The culture of Argentina is as varied as the country's geography and is composed of a mix of ethnic groups. Modern Argentinian culture has been influenced largely by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, and other European immigration, while there is still a lesser degree of elements of the Amerindians of Argentina, particularly in the fields of music and art.

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...

, its cultural capital, is largely characterized by both the prevalence of people of Southern European descent, and of European styles in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

.Luongo, Michael. ''Frommer's Argentina''. Wiley Publishing, 2007. Museums, cinemas, and galleries are abundant in all of the large urban centers, as well as traditional establishments such as literary bars, or bars offering

live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

of a variety of music genres. An Argentine writer reflected on the nature of the culture of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

as follows :

Language

The spoken languages of Argentina number at least 40, although

is dominant. Others include native and other immigrant languages; some languages are extinct and others are endangered, spoken by elderly people whose descendants do not speak the languages.Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International
Online version: Languages of Argentina
Retrieved on 2 January 2007. The most prevalent dialect is ''

Rioplatense Rioplatense Spanish (), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, is a variety of Spanish spoken mainly in and around the Río de la Plata Basin of Argentina and Uruguay. It is also referred to as River Plate Spanish or Argentine Spanish. It is th ...

'', also known as "Argentine Spanish", whose speakers are located primarily in the basin of the Río de la Plata. Argentines are amongst the few Spanish-speaking countries (like Uruguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras) that almost universally use what is known as ''

voseo In Spanish grammar, () is the use of as a second-person singular pronoun, along with its associated verbal forms, in certain regions where the language is spoken. In those regions it replaces , i.e. the use of the pronoun and its verbal for ...

'' – the use of the pronoun ''vos'' instead of ''tú'' (Spanish for "you"). In many of the central and north-eastern areas of the country, the "rolling r" takes on the same sound as the ll and y ('zh' – a voiced palatal fricative sound, similar to the "s" in the English pronunciation of the word "vision").

South Bolivian Quechua South Bolivian Quechua, also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as ''Colla''. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which ...

is a

Quechuan language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widel ...

spoken by some 800,000 people, mostly immigrants who have arrived in the last years. There are 70,000 estimated speakers in Salta Province. The language is also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, which has six dialects. It is classified as a Quechua II language, and is referred to as Quechua IIC by linguists. Guaraní is also spoken, mainly in the Mesopotamia, and is an official language in the province of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...

Literature

Argentina has a detailed literary history, as well as one of the region's most active publishing industries. Argentine writers have figured prominently in Latin American literature, since becoming a fully united entity in the 1850s, with a strong constitution and a defined nation-building plan. The struggle between the Federalists (who favored a loose confederation of provinces based on rural conservatism) and the Unitarians (pro-liberalism and advocates of a strong central government that would encourage European immigration), set the tone for Argentine literature of the time.Wilson, Jason. ''Cultural Guide to the City of Buenos Aires'. Oxford, England: Signal Books, 1999. The ideological divide between gaucho epic ''

Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín Fi ...

'' by

José Hernández José Hernández may refer to: Arts and entertainment * José Hernández (writer) (1834–1886), Argentine writer * Pepe Hern (José Hernández Bethencourth, 1927–2009), American actor * José Hernández, American singer (born 1940), better known ...

, and ''Facundo'' by

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing sp ...

, is a great example. Hernández, a federalist, was opposed to the centralizing, modernizing, and Europeanizing tendencies. Sarmiento wrote in support of immigration as the only way to save Argentina from becoming subject to the rule of a small number of dictatorial ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

'' families, arguing such immigrants would make Argentina more modern and open to Western European influences, and therefore a more prosperous society. Argentine literature of that period was fiercely nationalist. It was followed by the modernist movement, which emerged in France in the late 19th century, and this period in turn was followed by vanguardism, with

Ricardo Güiraldes Ricardo Güiraldes (13 February 1886 — 8 October 1927)Escuela Normal Superior de Chascomús was an Argentine novelist and poet, one of the most significant Argentine writers of his era, particularly known for his 1926 novel ''Don Segundo Sombra ...

as an important reference. Jorge Luis Borges, its most acclaimed writer, found new ways of looking at the modern world in metaphor and philosophical debate, and his influence has extended to writers all over the globe. Borges is most famous for his works in short stories such as ''

Ficciones ' (in English: "Fictions") is a collection of short stories by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges, originally written and published in Spanish between 1941 and 1956. Thirteen stories from ''Ficciones'' were first published by New Dire ...

