It is known for its preservedeclectic Europeanarchitecture[16] and richcultural life.[17] It is amulticultural city that is home to multiple ethnic and religious groups, contributing to its culture as well as to the dialect spoken in the city and in some other parts of the country. Since the 19th century, the city, and the country in general, has been a major recipient of millions ofimmigrants from all over the world, making it amelting pot where several ethnic groups live together. Buenos Aires is considered one of the most diverse cities ofthe Americas.[18]
Our Lady of the Buen Aire in front of the National Migration Department
Aragonese archives record that Catalan missionaries and Jesuits arriving inCagliari (Sardinia) under theCrown of Aragon, after its capture from thePisans in 1324, established their headquarters on top of a hill that overlooked the city.[22] The hill was known to them asBonaira (orBonaria inSardinian), as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city (the castle area), which was adjacent toswampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Catalans built asanctuary to theVirgin Mary on top of the hill. In 1335, KingAlfonso the Gentle donated the church to theMercedarians, who built anabbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously calmed a storm in theMediterranean Sea. The statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especiallyAndalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the "Fair Winds" to aid them in theirnavigation and preventshipwrecks. A sanctuary to the Virgin of the Buen Ayre would later be erected inSeville.[22]
At the foundation of Buenos Aires, Spanish sailors arrived in theRío de la Plata giving thanks to the blessings of "Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires", "Holy Mary of the Good Winds", who they believed to have given them the good winds to reach the coast of what is today the modern city.[23]Pedro de Mendoza called the city "Holy Mary of the Fair Winds", a name suggested by the chaplain of Mendoza's expedition – a devotee of the Virgin of Buen Ayre – after theMadonna of Bonaria fromSardinia[24] (which is still to this day the patroness of theMediterranean island[25]). Mendoza's settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people and was abandoned in 1541.[23]
For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, who is said to have exclaimed:How fair are the winds of this land! as he arrived. In 1882, after conducting extensive research in Spanish archives, Argentine merchantEduardo Madero ultimately concluded that the name was instead closely linked with the devotion of the sailors to Our Lady of Buen Ayre.[26] A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 byJuan de Garay, who sailed down theParaná River fromAsunción, now the capital of Paraguay. Garay preserved the name originally chosen by Mendoza, calling the cityCiudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire ("City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds"). The short form that eventually became the city's name, "Buenos Aires", became commonly used during the 17th century.[27]
The usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish isBs.As.[28] It is also common to refer to it as "B.A." or "BA".[29] When referring specifically to the autonomous city, it is very common to colloquially call it "Capital" in Spanish. Since the autonomy obtained in 1994, it has been called "CABA" (perCiudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires).
Juan de Garay founding Buenos Aires in 1580. The initial settlement, founded byPedro de Mendoza, had been abandoned since 1542.
In 1516, navigator and explorerJuan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach theRío de la Plata. His expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the nativeCharrúa tribe in what is nowUruguay. The city of Buenos Aires was first established asCiudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre[3] (literally "City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") afterOur Lady of Bonaria (Patroness Saint ofSardinia) on 2 February 1536 by a Spanish expedition led byPedro de Mendoza. The settlement founded by Mendoza was located in what is today theSan Telmo district of Buenos Aires, south of thecity center.
More attacks by the indigenous people forced the settlers away, and in 1542, the site was thusly abandoned.[30][31] A second (and permanent) settlement was established on 11 June 1580 byJuan de Garay, who arrived by sailing down theParaná River fromAsunción (now the capital of Paraguay). He dubbed the settlement "Santísima Trinidad" and its port became "Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires."[27]
From its earliest days, Buenos Aires depended primarily on trade. During most of the 17th century, Spanish ships were menaced by pirates, so they[who?] developed a complex system whereby ships with military protection were dispatched to Central America in a convoy from Seville (the only port allowed to trade with the American colonies) toLima, Peru, and from there to the other cities of the viceroyalty. Because of this, products took a very long time to arrive in Buenos Aires, and the taxes generated by the transport made them prohibitive. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires, and a thriving informal, yet tolerated by the authorities, contraband industry developed inside the viceroyalties and with the Portuguese. This also instilled a deep resentment amongporteños towards the Spanish authorities.[3]
Aldus verthoont hem de stadt Buenos Ayrros geleegen in Rio de la Plata, painting by a Dutch sailor who anchored at the port around 1628
Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions before finally declaring Buenos Aires an open port in the late 18th century. The capture ofPortobelo in Panama by British forces also fueled the need to foster commerce via the Atlantic route, to the detriment of Lima-based trade. One of his rulings was to split a region from the Viceroyalty of Perú and create instead theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with Buenos Aires as the capital. However, Charles's placating actions did not have the desired effect, and theporteños, some of them versed in the ideology of theFrench Revolution, instead became even more convinced of the need for independence from Spain.
During theBritish invasions of the Río de la Plata, British forces attacked Buenos Aires twice. In 1806 the British successfully invaded Buenos Aires, but an army fromMontevideo led bySantiago de Liniers defeated them. In the brief period of British rule, the viceroyRafael Sobremonte managed to escape toCórdoba and designated this city as capital. Buenos Aires became the capital again after its recapture by Argentine forces, but Sobremonte could not resume his duties as viceroy. Santiago de Liniers, chosen as new viceroy, prepared the city against a possible new British attack and repelled a second invasion by Britain in 1807. The militarization generated in society changed the balance of power favorably for thecriollos (in contrast topeninsulars), as well as the development of thePeninsular War in Spain.
An attempt by the peninsular merchantMartín de Álzaga to remove Liniers and replace him with aJunta was defeated by the criollo armies. However, by 1810 it would be those same armies who would support a new revolutionary attempt, successfully removing the new viceroyBaltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. This is known as theMay Revolution, which is now celebrated as a national holiday. This event started theArgentine War of Independence, and many armies left Buenos Aires to fight the diverse strongholds of royalist resistance, with varying levels of success. The government was held first by two Juntas of many members, then by twotriumvirates, and finally by a unipersonal office, theSupreme Director. Formal independence from Spain wasdeclared in 1816, at theCongress of Tucumán. Buenos Aires managed to endure the wholeSpanish American wars of independence without falling again under royalist rule.
Historically, Buenos Aires has been Argentina's main venue ofliberal,free-trading, and foreign ideas. In contrast, many of the provinces, especially those to the city's northwest, advocated a morenationalistic andCatholic approach to political and social issues. In fact, much of the internal tension in Argentina's history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the 19th century, can be traced back to these contrasting views. In the months immediately following said "May Revolution", Buenos Aires sent a number of military envoys to the provinces with the intention of obtaining their approval. Instead, the enterprise fueled tensions between the capital and the provinces; many of these missions ended in violent clashes.
In the 19th century the city wasblockaded twice by naval forces: by theFrench from 1838 to 1840, and later by anAnglo-French expedition from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to bring the Argentine government to the negotiating table, to the frustration of British Parliament in 1847,[32] with the foreign powers eventually desisting from their demands.
During most of the 19th century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. It was already the capital ofBuenos Aires Province, and between 1853 and 1860 it was the capital of the secededState of Buenos Aires. The issue was fought out more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880 when the city wasfederalized and became the seat of government, with its mayor appointed by the president. TheCasa Rosada became the seat of thepresident.[27]
Health conditions in poor areas were appalling, with high rates of tuberculosis. Contemporaneous public health physicians and politicians typically blamed both the poor themselves and their ramshackle tenement houses (conventillos) for the spread of the dreaded disease. People ignored public-health campaigns to limit the spread of contagious diseases, such as the prohibition of spitting on the streets, the strict guidelines to care for infants and young children, and quarantines that separated families from ill loved ones.[33]
In addition to the wealth generated bycustoms duties and Argentine foreign trade in general, as well as the existence of fertilepampas,railroad development in the second half of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories. A leading destination for immigrants from Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, from 1880 to 1930, Buenos Aires became a multicultural city that ranked itself alongside the major European capitals. During this time, theColón Theater became one of the world's top opera venues, and the city became the regional capital ofradio,television,cinema, andtheater. The city's main avenues were built during those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's tallest buildings and its firstunderground system. A second construction boom, from 1945 to 1980, reshaped downtown and much of the city.
