revolutionary movements (Montoneros, E.R.P. and F.A.R.) and right-wing paramilitary groups Triple A, supported by Isabel Perón, who became president of Argentina in 1974, after Juan Perón's death.
The military coup of 1976, led by Jorge Rafael Videla, only escalated this conflict; the "Dirty War" produced between 10,000 and 30,000 desaparecidos, people kidnapped and killed by the military during the years of the junta.[3] 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 twice: 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).
On December 30 2004, a fire at República Cromagnon concert hall killed almost 200 people, the greatest non-natural tragedy in Argentine history.
Government and politics
In 1996, under the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, the city gained autonomous status, and held its first mayoral elections (the mayor's title was changed to "Chief of Government"). The winner was Fernando de la Rúa, who would be President of Argentina in the period from 1999 to 2001.
De la Rúa's successor, Aníbal Ibarra, won two popular elections, but was impeached (and ultimately deposed on March 6, 2006) as a result of the fire at República Cromagnon. Jorge Telerman, who had been the acting mayor, was invested with the office.
In the mayoral election of June 3, 2007, Mauricio Macri obtained a plurality of the vote, forcing a runoff election against Daniel Filmus on June 24, which Macri won with over 60 perecent of the vote. Macri will assume the office in December of 2007.
National representation
Buenos Aires is represented in the Argentine Senate by three senators (as of January 2007, Rodolfo Terragno, María Leguizamón and Vilma Ibarra).[4] The people of Buenos Aires also elect 25 national deputies for the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.
Barrios
The city is divided into 48 barrios (neighborhoods) for administrative purposes.[5] The division was originally based on Catholic parroquias (parishes), but has undergone a series of changes since the 1940s. A newer scheme has divided the city into 15 comunas (communes).[6]
Population
The people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (people of the port), due to the significance of the port in the development of the city and the nation. The people of Buenos Aires province (sometimes excluding the city's suburbia) are called bonaerenses.
Census data
According to the census, the city proper has a population of 2,776,138, while the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area has more than 12.4 million inhabitants (Template:Census-ar). The population of the city has been stagnant since the late 1960s, due to low birth rates and a slow emigration to suburbia.
Origin
Most porteños have European origins, with Spanish and Italian descent being the most common, mainly from the Galician, Asturian, and Basque regions of Spain, and the Calabrian, Ligurian, Piedmont, Lombardy and Neapolitan regions of Italy.
Other European origins include German, Portuguese, Polish, Irish, French, Croatian, English and Welsh. In the 1990s, there was a small wave of immigration from Romania and Ukraine.
There is a minority of old criollo stock, dating back to the Spanish colonial days. Criollo and Spanish-aboriginal (mestizo) population in the city has increased mostly as a result of migration, both from the provinces and from nearby countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, since the second half of the 20th century.
Important Arab (mostly Syrian-Lebanese) and Armenian communities have been significant in commerce and civic life since the beginning of the 20th century.
The Jewish community in Greater Buenos Aires numbers around 250,000, and is the largest in Latin America. Most are of Northern and Eastern European Ashkenazi origin, mostly German and Russian Jews; with a significant minority of Sephardic, mostly Syrian Jews.
The first major East Asian community in Buenos Aires was the Japanese, mainly from Okinawa. Traditionally, Japanese-Argentines were noted as flower growers; in the city proper, there was a Japanese near-monopoly in dry cleaning. Later generations have branched into all fields of activity. Ever since the 1970s there has been an important influx of immigration from China and Korea (see also: Asian-Argentines).
Religion
Most inhabitants are Roman Catholic. Buenos Aires is the seat of a Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop (who is the prelate of Argentina), as well as of several Eastern Orthodox and Anglican hierarchs. Evangelical churches have steadily increased their ranks since the 1980s.
Sizable Jewish and Muslim communities have existed in the city for over 100 years.
Climate
| Climate chart for Buenos Aires | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
119
30
20
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118
29
19
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134
26
17
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97
23
13
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74
19
10
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63
16
8
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66
15
8
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70
17
8
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73
19
10
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119
22
13
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109
25
15
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105
28
18
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| temperatures in °C precipitation totals in mm source: [1] | |||||||||||
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Imperial conversion
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The city has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen classification Cfa) with average temperatures in the afternoon ranging from 30°C (86°F) in January to 10°C (50°F) in July. Rain can be expected at any time of year. Snow fell on July 9, 2007 for the first time since 1918. Hailstorms are a more common phenomenon.
Many locals leave Buenos Aires during the hot summer months (December, January and February) and head for seaside resorts on the Atlantic coast.
Economy
Buenos Aires is the financial, industrial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in the world[citation needed]. Tax collection related to it has caused many political problems in the past [*]; navigable rivers by way of the Rio de la Plata connect the port 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 South American continent. In 2007 the city has a mean Nominal GDP per capita of around $US 14,000, which makes it one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America.
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 farming). 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.