'' and '' The Aleph''. Some of the nation's notable writers, poets, and intellectuals include: Juan Bautista Alberdi, Jorge Luis Borges,

Roberto Arlt Roberto Arlt (April 26, 1900 – July 26, 1942) was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, journalist and inventor. Biography He was born Roberto Godofredo Christophersen Arlt in Buenos Aires on April 26, 1900. His parents were bot ...

Enrique Banchs Enrique Banchs (1888–1968) was an Argentine poet. He published all his work in the space of four years at the beginning of the 20th century. In his four works, ''Las barcas'' (1907), ''El libro de los elogios'' (1908), ''El cascabel del halcón ...

Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fan ...

Silvina Bullrich Silvina Bullrich (October 4, 1915 – July 2, 1990) was a best-selling Argentine novelist, as well as a translator, screenwriter, critic, and academic. She was known in Argentina as ''la gran burguesa'' ("the great bourgeois lady"). Life and ...

, Eugenio Cambaceres, Julio Cortázar,

Esteban Echeverría José Esteban Antonio Echeverría (2 September 1805 – 19 January 1851) was an Argentine poet, fiction writer, cultural promoter, and liberal activist who played a significant role in the development of Argentine literature, not only throug ...

Leopoldo Lugones Leopoldo Antonio Lugones Argüello (13 June 1874 – 18 February 1938) was an Argentine poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, professor, translator, biographer, philologist, theologian, diplomat, politician and journalist. His poetic ...

, Eduardo Mallea,

Ezequiel Martínez Estrada Ezequiel Martínez Estrada (September 14, 1895 – November 4, 1964) was an Argentine writer, poet, essayist, and literary critic. An admired biographer and critic, he was often political in his writings, and was a confirmed anti-Peronist. While i ...

, Tomás Eloy Martínez,

Victoria Ocampo Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo (7 April 1890 – 27 January 1979) was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine '' Sur'', she was also a writer and critic in he ...

Manuel Puig Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne (December 28, 1932 – July 22, 1990), commonly called Manuel Puig, was an Argentine author. Among his best-known novels are '' La traición de Rita Hayworth'' ('' Betrayed by Rita Hayworth'', 1968), ''Boquitas pin ...

Ernesto Sabato Ernesto Sabato (June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the literary w ...

Osvaldo Soriano Osvaldo Soriano (January 6, 1943 – January 29, 1997) was an Argentine journalist and writer.Osvaldo Soriano
at the

Alfonsina Storni Alfonsina Storni (22 May 1892 – 25 October 1938) was an Argentine poet and playwright of the modernist period. Early life Storni was born on May 29, 1892 in Sala Capriasca, Switzerland. Her parents were Alfonso Storni and Paola Martignoni, wh ...

, María Elena Walsh and Oliverio Girondo.

Visual arts

Painting and sculpture

Argentine painters and sculptors have a rich history, dating from both before and since the development of modern Argentina in the second half of the 19th century. Artistic production did not truly come into its own, until after the 1852 overthrow of the repressive regime of

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although ...

. Immigrants like Eduardo Schiaffino,

Eduardo Sívori Eduardo Sívori (October 13, 1847 – June 5, 1918) was an Argentine artist widely regarded as his country's first realist painter. Life and work Born to Genoese immigrants in Buenos Aires, Sívori had harbored artistic leanings during childho ...

, Reinaldo Giudici, Emilio Caraffa, and

Ernesto de la Cárcova Ernesto de la Cárcova y Arrotea (March 3, 1866 – December 28, 1927) was an Argentine painter of the Realist school. Life and work Ernesto de la Cárcova was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1866. Taking an early interest in the canvas, h ...

left behind a realist heritage influential to this day. Impressionism did not make itself evident among Argentine artists until after 1900, however, and never acquired the kind of following it did in Europe, though it did inspire influential Argentine post-impressionists such as

Martín Malharro Martín Malharro (1865–1911) was an Argentine painter that introduced Impressionism in the country in the early 20th century. Life and work Martín Malharro was born in the central Buenos Aires Province city of Azul in 1865. His childhood in ...