Buenos Aires also attracted migrants from Argentina's provinces and neighboring countries.Shanty towns (villas miseria) started growing around the city's industrial areas during the 1930s, leading to pervasive social problems and social contrasts with the largely upwardly mobile Buenos Aires population. These laborers became the political base ofPeronism, which emerged in Buenos Aires during thepivotal demonstration of 17 October 1945, at thePlaza de Mayo.[34] 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 16 June 1955, however, a splinter faction of the Navy bombed the Plaza de Mayo area, killing 364 civilians (seeBombing of Plaza de Mayo). This was the only time the city was attacked from the air, and the event was followed by a military uprising which deposed President Perón, three months later (seeRevolución Libertadora).
In the 1970s the city suffered from the fighting between left-wing revolutionary movements (Montoneros,ERP and F.A.R.) and theright-wing paramilitary groupTriple A, supported byIsabel Perón, who became president of Argentina in 1974 after Juan Perón's death.
TheMarch 1976 coup, led by GeneralJorge Videla, only escalated this conflict; the "Dirty War" resulted in 30,000desaparecidos (people kidnapped and killed by the military during the years of the junta).[35] The silent marches of their mothers (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) are a well-known image of Argentines' suffering during those times. Thedictatorship's appointed mayor,Osvaldo Cacciatore, also drew up plans for a network of freeways intended to relieve the city's acute traffic gridlock. The plan, however, called for a seemingly indiscriminate razing of residential areas and, though only three of the eight planned were put up at the time, they were mostly obtrusive raised freeways that continue to blight a number of formerly comfortable neighborhoods to this day.
The city was visited byPope John Paul II twice, firstly in 1982 and again in 1987; on these occasions gathered some of the largest crowds in the city's history. The return of democracy in 1983 coincided with a cultural revival, and the 1990s saw an economic revival, particularly in the construction and financial sectors.
On 17 March 1992, a bombexploded in the Israeli Embassy, killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on 18 July 1994,destroyed a building housing severalJewish organizations, killing 85 and injuring many more, these incidents marked the beginning ofMiddle Easternterrorism to South America. Following a1993 agreement, theArgentine Constitution was amended to give Buenos Airesautonomy and rescinding, among other things, the president's right to appoint the city's mayor (as had been the case since 1880). On 30 June 1996, voters in Buenos Aires chose their first elected mayor,Jefe de Gobierno.
Catalinas Norte is an important business complex composed of nineteen commercial office buildings and occupied by numerous leading Argentine companies, foreign subsidiaries, and diplomatic offices. It is located in theBuenos Aires Central Business District.
In 1996, following the1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, the city held its first mayoral elections under the new statutes, with the mayor's title formally changed to "Head of Government". The winner wasFernando de la Rúa, who would later become President of Argentina from 1999 to 2001.
De la Rúa's successor,Aníbal Ibarra, won two popular elections, but wasimpeached (and ultimately deposed on 6 March 2006) as a result of the fire at theRepública Cromagnon nightclub. In the meantime,Jorge Telerman, who had been the acting mayor, was invested with the office. In the 2007 elections,Mauricio Macri of theRepublican Proposal (PRO) party won thesecond-round of voting overDaniel Filmus of theFrente para la Victoria (FPV) party, taking office on 9 December 2007. In 2011, the elections went to a second round with 60.96 percent of the vote for PRO, compared to 39.04 percent for FPV, thus ensuring Macri's reelection as mayor of the city withMaría Eugenia Vidal as deputy mayor.[36]
PRO is established in the most affluent area of the city and in those over fifty years of age.[37]
The 2015 elections were the first to use anelectronic voting system in the city, similar to the one used inSalta Province.[38] In these elections held on 5 July 2015, Macri stepped down as mayor and pursue hispresidential bid andHoracio Rodríguez Larreta took his place as the mayoral candidate for PRO. In the first round of voting, FPV'sMariano Recalde obtained 21.78% of the vote, whileMartín Lousteau of the ECO party obtained 25.59% and Larreta obtained 45.55%, meaning that the elections went to a second round since PRO was unable to secure the majority required for victory.[39] The second round was held on 19 July 2015 and Larreta obtained 51.6% of the vote, followed closely by Lousteau with 48.4%, thus, PRO won the elections for a third term with Larreta as mayor andDiego Santilli as deputy. In these elections, PRO was stronger in wealthier northern Buenos Aires, while ECO was stronger in the southern, poorer neighborhoods of the city.[40][41] On 5 December 2023,Jorge Macri of PRO was sworn in as new mayor of Buenos Aires City to succeed outgoing Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta of the same party.[42]
The region was formerly crossed by differentstreams and lagoons, some of which were refilled, and others tubed. Among the most important streams are the Maldonado, Vega, Medrano, Cildañez, and White. In 1908, as floods were damaging the city's infrastructure, many streams were channeled and rectified; furthermore, starting in 1919, most streams were enclosed. Most notably, the Maldonado was tubed in 1954; it currently runs belowJuan B. Justo Avenue.
Buenos Aires has over 250 parks and green spaces, the largest concentration of which are on the city's eastern side in the neighborhoods of Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Palermo, and Belgrano. Some of the most important are:
Parque Tres de Febrero was designed by urbanist Jordán Czeslaw Wysocki and architectJulio Dormal. The park was inaugurated on 11 November 1875. The subsequent dramatic economic growth of Buenos Aires helped to lead to its transfer to the municipal domain in 1888, wherebyFrench Argentine urbanistCarlos Thays was commissioned to expand and further beautify the park, between 1892 and 1912. Thays designed theZoological Gardens, theBotanical Gardens, the adjoining Plaza Italia and the Rose Garden.
Botanical Gardens, designed by French architect and landscape designerCarlos Thays, the garden was inaugurated on 7 September 1898. Thays and his family lived in anEnglish style mansion, located within the gardens, between 1892 and 1898, when he served as director of parks and walks in the city. The mansion, built in 1881, is currently the main building of the complex.
Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens Is the largest of its type in the world, outside Japan. Completed in 1967, the gardens were inaugurated on the occasion of a State visit to Argentina by Crown PrinceAkihito and PrincessMichiko of Japan.
Plaza de Mayo Since being the scene ofMay Revolution of 1810 that led to Argentinian independence, the plaza has been a hub of political life in Argentina.
Heavy rain and thunderstorm inPlaza San Martin. Thunderstorms are usual during the summer.