Culture
Strongly influenced by European culture, Buenos Aires is sometimes referred to as the "Paris of South America".[7][1]
Buenos Aires is the site of the Teatro Colón, one of the world's greatest opera houses.[8] There are several symphony orchestras and choral societies. The city has numerous museums related to history, fine arts, modern arts, decorative arts, popular arts, sacred art, arts and crafts, theater and popular music, as well as the preserved homes of noted art collectors, writers, composers and artists. It harbors many public libraries and cultural associations as well as the largest concentration of active theaters in Latin America[citation needed]. It has a world-famous zoo and Botanical Garden, a large number of landscaped parks and squares, as well as churches and places of worship of many denominations, many of which are architecturally noteworthy.[8]
Language
Known as Rioplatense Spanish, Buenos Aires' Spanish (and also in other cities like Rosario and Montevideo, Uruguay) is characterized by voseo, yeísmo and aspiration or loss of syllable-final -s. It is heavily influenced by the dialects of Spanish spoken in Andalusia and Murcia. A phonetic study conducted by the Laboratory for Sensory Investigations of CONICET and the University of Toronto showed that the porteño accent is closer to the Neapolitan dialect of Italian than any other spoken language.
In the early twentieth century, Argentina absorbed millions of immigrants, many of them Italians, who spoke mostly in their local dialects (mainly Neapolitan, Sicilian and Genoan). Their adoption of Spanish was gradual, creating a pidgin of Italian dialects and Spanish that was called cocoliche. Its usage declined around the 1950s, and today survives mostly as comic relief.
As many Spanish immigrants were from Galicia, to the extent that Spaniards are still generically called gallegos (Galicians), Galician language, cuisine and culture had a major presence in the city for most of the twentieth 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 commonly heard in Buenos Aires, especially in the Balvanera garment district and in Villa Crespo, until the 1960s. Korean and Chinese have become significant since the 1970s. Most of the newer immigrants learn Spanish quickly and assimilate into city life.
The lunfardo argot originated within the prison population, and in time it spread to all porteños. Lunfardo uses words from Italian dialects, from Brazilian Portuguese, from African and Caribbean origin and even from English; and employs humorous tricks such as inverting the syllables within a word (vesre). Today, lunfardo is mostly heard on tango lyrics; the slang of the younger generations has been evolving away from it.
See also: Belgranodeutsch.
Tango
Tango music was born in the suburbs, notably in the brothels of the Junín y Lavalle district and in the arrabales (poorer suburbs). Its sensual dance moves were not seen as respectable until adopted by the Parisian high society in the 1920s, and then all over the world. In Buenos Aires, tango dancing schools (known as academias) were usually men-only establishments.
Starting in the 1920s, the Buenos Aires style of tango music evolved into an elaborate 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. Tango enjoyed a resurgence in global popularity later in the twentieth century due almost exclusively to Astor Piazzolla and his development of the tango nuevo style.
Buenos Aires 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. Tango shows can be found in establishments such as Rivero's El Viejo Almacén.[8]
Cinema
Buenos Aires has been the center of the Argentine cinema industry in Argentina for over 100 years since French camera operator Eugene Py directed the pioneering film La Bandera Argentina in 1897. Since then, over 2000 films have been directed and produced within the city, many of them referring to the city in their titles, such such as Buenos Aires Plateada, and Buenos Aires a la vista. The culture of tango music has been incorporated into many films produced in the city, especially since the 1930s. Many films have starred tango performers such as Hugo del Carril, Tita Merello, Carlos Gardel and Edmundo Rivero.
Tourism
The city has many museums, historical buildings, shopping centers, hotels. The main tourist attractions are around the downtown area, including Plaza de Mayo, Florida Street, San Telmo and Puerto Madero.
Transportation
Public transport
A majority of residents in Buenos Aires and its suburbs use public transportation. A Buenos Aires invention is the "colectivo," originally a small bus built out of a truck chassis and seating 21 to 27. Today they have grown in size and carry up to 60 passengers. Numerous colectivos and larger public buses traverse the city continuously each hour providing access to virtually all neighborhoods.
The Buenos Aires Metro (locally known as el subte, from "subterráneo" meaning "underground") is an extensive system providing access to various parts of the city. Opened in 1913, it is the oldest subway system in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Spanish-speaking world.[2] The system has five lines, named A to E, 80 stations, and 46 km (28 mi) of track. An expansion program is underway to enlarge existing lines deeper into the outer neighborhoods and add a new north-south line. Track length is expected to reach 89 km (55 mi) by the year 2011.
Buenos Aires had an extensive tramway network with over 857 km (535 mi) of track, which was dismantled during the 1960s in favor of bus transportation. A new 2-km light rail tram "Tranvía del Este" in the Puerto Madero district is now operating. Extensions planned will link the Retiro and Constitución terminal train stations.
