Argentine Culture?

Question

Hey! I'm doing a project on Argentina for spanish class. Is there anything i should know about Argentina that i cant find on websites or books? thanks!

Answer 1

Argentina is famous for the Tango. Tango is Argentina and Argentina is tango. Also they got the most taste full meat that you can imagine

Answer 2

I hope this could help you:

Culture of Argentina



The culture of Argentina is as varied as the country's geography or its ethnic mix.

Argentine culture has been primarily informed and influenced by its European roots. Buenos Aires is undeniably the most European city in South America, due both to the prevalence of people of Italian and Spanish descent and to conscious imitation. There are nevertheless Amerindian influences, particularly in the fields of music and art.

Buenos Aires and other cities show a mixture of architectural styles imported from Europe. In the case of older settlements (and of older preserved neighborhoods within cities), modern styles appear mixed with colonial features, relics from the Spanish-ruled past.

Museums, cinemas and galleries are abundant in all the large urban centers, as well as traditional establishments such as literary bars, or bars offering live music of a variety of genres.

Argentine cinema has achieved international recognition with films such as The Official Story and 9 Queens, though it has only rarely been taken into account by mainstream popular viewers who prefer Hollywood-type movies. Even low-budget productions, however, have obtained prizes in cinema festivals (such as Cannes). The city of Mar del Plata organizes its own festival dedicated to this art.

The best-known element of Argentine culture is probably their music and dance, particularly tango. In modern Argentina, tango music is enjoyed in its own right, especially since the radical Astor Piazzolla redefined the music of Carlos Gardel. It must be noted that while tango refers mostly to a particular dancing music for foreigners, the music together with the lyrics (often sung in a kind of slang called lunfardo) are what most Argentinians primarily mean by tango. Tango lyrics can be considered a kind of poetry.

Folk music and dance are popular in provincial Argentina, whether blends of European and pre-Columbian styles, like the chamamé of Mesopotamia, or European folk-style like Basque or Welsh dance.

Argentines are extremely involved in sports. Fútbol (soccer) is more of a national obsession than a game. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 and the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics for men's soccer, and the exploits of Diego Maradona have kept fans, paparazzi and columnists busy for the past 20 years. Tennis, rugby and field hockey are also important and Argentina won gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for men's basketball. The great Formula One driver, Juan Manuel Fangio was Argentinian. The rich, heavily influenced by English customs, have traditionally enjoyed polo and Argentina dominates this sport. During recent times, international polo player Adolfo Cambiasso has tried to get the middle and lower class of Argentina closer to polo. To do so he has adopted several football traditions to polo, like celebrating goals and the like. Cambiasso's strategy had a kind of success when different football fans went to see the final of the Argentinean Open. This has been critiziced by the rich class of course.

Argentina's official language is Spanish (here usually named castellano). Most Argentines live in the area of the Río de la Plata basin (which extends north from Buenos Aires along the Paraná River), and the dialect spoken in this area (Rioplatense Spanish) is also recognized in the rest of the country.

Most Argentines can understand standard spoken Italian and Portuguese, due to their relatedness with Spanish.

Argentina is known for its asado of grilled beef. Meat (including entrails) is placed on the grill and cooked from below with natural wood and coal - barbecue. There are restaurants that serve asado only; a good local restaurant always has a place set up to prepare asado.

Argentines consume large amounts of beef. While the recent economic crisis made meat expensive for many, its price is still relatively low given its quality. Meat exports are usually regulated; the European Community has set up a quota of frozen meat imports that cannot be exceeded.

Traditional foods of the provinces such as locro hark back to the pre-Columbian period, with a reliance on maize, beans and squashes (in many places, locro is traditionally consumed only on national patriotic holidays). Another traditional food is the empanada, a circular piece of pastry folded in two around a filling (including chopped meat, olives, hard-boiled egg, potato cubes, raisins, ham and cheese, and many other variants), which can be baked or fried.

Argentinians are commonly considered quite sociable and outgoing, and they view themselves this way too. A cultural survey found that the most important spare time activity for almost 80% of Argentinians is visiting friends and relatives. Playing team sports and attending sports venues is also quite common. For younger people, going out to dance is prevalent, while older ones prefer dining outside the home.

An example of sociability can be found during the annual celebration of Friend's Day on 20 July. This informal holiday originated in Argentina and in later years it has gained such popularity, especially among the young, that the entertainment centers of the cities (bars, discos, cinemas, etc.) become crowded until dawn of the following day, similarly to what happens at Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Answer 3

Yes, but please remember that there are so many good points about their culture, this is just something you won't read about.

There is a feeling of mistrust, where someone is always trying to rip you off....take advantage of you.  This is best illustrated in a famous and very good movie call Nueve Reinas (9 Queens).  Get the movie out/buy online and even quote from it.