Summers are hot and humid.[49] The warmest month is January, with a daily average of 24.9 °C (76.8 °F).[52] Heat waves are common during summers.[53] However, most heat waves are of short duration (less than a week) and are followed by the passage of the cold, dry Pampero wind which brings violent and intense thunderstorms followed by cooler temperatures.[51][54] The highest temperature ever recorded was 43.3 °C (110 °F) on 29 January 1957.[55] In January 2022, a heatwave causedpower grid failure in parts ofBuenos Aires metropolitan area affecting more than 700,000 households.[56]
Winters are rather cool with mild temperatures during the day and chilly nights.[49] Highs during the season average 16.6 °C (61.9 °F) while lows average 8.3 °C (46.9 °F).[57] Relative humidity averages in the upper 70s%, which means the city is noted for moderate-to-heavy fogs during autumn and winter.[58] July is the coolest month, with an average temperature of 11.0 °C (51.8 °F).[52] Cold spells originating from Antarctica occur almost every year, and can persist for several days.[57] Occasionally, warm air masses from the north bring warmer temperatures.[59] The lowest temperature ever recorded in central Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Central Observatory) was −5.4 °C (22 °F) on 9 July 1918.[55]Snow is very rare in the city: thelast snowfall occurred on 9 July 2007 when, during the coldest winter in Argentina in almost 30 years, severe snowfalls and blizzards hit the country. It was the first major snowfall in the city in 89 years.[60][61]
Spring and autumn are characterized by changeable weather conditions.[62] Cold air from the south can bring cooler temperatures while hot humid air from the north brings hot temperatures.[51]
The city receives 1,257.6 mm (50 in) of precipitation per year.[52] Because of itsgeomorphology along with an inadequate drainage network, the city is highly vulnerable to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.[63][64][65][66]
Climate data for Buenos Aires Central Observatory, located inAgronomía (1991–2020, extremes 1906–present)
Since the adoption of the city's Constitution in 1996, Buenos Aires has had a democratically elected executive; Article 61 of the Constitution of the states that "Suffrage is free, equal, secret, universal, compulsory and non-accumulative. Resident aliens enjoy this same right, with its corresponding obligations, on equal terms with Argentine citizens registered in the district, under the terms established by law."[70] The executive power is vested on theChief of Government (Spanish:Jefe de Gobierno), who is elected alongside a Deputy Chief of Government. In analogous fashion to the Vice President of Argentina, the Deputy Chief of Government presides over the city's legislative body, theCity Legislature.
The Chief of Government and the Legislature are both elected for four-year terms; half of the Legislature's members are renewed every two years. Elections use theD'Hondt method of proportional representation. The judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia), the Council of Magistracy (Consejo de la Magistratura), the Public Ministry, and other city courts.
Legally, the city has less autonomy than theProvinces. In June 1996, shortly before the city's first Executive elections were held, theArgentine National Congress issued the National Law 24.588 (known asLey Cafiero, after theSenator who advanced the project) by which the authority over the 25,000-strongArgentine Federal Police and the responsibility over the federal institutions residing at the city (e.g.,National Supreme Court of Justice buildings) would not be transferred from theNational Government to the Autonomous City Government until a new consensus could be reached at the National Congress. Furthermore, it declared that thePort of Buenos Aires, along with some other places, would remain under constituted federal authorities.[71]
TheGuardia Urbana de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Urban Guard) was a specialized civilian force of the city of Buenos Aires,Argentina, that used to deal with different urban conflicts with the objective of developing actions of prevention, dissuasion and mediation, promoting effective behaviors that guarantee the security and the integrity of public order and social coexistence. The unit continuously assisted the personnel of theArgentine Federal Police, especially in emergency situations, events of massive concurrence, and protection oftourist establishments. Urban Guard officials did not carry any weapons in the performing of their duties. Their basic tools were a HT radio transmitter and a whistle. As of March 2008[update], the Guardia Urbana was removed.
TheBuenos Aires Metropolitan Police was the police force under the authority of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The force was created in 2010 and was composed of 1,850 officers. In 2016, theBuenos Aires Metropolitan Police and part of theArgentine Federal Police were merged to create the newBuenos Aires City Police force. The Buenos Aires City Police force began operations on 1 January 2017. Security in the city is now the responsibility of theBuenos Aires City Police.[73] The police is headed by the Chief of Police who is appointed by the head of the executive branch of the city of Buenos Aires. Geographically, the force is divided into 56 stations throughout the city. All police station employees are civilians. The Buenos Aires City Police force is composed of over 25,000 officers.
In the census of 2010, there were 2,891,082 people residing in the city.[75] The population of Greater Buenos Aires was 13,147,638 according to 2010 census data.[76] The population density in Buenos Aires proper was 13,680 inhabitants per square kilometer (35,400 inhabitants/sq mi), but only about 2,400/km2 (6,200/sq mi) in the suburbs.[77]
Buenos Aires' population has hovered around 3 million since 1947, due to low birth rates and a slow migration to the suburbs. However, the surrounding districts have expanded over fivefold (to around 10 million) since then.[75]
The2001 census showed a relatively aged population: with 17% under the age of fifteen and 22% over sixty, the people of Buenos Aires have an age structure similar to those in most European cities. They are older than Argentines as a whole (of whom 28% were under 15, and 14% over 60).[78]
Two-thirds of the city's residents live in apartment buildings and 30% in single-family homes; 4% live in sub-standard housing.[79] Measured in terms of income, the city'spoverty rate was 8.4% in 2007 and, including the metro area, 20.6%.[80] Other studies estimate that 4 million people in the metropolitan Buenos Aires area live in poverty.[81]
The city's resident labor force of 1.2 million in 2001 was mostly employed in the services sector, particularly social services (25%), commerce and tourism (20%) and business and financial services (17%); despite the city's role as Argentina's capital, public administration employed only 6%. Manufacturing still employed 10%.[79]
The city is divided intobarrios (neighborhoods) for administrative purposes, a division originally based on Catholicparroquias (parishes).[82] A common expression is that of theCien barrios porteños ("One hundredporteño neighborhoods"), referring to a composition made popular in the 1940s by tango singerAlberto Castillo; however, Buenos Aires only consists of 48 officialbarrios. There are several subdivisions of these districts, some with a long history and others that are the product of a real estate invention. A notable example isPalermo – the city's largest district – which has been subdivided into variousbarrios, includingPalermo Soho,Palermo Hollywood,Las Cañitas andPalermo viejo, among others. A newer scheme has divided the city into 15comunas (communes).[83]
TheImmigrants' Hotel, constructed in 1906, received and assisted the thousands of immigrants arriving to the city. The hotel is now a National Museum.