Roadways
Buenos Aires used to be relatively congestion-free for a city of its size. Toll freeways opened in the late 1970s by then-mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore provided fast access to the downtown area, increasing the number of cars coming into the city. During Cacciatore's tenure, the streets of the downtown financial district (roughly one square kilometre in size) were declared off-limits to private cars during daytime. Main avenues of the city include the 140 meter (460 feet) wide 9 de Julio Avenue, the over-35-km-long (22 mi) Rivadavia Avenue,[9] and Corrientes Avenue, the main thoroughfare of culture and entertainment. Avenida General Paz is a motorway that surrounds Buenos Aires thus separating the city from Buenos Aires Province.
Following the economic mini-boom of the 1990s, more people started commuting by car, and congestion increased. Most major avenues are gridlocked at peak hours. Another source of congestion is the flight of many people to the country on weekends.
Black-and-yellow taxis roam the streets at all hours. Some of these are unlicensed (controls are not fully enforced), so visitors are advised to phone a reputable radio-link company (Radio Taxi). Low-fare limo services, known as remises, have become more popular in recent years.
Rail
Argentina's extensive railway network converges in Buenos Aires. The three principal stations for both long-distance passenger services and commuter trains are Estación Retiro, Estación Constitución, and Estación Once. Most lines use Diesel power; some commuter lines switched to electric power during the 1980s and 1990s [8].
There is a project to build a Buenos Aires-Rosario-Córdoba high-speed railway, which would join the three largest cities in Argentina. Bids were opened in mid-2006; the only proposal standing as of June 2007 is by French firm Alstom. Financing is a major stumbling block for the project, whose start has been delayed several times.
Airports
The Buenos Aires international airport, Ministro Pistarini International Airport, is located in the suburb of Ezeiza and is often called simply "Ezeiza." The Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, located in the Palermo neighborhood next to the riverbank, serves mostly domestic traffic.
Sports
Football (soccer) is a passion for Argentines. Buenos Aires has the highest concentration of football teams of any city in the world (featuring no less than 24 professional football teams),[10] with many of its teams playing in the major league. The best-known rivalry is the one between Boca Juniors and River Plate; a match between these two teams was named as one of the "50 sporting things you must do before you die" by The Observer.[10] Other major clubs include San Lorenzo de Almagro, Vélez Sársfield and Huracán.
Buenos Aires has been a candidate city for the Summer Olympic Games on three occasions: for the 1956 Games, lost by a single vote to Melbourne; for the 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico City (to this date, the only Games held in Latin America); and in 2004, when the games were awarded to Athens.
However, Buenos Aires hosted the 1951 Pan American Games - the first,[8] and was also host city to several World Championship events: the 1950 and 1990 Basketball World Championships, the 1982 and 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships and, most remembered, the 1978 FIFA World Cup, won by Argentina on June 25 1978 when it defeated the Netherlands by 3–1.
Other popular sports in Buenos Aires are horse racing,tennis, golf, basketball, rugby, and field hockey.
Internet
Buenos Aires ISPs provide dial-up, cable, satellite-based and ADSL connections to the Internet. The Internet boom in the early 2000s gave birth to cibercafés. There is a growing number of wi-fi hotspots, mostly around the downtown area and now in all "Subte" lines, except for the A line, which is in process.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Argentina: A Short History by Colin M. Lewis, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 1-85168-300-3
- ↑ Guía visual de Buenos Aires centro histórico, Clarín Viajes, 2001. ISBN 950-782-166-X
- ↑ We are Millions: Neo-liberalism and new forms of political action in Argentina, Marcela Lópéz Levy, Latin America Bureau, London, 2004. ISBN 1-899365-63-X
- ↑ Honorable Senate of the Nation, accessed 2006-08-07
- ↑ Government of Buenos Aires, accessed 2006-08-07.
- ↑ 'Buenos Aires con quince comunas' by Pedro Lipcovich, Página/12, 2005-09-02
- ↑ 'Paris of the South' by Kenneth Bagnell, Canoe travel, 2005-03-07, accessed 2006-08-07.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Time Out Guide: Buenos Aires, Cathy Runciman & Leticia Saharrea (eds), Penguin Books, London, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029398-1
- ↑ 'Avenida Rivadavia:Un largo recorrido de contrastes' by Nora Sánchez, Clarín, 2006-02-26
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 50 sporting things you must do before you die, The Observer, 2004-04-04
- (English) Encyclopædia Britannica
- (English) Microsoft Encarta
- (English) General Information
- (Spanish) Patricia Moglia, Fabián Sislián and Mónica Alabart, Pensar la historia Argentina desde una historia de América Latina, Buenos Aires:Plus Ultra
External links
- Travel guide to Buenos Aires (city) from Wikitravel
- Buenos Aires at WikiMapia
- (Spanish) Official government website
- Official tourism website
Newspapers
- (English) Buenos Aires Herald
- (Spanish) Clarín
- (Spanish) La Nación
- (Spanish) Página 12
- (Spanish) Perfil
- (Spanish) Infobae
- (Spanish) Edición Nacional
- (Spanish) La Prensa
- (German) Argentinisches Tageblatt
Template:Barrios of Buenos Aires
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