Other significant European origins includeFrench, Portuguese,German,Irish, Norwegian,Polish, Swedish,Greek,Czech,Albanian, Croatian, Slovenian, Dutch, Russian, Serbian,English,Scottish, Slovak, Hungarian and Bulgarian. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a small wave of immigration from Romania andUkraine.[87]
TheJewish community inGreater Buenos Aires numbers around 250,000 and is the largest in the country. The city is also eighth largest in the world in terms of Jewish population.[88] Most are of Northern, Western, Central, and Eastern EuropeanAshkenazi origin, primarily Swedish, Dutch, Polish, German, andRussian Jews, with a significantSephardic minority, mostly made up ofSyrian Jews andLebanese Jews.[89]
MostEast Asian immigration in Buenos Aires comes from China. Chinese immigration is the fourth largest in Argentina, with the vast majority of them living in Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area.[90] In the 1980s, most of them were fromTaiwan, but since the 1990s the majority of Chinese immigrants come from the mainland Chinese province ofFukien (Fujian).[90] The mainland Chinese who came from Fukien mainly installed supermarkets throughout the city and the suburbs; these supermarkets are so common that, in average, there is one every two and a half blocks and are simply referred to asel chino ("the Chinese").[90][91]Japanese immigrants are mostly from theOkinawa Prefecture. They started thedry cleaning business in Argentina, an activity that is considered idiosyncratic to the Japanese immigrants in Buenos Aires.[92]Korean Immigration occurred after thedivision of Korea; they mainly settled inFlores andOnce.[93]
In the 2010census[INDEC], 2.1% of the population or 61,876 persons declared to beIndigenous or first-generation descendants of Indigenous people in Buenos Aires (not including the 24 adjacentPartidos that make upGreater Buenos Aires).[94] Amongst the 61,876 persons who are of indigenous origin, 15.9% areQuechua people, 15.9% areGuaraní, 15.5% areAymara and 11% areMapuche.[94] Within the 24 adjacent Partidos, 186,640 persons or 1.9% of the total population declared themselves to be Indigenous.[94] Amongst the 186,640 persons who are of indigenous origin, 21.2% are Guaraní, 19% areToba, 11.3% are Mapuche, 10.5% are Quechua and 7.6% areDiaguita.[94]
In the city, 15,764 people identified themselves asAfro-Argentine in the 2010 Census.[95]
Villas miseria are a type of slum whose size ranges from small groups of precarious houses to large communities with thousands of residents.[96] In slums on the outskirts, there was an escalation in crime during early 2024, mainly robbery-related murders.[97]
Buenos Aires has below 2 m2 (22 sq ft) of green space per person, which is 90% less than New York, 85% less than Madrid and 80% less than Paris. The World Health Organization (WHO), in its concern for public health, produced a document stating that every city should have a minimum of 9 m2 (97 sq ft) of green space per person; an optimal amount of space per person would range from 10 to 15 m2 (161 sq ft).[98][99]
Buenos Aires' dialect of Spanish, which is known asRioplatense Spanish, is distinguished by its use ofvoseo,yeísmo, and aspiration ofs in various contexts. It is heavily influenced by the dialects of Spanish spoken inAndalusia andMurcia and shares its features with that of other cities likeRosario andMontevideo, Uruguay. In the early 20th century, Argentina absorbed millions of immigrants, many of them Italians, who spoke mostly in their local dialects (mainly Neapolitan,Sicilian andGenoese). Their adoption of Spanish was gradual, creating apidgin of Italian dialects and Spanish that was calledcocoliche. Its usage declined around the 1950s. A phonetic study conducted by the Laboratory for Sensory Investigations ofCONICET and theUniversity of Toronto showed that theprosody ofporteño is closer to theNeapolitan language of Italy than to any other spoken language.[100] Many Spanish immigrants were fromGalicia, and Spaniards are still generically referred to in Argentina asgallegos (Galicians).Galician language, cuisine 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 small boom inCeltic music (which also highlighted theWelsh traditions of Patagonia).Yiddish was commonly heard in Buenos Aires, especially in theBalvanera garment district and inVilla Crespo until the 1960s. Most of the newer immigrants learn Spanish quickly and assimilate into city life.
TheLunfardoargot originated within the prison population, and in time spread to allporteños. Lunfardo uses words from Italian dialects, fromBrazilian Portuguese, from African and Caribbean languages and even from English. Lunfardo employs humorous tricks such as inverting the syllables within a word (vesre). Today, Lunfardo is mostly heard in tango lyrics;[101] the slang of the younger generations has been evolving away from it. Buenos Aires was also the first city to host aMundo Lingo event on 7 July 2011, which have been after replicated in up to 15 cities in 13 countries.[102]
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was the second-largestCatholic city in the world, afterParis.[103][104]Christianity is still the most prevalently practiced religion in Buenos Aires (~71.4%),[105] a 2019CONICET survey on religious beliefs and attitudes found that the inhabitants of theBuenos Aires Metropolitan Area (Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA) were 56.4%Catholic, 26.2%non-religious, and 15%Evangelical, making it the region of the country with the highest proportion of irreligious people.[105] A previous CONICET survey from 2008 had found that 69.1% were Catholic, 18% "indifferent", 9.1% Evangelical, 1.4%Jehovah's Witnesses orMormons, and 2.3% adherents to other religions.[106] The comparison between both surveys reveals that the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area is the region in which the decline of Catholicism was most pronounced during the last decade.[105]
Buenos Aires is also home to thelargest Jewish community in Latin America, and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States.[107][108] The Jewish community of Buenos Aires has historically been characterized by its high level of organization and influence in the cultural history of the city.[109]
Primary education comprises grades 1–7. Most primary schools in the city still adhere to the traditional seven-year primary school, but kids can do grades 1–6 if their high school lasts 6 years, such asORT Argentina. Secondary education in Argentina is calledPolimodal (having multiple modes) since it allows the student to choose their orientation. Polimodal is usually 3 years of schooling, although some schools have a fourth year. Before entering the first year of polimodal, students choose an orientation from among five specializations. Some high schools depend on theUniversity of Buenos Aires, and these require an admission course when students are taking the last year of high school. These high schools areILSE,CNBA,Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini and Escuela de Educación Técnica Profesional en Producción Agropecuaria y Agroalimentaria (School of Professional Technique Education in Agricultural and Agrifood Production). The last two do have a specific orientation. In December 2006 theChamber of Deputies of theArgentine Congress passed a new National Education Law restoring the old system of primary followed by secondary education, making secondary education obligatory and a right, and increasing the length of compulsory education to 13 years. The government vowed to put the law in effect gradually, starting in 2007.[111]
In April 2024, thousands of protesters, including professors and students, gathered on the streets of Buenos Aires and other cities to demand PresidentJavier Milei increased funding for higher education.[115]
Puerto Madero, in theBuenos Aires Central Business District, currently represents the largest urban renewal project in the city of Buenos Aires. Having undergone an impressive revival in merely a decade, it is one of the most successful recent waterfront renewal projects in the world.[116]
Buenos Aires is the financial, industrial, and commercial hub of Argentina. The economy in the city proper alone, measured by gross geographic product (adjusted for purchasing power), totaled US$102.7 billion (US$34,200 per capita) in 2020[117] and amounts to nearly a quarter of Argentina's as a whole.[118] Metro Buenos Aires, according to one well-quoted study, constitutes the 13th largest economy among the world's cities in 2005.[119] The Buenos AiresHuman Development Index (0.889 in 2019) is likewise high by international standards.[120]
The city's services sector is diversified and well-developed by international standards, and accounts for 76 percent of its economy (compared to 59% for all of Argentina's).[121] Advertising, in particular, plays a prominent role in the export of services at home and abroad. However, the financial and real estate services sector is the largest and contributes to 31 percent of the city's economy. Finance (about a third of this) in Buenos Aires is especially important to Argentina's banking system, accounting for nearly half the nation's bank deposits and lending.[121] Nearly 300 hotels and another 300hostels and bed & breakfasts arelicensed for tourism, and nearly half the rooms available were in four-star establishments or higher.[122]
Manufacturing is, nevertheless, still prominent in the city's economy (16 percent) and, concentrated mainly in the southern part of the city. It benefits as much from high local purchasing power and a large local supply of skilled labor as it does from its relationship to massive agriculture and industry just outside the city limits. Construction activity in Buenos Aires has historically been among the most accurate indicators of national economic fortunes, and since 2006 around 3 million square meters (32×10^6 sq ft) of construction has been authorized annually.[121] Meat, dairy, grain, tobacco, wool and leather products are processed or manufactured in theBuenos Aires metro area. Other leading industries are automobile manufacturing, oil refining, metalworking, machine-building, and the production of textiles, chemicals, clothing and beverages.
The city's budget, per Mayor Macri's 2011 proposal, included US$6 billion in revenues and US$6.3 billion in expenditures. The city relies on local income and capital gains taxes for 61 percent of its revenues, while federal revenue sharing contributes 11 percent,property taxes, 9 percent, and vehicle taxes, 6 percent. Other revenues include user fees, fines, and gambling duties. The city devotes 26 percent of its budget to education, 22 percent for health, 17 percent forpublic services and infrastructure, 16 percent for social welfare and culture, 12 percent in administrative costs and 4 percent for law enforcement. Buenos Aires maintains low debt levels and its service requires less than 3 percent of the budget.[123]
Buenos Aires Bus, the city'stour bus service. The official estimate is that the bus carries between 700 and 800 passengers per day.[124]Tourists visitingCaminito inLa Boca of Genoese Origin.
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council,[125] tourism has been growing in the Argentine capital since 2002. In a survey by the travel and tourism publicationTravel + Leisure Magazine in 2008, visitors voted Buenos Aires the second most desirable city to visit afterFlorence, Italy.[126] In 2008, an estimated 2.5 million visitors visited the city.[127] Buenos Aires is an international hub of highly active and diversenightlife withbars, dance bars andnightclubs staying open well past midnight.[128][129][130]
The most popular tourist sites are found in the historic core of the city, specifically, in theMontserrat andSan Telmo neighborhoods. Buenos Aires was conceived around thePlaza de Mayo, the colony's administrative center. To the east of the square is theCasa Rosada, the official seat of theexecutive branch of the government of Argentina. To the north, theCatedral Metropolitana which has stood in the same location since colonial times, and theBanco de la Nación Argentina building, a parcel of land originally owned byJuan de Garay. Other important colonial institutions wereCabildo, to the west, which was renovated during the construction ofAvenida de Mayo and Julio A. Roca. To the south is theCongreso de la Nación (National Congress), which currently houses theAcademia Nacional de la Historia (National Academy of History). Lastly, to the northwest, is City Hall.
Buenos Aires has become a recipient ofLGBT tourism,[131][132] due to the existence of somegay-friendly sites and thelegalization ofsame-sex marriage on 15 July 2010, making it the first country inLatin America, the second in theAmericas, and the tenth in the world to do so. ItsGender Identity Law, passed in 2012, made Argentina the "only country that allows people to change their gender identities without facing barriers such ashormone therapy,surgery or psychiatric diagnosis that labels them as having an abnormality". In 2015, theWorld Health Organization cited Argentina as an exemplary country for providing transgender rights. Despite these legal advances, however, homophobia continues to be a hotly contested social issue in the city and the country.[133]
Buenos Aires has various types of accommodation ranging from luxurious five star hotels in the city center to budget hotels located in suburban neighborhoods. Nonetheless, the city's transportation system allows easy and inexpensive access to the city. There were, as of February 2008[update], 23 five-star, 61 four-star, 59 three-star and 87 two or one-star hotels, as well as 25boutique hotels and 39apart-hotels; another 298hostels,bed & breakfasts,vacation rentals and other non-hotel establishments were registered in the city. In all, nearly 27,000 rooms were available for tourism in Buenos Aires, of which about 12,000 belonged to four-star, five-star, or boutique hotels. Establishments of a higher category typically enjoy the city's highest occupation rates.[134] The majority of the hotels are located in the central part of the city, in close proximity to most main tourist attractions.
According to data released byMoovit in July 2017, the average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Buenos Aires, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 79 min. 23% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 20 percent of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 8.9 km (5.5 mi), while 21% travel for over 12 km (7.5 mi).[135]
Buenos Aires is based on a rectangulargrid pattern, save for natural barriers or the relatively rare developments explicitly designed otherwise (most notably, theParque Chas neighborhood). The rectangular grid provides for 110-meter (361 ft)-longsquare blocks namedmanzanas. Pedestrian zones in thecentral business district such asFlorida Street are partiallycar-free and always bustling, access provided by bus and theUnderground (subte) Line C. Buenos Aires, for the most part, is a very walkable city and the majority of residents in Buenos Aires use public transport.
Two diagonalavenues alleviate traffic and provide better access toPlaza de Mayo and the city center in general; most avenues running into and out of it are one-way and feature six or more lanes, with computer-controlledgreen waves to speed up traffic outside of peak times. The city's principal avenues include the 140-meter (459 ft)-wideAvenida 9 de Julio, the over 35-kilometer (22 mi)-longRivadavia Avenue,[136] andCorrientes Avenue, the main thoroughfare of culture and entertainment.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the construction of theGeneral Paz Avenue beltway that surrounds the city along its border withBuenos Aires Province, and the freeways leading to the newinternational airport and to the northern suburbs, heralded a new era for Buenos Aires traffic. Encouraged by pro-automaker policies that were pursued towards the end of the Perón (1955) andFrondizi administrations (1958–62) in particular, auto sales nationally grew from an average of 30,000 during the 1920–57 era to around 250,000 in the 1970s and over 600,000 in 2008.[137] Today, over 1.8 million vehicles (nearly one-fifth of Argentina's total) are registered in Buenos Aires.[138]
Toll motorways opened in the late 1970s by mayorOsvaldo Cacciatore, now used by over a million vehicles daily, provide convenient access to the city center.[139] Cacciatore likewise had financial district streets (roughly 1 square kilometer (0.39 sq mi) in area) closed to private cars during daytime. Most major avenues are, however,gridlocked at peak hours. Following theeconomic mini-boom of the 1990s, record numbers startedcommuting by car and congestion increased, as did the time-honoredArgentine custom of taking weekends off in the countryside.
TheMinistro Pistarini International Airport, commonly known as Ezeiza Airport, is located in the suburb ofEzeiza, in Buenos Aires Province, approximately 22 km (14 mi) south of the city. This airport handles most international air traffic to and from Argentina as well as some domestic flights.
TheAeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, located in the Palermo district of the city next to the riverbank, is the only one within the city limits and serves primarily domestic traffic within Argentina and some regional flights to neighboring South American countries.
Other minor airports near the city areEl Palomar Airport, which is located 18 km (11 mi) west of the city and handles some scheduled domestic flights to a number of destinations in Argentina, and the smallerSan Fernando Airport which serves onlygeneral aviation.
TheBuenos Aires Underground (locally known assubte, from"subterráneo" meaning underground or subway), is a high-yield[clarification needed] system providing access to various parts of the city. Opened in 1913, it is the oldestunderground system in the Southern Hemisphere and oldest in the Spanish-speaking world. The system has six underground lines and one overground line, named by letters (A to E, and H) and there are107 stations, and 58.8 km (37 mi) of route, including thePremetro line.[140] An expansion program is underway to extend existinglines into the outer neighborhoods and add a new north–south line. Route length is expected to reach 89 km (55 mi) by 2011.
Line A is the oldest one (service opened to public in 1913) and stations kept the "belle-époque" decoration, while the original rolling stock from 1913, affectionately known asLas Brujas were retired from the line in 2013. Daily ridership on weekdays is 1.7 million and on the increase.[141][142]Fares remain relatively cheap, although the city government raised fares by over 125% in January 2012. A single journey, with unlimited interchanges between lines, costs AR$42, which is roughly US$0.23 as of January 2023.[143]
The most recent expansions to the network were the addition of numerous stations to the network in 2013:San José de Flores andSan Pedrito toLine A,Echeverría andJuan Manuel de Rosas toLine B andHospitales toLine H. Current works include the completion of Line H northwards and addition of three new stations toLine E in the city center.[144][145] The construction ofLine F is due to commence in 2015,[146] while two other lines are planned for construction in the future.
Since 2013, there has been a series of large investments on the network, with all lines (with the exception of the Urquiza Line) receiving newrolling stock, along with widespread infrastructure improvements, track replacement, electrification work, refurbishments of stations and building entirely new stations.[152][153][154] Similarly, almost alllevel crossings have been replaced by underpasses and overpasses in the city, with plans to replace all of them in the near future.[155] One of the most major projects under way is the electrification of the remaining segments of theRoca Line – the most widely used in the network – and also moving the entire section of theSarmiento Line which runs through the heart of the city's underground to allow for better frequencies on the line and reduce congestion above ground.[156][157]
There are also three other major projects on the table. The first would elevate a large segment of theSan Martín Line which runs through the city center and electrify the line, while the second would see the electrification and extension of theBelgrano Sur Line toConstitucion station in the city center.[158][159] If these two projects are completed, then theBelgrano Norte Line would be the only diesel line to run through the city. The third and most ambitious is to build a series of tunnels between three of the city's railway terminals with a large underground central station underneath theObelisk, connecting all the commuter railway lines in a network dubbed theRed de Expresos Regionales.[160]
Buenos Aires had an extensivetram system with over 857 km (533 mi) of track, which was dismantled during the 1960s after the advent of bus transportation, but surface rail transport has made a small comeback in some parts of the city. ThePreMetro or Line E2 is a 7.4 km (4.6 mi)light rail line that connects withUnderground Line E at Plaza de los Virreyes station and runs to General Savio and Centro Cívico. It is operated byMetrovías. The official inauguration took place on 27 August 1987. A 2 km (1.2 mi) long moderntramway, theTranvía del Este, opened in 2007 in thePuerto Madero district, initially using two tramcars on temporary loan fromMulhouse, then later a tramcar fromMadrid. However, plans to extend the line and acquire a fleet of trams did not come to fruition, and decliningpatronage led to the line's closure in October 2012.[161] Aheritage streetcar maintained by tram fans operates on weekends, near thePrimera Junta line A Underground station in the neighborhood ofCaballito.
In December 2010, the city government launched abicycle sharing program with bicycles free for hire by users upon registration. Located in mostly central areas, there are 31 rental stations throughout the city providing over 850 bicycles to be picked up and dropped off at any station within an hour.[162] As of 2013[update], the city has constructed 110 km (68.35 mi) ofprotected bicycle lanes and has plans to construct another 100 km (62.14 mi).[163] In 2015, the stations were automated and the service became 24 hours through use of a smart card or mobile phone application.
There are over 150 city bus lines calledColectivos, each one managed by an individual company. These compete with each other and attract exceptionally high use with virtually no public financial support.[164] Their frequency makes them equal to the underground systems of other cities, but buses cover a far wider area than the underground system. Colectivos in Buenos Aires do not have a fixed timetable, but run from four to several per hour, depending on the bus line and time of the day. With inexpensive tickets and extensive routes, usually no further than four blocks from commuters' residences, the colectivo is the most popular mode of transport around the city.[164]
Buenos Aires has recently opened abus rapid transit system, theMetrobus. The system uses modular median stations that serve both directions of travel, which enable pre-paid, multiple-door, level boarding. The first line, opened on 31 May 2011, runs across the Juan B. Justo Ave has 21 stations.[165] The system now has 4 lines with 113 stations on its 43.5 km (27.0 mi) network, while numerous other lines are under construction and planned.[166]
The port of Buenos Aires is one of the busiest in South America, as navigable rivers by way of the Rio de la Plata connect the port to northeastern Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the distribution hub for said vast area of the South American continent. ThePort of Buenos Aires handles over 11,000,000 metric tons (11,000,000 long tons; 12,000,000 short tons) annually,[167] andDock Sud, just south of the city proper, handles another 17,000,000 metric tons (17,000,000 long tons; 19,000,000 short tons).[168] Tax collection related to the port has caused many political problems in the past, including aconflict in 2008 that led to protests and a strike in the agricultural sector after the government raised exporttariffs.[169]
Buenos Aires is also served by aferry system operated by the company Buquebus that connects the port of Buenos Aires with the main cities of Uruguay, (Colonia del Sacramento, Montevideo andPunta del Este). More than 2.2 million people per year travel between Argentina and Uruguay with Buquebus. One of these ships is acatamaran, which can reach a top speed of about 80 km/h (50 mph).[170]
A fleet of 40,000 black-and-yellow taxis ply thestreets at all hours. Some taxi drivers may try to take advantage of tourists.,[171] but radio-link companies provide reliable and safe service; many such companies provide incentives for frequent users. Low-fare limo services, known asremises, are also popular.[172][173] though currently giving way toridesharing companies likeUber orCabify, whose legal status has been the cause of much dispute with the city government[174]
TheLibertad Palace (Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Cultural Center), located at the formerCentral Post Office, is the largest of South America.
As Buenos Aires is strongly influenced byEuropean culture, the city is sometimes referred to as the "Paris of South America".[3][175] With its scores of theaters and productions, the city has the busiest live theater industry in South America.[176] In fact, every weekend, there are about 300 activetheaters with plays, a number that places the city as 1st worldwide, more than either London, New York or Paris, cultural Meccas in themselves. The number of cultural festivals with more than 10 sites and five years of existence also places the city as 2nd worldwide, after Edinburgh.[177] ThePalacio Libertad, located in Buenos Aires, is the largest cultural center ofLatin America,[178][179] and the third worldwide.[180]
Buenos Aires is the home of theTeatro Colón, an internationally rated opera house.[181] There are severalsymphony orchestras and choral societies. The city has numerous museums related to arts and crafts, history, fine arts, modern arts, decorative arts, popular arts, sacred art,theater and popular music, as well as the preserved homes of noted art collectors, writers, composers and artists. The city is home to hundreds of bookstores, public libraries and cultural associations (it is sometimes called "the city of books"), as well as the largest concentration of activetheaters in Latin America. It has azoo andbotanical 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.[181]
The first major artistic movements in Argentina coincided with the first signs of political liberty in the country, such as the 1913 sanction of the secret ballot and universal male suffrage, thefirst president to be popularly elected (1916), and the cultural revolution that involved the University Reform of 1918. In this context, in which there continued to be influence from theParis School (Modigliani, Chagall, Soutine, Klee), three main groups arose. Buenos Aires has been the birthplace of several artists andmovements of national and international relevance and has become a central motif in Argentine artistic production, especially since the 20th century.[189]
Buenos Aires has also become a prominent center of contemporarystreet art; its welcoming attitude has made it one of the world's top capitals of such expression.[192][193] The city's turbulent modern political history has "bred an intense sense of expression inporteños", and urban art has been used to depict these stories and as a means of protest.[183][193] However, not all of its street art concerns politics, it is also used as a symbol of democracy and freedom of expression.[183] Murals and graffiti are so common that they are considered "an everyday occurrence," and have become part of the urban landscape ofbarrios such as Palermo,Villa Urquiza,Coghlan andSan Telmo.[194] This has to do with the legality of such activities —provided that the building owner has consented—, and the receptiveness of local authorities, who even subsidize various works.[192] The abundance of places for urban artists to create their work, and the relatively lax rules for street art, have attracted international artists such asBlu,Jef Aérosol, Aryz,ROA, andRon English.[192] Guided tours to see murals and graffiti around the city have been growing steadily.[195]
Buenos Aires has long been considered an intellectual and literary capital ofLatin America and theSpanish-speaking world.[196][197] Despite its short urban history, Buenos Aires has an abundant literary production; its mythical-literary network "has grown at the same rate at which the streets of the city earned its shores to the pampas and buildings stretched its shadow on the curb."[198] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culture boomed along with the economy and the city emerged as a literary capital and the seat of South America's most powerful publishing industry,[199] and "even if the economic path grew rocky, ordinary Argentines embraced and stuck to the habit of reading."[200] By the 1930s, Buenos Aires was the undisputed literary capital of the Spanish-speaking world, withVictoria Ocampo founding the highly influentialSur magazine—which dominated Spanish-language literature for thirty years—[201] and the arrival of prominent Spanish writers and editors who were escaping thecivil war.[200]
Buenos Aires is one of the most prolific book publishers in Latin America and has more bookstores per capita than any other major city in the world.[200][202] Buenos Aires has at least 734 bookstores—roughly 25 bookshops for every 100,000 inhabitants—far above other world cities like London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow and New York.[200][202] The city also has a thriving market for secondhand books, ranking third in terms of secondhand bookshops per inhabitant, most of them congregated alongAvenida Corrientes.[202] Buenos Aires' book market has been described as "catholic in taste, immune to fads or fashion", with "wide and varied demand."[202] The popularity of reading amongporteños has been variously linked to the wave of mass immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and to the city's "obsession" with psychoanalysis.[202]
TheBuenos Aires International Book Fair has been a major event in the city since the first fair in 1975,[196] having been described as "perhaps the most important and largest annual literary event in the Spanish-speaking world,"[203] and "the most important cultural event in Latin America".[204] In its 2019 edition, the Book Fair was attended by 1.8 million people.[204]
According to theHarvard Dictionary of Music, "Argentina has one of the richestart music traditions and perhaps the most active contemporary musical life" in South America.[206] Buenos Aires boasts of several professional orchestras, including theArgentine National Symphony Orchestra, the Ensamble Musical de Buenos Aires and theCamerata Bariloche; as well as various conservatories that offer professional music education, like theConservatorio Nacional Superior de Música.[206] As a result of the growth and commercial prosperity of the city in the late 18th century,theater became a vital force in Argentine musical life, offering Italian and French operas and Spanishzarzuelas.[206] Italian music was very influential during the 19th century and the early 20th century, in part because of immigration, but operas and salon music were also composed by Argentines, including Francisco Hargreaves and Juan Gutiérrez.[206] A nationalist trend that drew from Argentine traditions, literature and folk music was an important force during the 19th century, including composersAlberto Williams, Julián Aguirre, Arturo Berutti andFelipe Boero.[206] In the 1930s, composers such asJuan Carlos Paz andAlberto Ginastera "began to espouse a cosmopolitan andmodernist style, influenced bytwelve-tone techniques andserialism"; whileavant-garde music thrived by the 1960s, with theRockefeller Foundation financing the Centro Interamericano de Altos Estudios Musicales, which brought internationally famous composers to work and teach in Buenos Aires, also establishing anelectronic music studio.[206]
The Río de la Plata is known for being the birthplace oftango, which is considered an emblem of Buenos Aires.[207] The city considers itself the Tango World Capital, and as such hosts many related events, the most important beingan annual festival and world tournament.[207] The most important exponent of the genre isCarlos Gardel, followed byAníbal Troilo; other important composers include Alfredo Gobbi,Ástor Piazzolla,Osvaldo Pugliese,Mariano Mores,Juan D'Arienzo andJuan Carlos Cobián.[208] Tango music experienced a period of splendor during the 1940s, while in the 1960s and 1970snuevo tango appeared, incorporating elements of classical and jazz music. A contemporary trend isneotango (also known as electrotango), with exponents such asBajofondo andGotan Project. On 30 September 2009, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage declared tango part of the world's cultural heritage, making Argentina eligible to receive financial assistance in safeguarding tango for future generations.[209]
Argentine cinema history began in Buenos Aires with the first film exhibition on 18 July 1896 at theTeatro Odeón.[210][211] With his 1897 film,La bandera Argentina,Eugène Py became one of the first filmmakers of the country; the film features a waving Argentine flag located at Plaza de Mayo.[211] In the early 20th century, the firstmovie theaters of the country opened in Buenos Aires, andnewsreels appeared, most notablyEl Viaje de Campos Salles a Buenos Aires.[211] The real industry emerged with the advent ofsound films, the first one beingMuñequitas porteñas (1931).[210][211] The newly foundedArgentina Sono Film released¡Tango! in 1933, the first integral sound production in the country.[211] During the 1930s and the 1940s (commonly referred as the "Golden Age" of Argentine cinema), many films revolved around the city of Buenos Aires and tango culture, reflected in titles such asLa vida es un tango,El alma del bandoneón,Adiós Buenos Aires,El Cantor de Buenos Aires andBuenos Aires canta.Argentine films were exported across Latin America, speciallyLibertad Lamarque's melodramas, and the comedies ofLuis Sandrini andNiní Marshall. The popularity of local cinema in the Spanish-speaking world played a key role in the massification of tango music.Carlos Gardel, an iconic figure of tango and Buenos Aires, became an international star by starring in several films during that era.
In response to large studio productions, the "Generation of the 60s" appeared, a group of filmmakers that produced the firstmodernist films in Argentina during the early years of that decade. These includedManuel Antín,Lautaro Murúa andRené Mugica, among others.[212]
During the second half of the decade, films of social protest were presented in clandestine exhibitions, the work ofGrupo Cine Liberación and Grupo Cine de la Base, who advocated what they called "Third Cinema". At that time, the country was under amilitary dictatorship after thecoup d'état known asArgentine Revolution. One of the most notable films of this movement isLa hora de los hornos (1968) byFernando Solanas. During the period of democracy between 1973 and 1975, the local cinema experienced critical and commercial success, with titles includingJuan Moreira (1973),La Patagonia rebelde (1974),La Raulito (1975), andLa tregua (1974) – which became the first Argentine film nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. However, because of censorship and a new military government, Argentine cinema stalled until the return of democracy in the 1980s. This generation – known as "Argentine Cinema in Liberty and Democracy" – were mostly young or postponed filmmakers and gained international notoriety.Camila (1984) byMaría Luisa Bemberg was nominated for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, andLuis Puenzo'sLa historia oficial (1985) was the first Argentine film to receive the award.
Located in Buenos Aires is the Pablo Ducrós Hicken Museum of Cinema, the only one in the country dedicated to Argentine cinema and a pioneer of its kind in Latin America.[213] Every year, the city hosts theBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI), which, in its 2015 edition, featured 412 films from 37 countries, and an attendance of 380 thousand people.[214] Buenos Aires also hosts various other festivals and film cycles, like theBuenos Aires Rojo Sangre, devoted to horror.
Buenos Aires' inhabitants have been historically characterized as "fashion-conscious".[215][216][217] National designers display their collections annually at theBuenos Aires Fashion Week (BAFWEEK) and related events.[218] Inevitably being a season behind, it fails to receive much international attention.[219] Nevertheless, the city remains an important regional fashion capital. According toGlobal Language Monitor, as of 2017[update] the city is the 20th leading fashion capital in the world, ranking second inLatin America afterRio de Janeiro.[220]
In 2005, Buenos Aires was appointed as the firstUNESCO City of Design,[221] and received this title once again in 2007.[222] Since 2015, the Buenos Aires International Fashion Film Festival Buenos Aires (BAIFFF) takes place, sponsored by the city andMercedes-Benz.[223] The government of the city also organizes La Ciudad de Moda ("The City of Fashion"), an annual event that serves as a platform for emerging creators and attempts to boost the sector by providing management tools.[224]
The fashionableneighborhood of Palermo, particularly the area known asSoho, is where the latest fashion and design trends are presented.[225] The "sub-barrio" of Palermo Viejo is also a popular port of call for fashion in the city.[226] An increasing number of young, independent designers are also setting up their own shops in Bohemian San Telmo, known for its wide variety of markets and antique shops.[225] Recoleta, on the other hand, is the epicenter of branches of exclusive and upscale fashion houses.[225] In particular,Avenida Alvear is home to the most exclusive representatives of haute couture in the city.[226]
Buenos Aires architecture is characterized by its eclectic nature, with elements resemblingParis andMadrid. There is a mix, due toimmigration, ofColonial,Art Deco,Art Nouveau,Neo-Gothic, andFrench Bourbon styles.[227] Italian and French influences increased after thedeclaration of independence at the beginning of the 19th century, although the academic style persisted until the first decades of the 20th century. Attempts at renovation took place during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, when European influences penetrated into the country, reflected by several buildings of Buenos Aires such as the Iglesia Santa Felicitas by Ernesto Bunge; the Palace of Justice, theNational Congress, all of them byVittorio Meano, and theTeatro Colón, byFrancesco Tamburini andVittorio Meano. The simplicity of theRioplatensebaroque style is evident in Buenos Aires through the works of Italian architects such as André Blanqui and Antonio Masella, in the churches ofSan Ignacio,Nuestra Señora del Pilar, theCathedral and theCabildo.
In 1912, the Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento was opened to the public; its construction was funded by the generous donation of Argentine philanthropistMercedes Castellanos de Anchorena, a member of Argentina's most prominent family. The church is an excellent example of French neo-classicism. With extremely high-grade decorations in its interior, the magnificent Mutin-Cavaillé coll organ (the biggest ever installed in an Argentine church with more than four thousand tubes and four manuals) presided the nave. The altar is full of marble and was the biggest ever built in South America at that time.[228]
In 1919, the construction of Palacio Barolo began. This was South America's tallest building at the time and was the first Argentine skyscraper built with concrete (1919–1923).[229] The building was equipped with 9 elevators, plus a twenty-meter-high (65 ft) lobby hall with paintings in the ceiling and Latin phrases embossed in golden bronze letters. A 300,000-candela beacon was installed at the top (110 m), making the building visible even from Uruguay. In 2009, the Barolo Palace went under an exhaustive restoration, and the beacon was made operational again.
In 1936, the 120-meter-tall (395 ft)Kavanagh Building was inaugurated. The building, with its 12 elevators (provided byOtis) and the world's first central air conditioning system (provided by the North American companyCarrier), is still an architectural landmark in Buenos Aires.[230]
Buenos Aires is known asThe Paris of South America.
The architecture of the second half of the 19th century continued to reproduce Frenchneoclassic models, such as the headquarters of theBanco de la Nación Argentina built byAlejandro Bustillo, and the Museo Hispanoamericano de Buenos Aires of Martín Noel. However, since the 1930s, the influence ofLe Corbusier and Europeanrationalism consolidated in a group of young architects from theUniversity of Tucumán, among whomAmancio Williams stands out. The construction of skyscrapers proliferated in Buenos Aires until the 1950s. Newer modern high-technology buildings by Argentine architects in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st include theLe Parc Tower by Mario Álvarez, the Torre Fortabat by Sánchez Elía, and theRepsol-YPF Tower byCésar Pelli.
Buenos Aires has over 280theaters, more than any other city in the world.[231] Because of this, Buenos Aires is declared the "World's Capital of Theater".[232] They show everything from musicals to ballet, comedy to circuses.[233] Some of them are:
Teatro Colón is ranked the third best opera house in the world by National Geographic,[234] and is acoustically considered to be among the world's five best concert venues. It is bounded by the wide9 de Julio Avenue (technically Cerrito Street), Arturo Toscanini Street, Tucumán Street, as well as Libertad Street at its main entrance.[235] It is in the heart of the city on a site once occupied byFerrocarril Oeste'sPlaza Parque station.
Cervantes Theater (Teatro Nacional Cervantes), located onCórdoba Avenue and two blocks north of Buenos Aires' renownedopera house, the Colón Theater, the Cervantes houses three performance halls, of which the María Guerrero Salon serves as its main hall. Its 456 m2 (4,910 sq ft) stage features a 12 m (39 ft) rotating circular platform and can be extended by a further 2.7 m (8.9 ft). The Guerrero Salon can seat 860 spectators, including 512 in the galleries. A secondary hall, the Orestes Caviglia Salon, can seat 150 and is mostly reserved forchamber music concerts. The Luisa Vehíl Salon is a multipurpose room known for its extensivegold leaf decor.
Football is a popular pastime among many of the city's citizens, as Buenos Aires, featuring no fewer than 24 professional teams, has the highest concentration of teams of any city in the world.[238] with many of its teams playing in the major league. Thebest-known rivalry is the one betweenBoca Juniors andRiver Plate, the match is better known asSuperclásico. Watching a match between these two teams was deemed one of the "50 sporting things you must do before you die" byThe Observer.[238]
In 1912, the practice of basketball in Argentina was started by theAsociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (YMCA) of Buenos Aires,[240] when Canadian professor Paul Phillip was in charge of teaching basketball at the YMCA of Paseo Colón Avenue. The first basketball clubs in Argentina,Hindú andIndependiente, were located at the YMCAs of theGreater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. By 1912 the first basketball games were held by YMCA headquarters in Buenos Aires. Nowadays, theArgentine Basketball Confederation is headquartered in Buenos Aires.
Argentines' love for horses can be experienced in several ways:horse racing at theHipódromo Argentino de Palermoracetrack,polo in theCampo Argentino de Polo (located just across Libertador Avenue from theHipódromo), andpato, a kind of basketball played on horseback that was declared the national game in 1953. Polo was brought to the country in the second half of the 19th century by English immigrants.
^According toINDEC, the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires has Autonomous City and 39 districts (partidos):[6]Almirante Brown, Avellaneda, Berazategui, Berisso, Brandsen, Campana, Cañuelas, Ensenada, Escobar, Esteban Echeverría, Exaltación de la Cruz, Ezeiza, Florencio Varela, General Rodríguez, General San Martín, Hurlingham, Ituzaingó, José C. Paz, La Matanza, Lanús, La Plata, Lomas de Zamora, Luján, Malvinas Argentinas, Marcos Paz, Merlo, Moreno, Morón, Pilar, Presidente Perón, Quilmes, San Fernando, San Isidro, San Miguel, San Vicente, Tigre, Tres de Febrero, Vicente López y Zárate.
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^Ivereigh, Austen (2016).Catholicism and Politics in Argentina, 1810–1960. Springer. p. 76.ISBN9781349136186.Buenos Aires was the second largest Catholic city in the world (after Paris)
^Clark, Francis Edward (1907).The Continent of Opportunity. Princeton University Pree. p. 208.... BUENOS AYRES second largest Roman Catholic city in the world, the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world...
^Rosenswaike, Ira (October 1960). "The Jewish Population of Argentina: Census and Estimate, 1887–1947".Jewish Social Studies.22 (4).Indiana University Press:195–214.JSTOR4465819.
^IntermediaSP. 2007."ADEFA". ADEFA. Archived fromthe original on 25 January 1999. Retrieved9 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Chesterton, Matt (August 2014)."Best Art in Buenos Airespast".Travel + Leisure. Time Inc.Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved3 February 2016.
^"Museos de la ciudad" (in Spanish). Government of the City of Buenos Aires. 8 April 2014.Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved3 February 2016.
^"La Noche de los Museos" (in Spanish). Government of the City of Buenos Aires. 12 November 2013.Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved3 February 2016.
^Battistozzi, Ana María (August 2005)."La ciudad: arte y utopías" (in Spanish). Centro Virtual de Arte Argentino.Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved18 November 2016.
^Babino, Malena (September 2007)."El grupo de París" (in Spanish). Centro Virtual de Arte Argentino.Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved18 November 2016.
^Battiti, Florencia; Mezza, Cintia (August 2006)."La Boca Artists". Centro Virtual de Arte Argentino.Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved18 November 2016.
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^Sendrós, Paraná (29 July 2014)."El Cine Argentino (1945–1995)" (in Spanish). El Sur del Sur.Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved29 February 2016.
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