, Ramón Silva, Cleto Ciocchini, Fernando Fader,

Pío Collivadino Pío Collivadino (August 20, 1869August 26, 1945) was an Argentine painter of the post-impressionist school. Life and work Pío Collivadino was born in Buenos Aires, in 1869. He studied drawing at the Italian Argentine cultural society, the ''So ...

, Cesáreo Bernaldo de Quirós,

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

, and

aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...

continued to set the agenda in Argentine painting and sculpture, noteworthy during this era for the sudden fame of sculptor

Lola Mora Dolores Candelaria Mora Vega (November 17, 1866 – June 7, 1936) known professionally as Lola Mora, was a sculptor born in San Miguel de Tucumán, in Argentina. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field. Early ...

, a student of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

. As Lola Mora had been until she fell out of favor with local high society, monumental sculptors became in very high demand after 1900, particularly by municipal governments and wealthy families, who competed with each other in boasting the most evocative mausolea for their dearly departed. Though most preferred French and Italian sculptors, work by locals Erminio Blotta, Ángel María de Rosa, and

Rogelio Yrurtia Rogelio Yrurtia (December 6, 1879 – March 4, 1950) was a renowned Argentine sculptor of the Realist school. Life and work Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Basque immigrants in 1879, Rogelio Yrurtia enrolled in the local Society for the ...

resulted in a proliferation of soulful monuments and memorials made them immortal. Not as realist as the work of some of his ''belle-époque'' predecessors in sculpture, Yrurtia's subtle impressionism inspired Argentine students like Antonio Pujía, whose internationally prized female torsos always surprise admirers with their whimsical and surreal touches, while Pablo Curatella Manes' sculptures drew from cubism. 192 - Buenos Aires - Galerias Pacifico - Janvier 2010

192 - Buenos Aires - Galerias Pacifico - Janvier 2010

Becoming an intellectual, as well as artistic circle, painters like

Antonio Berni Delesio Antonio Berni (14 May 1905 – 13 October 1981) was an Argentine figurative artist. He is associated with the movement known as ''Nuevo Realismo'' ("New Realism"), an Argentine extension of social realism. His work, including a series ...

Lino Enea Spilimbergo Lino Enea Spilimbergo (born Lino Claro Honorio Enea Spilimbergo; 12 August 1896 – 16 March 1964) was an Argentine artist and engraver considered to be one of the country's most important painters. Biography Lino Enea Spilimbergo was born i ...

, and

Juan Carlos Castagnino Juan Carlos Castagnino (November 18, 1908April 21, 1972) was an Argentine painter, architect, muralist and sketch artist. Born in the rural village of Camet, near the city of Mar del Plata, he studied in the ''Escuela de Bellas Artes'' in Buenos ...

were friends as well as colleagues, going on to collaborate on masterpieces like the ceiling at the '' Galerias Pacifico'' arcade in Buenos Aires, towards 1933. As in Mexico and elsewhere,

muralism A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

became increasingly popular among Argentine artists. Among the first to use his drab surroundings as a canvas was

Benito Quinquela Martín Benito Quinquela Martín (March 1, 1890 – January 28, 1977) was an Argentine painter. Quinquela Martín is considered the port painter-par-excellence and one of the most popular Argentine painters. His paintings of port scenes show the activit ...

, whose vaguely cubist pastel-colored walls painted in his Buenos Aires neighborhood of

La Boca La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. It retains a strong Italian flavour, many of its early settlers having originated in the city of Genoa. Geography ...

during the 1920s and 1930s, have become historical monuments and Argentine cultural emblems, worldwide. Lithographs, likewise, found a following in Argentina sometime after they had been made popular elsewhere. In Argentina, artists like Adolfo Bellocq, used this medium to portray often harsh working conditions in Argentina's growing industrial sector, during the 1920s and 1930s. Antonio Seguí, another lithographer, transferred his

naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

style into murals in numerous nations, as did

Ricardo Carpani Ricardo Carpani (February 2, 1930 – September 9, 1997) was an Argentine artist. Life and work Born in Tigre, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires, his family moved to the city proper in 1936, and there Carpani finished his secondary school st ...

, though in a realist style. The vanguard in culturally conservative Argentina,

futurists Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

and cubists like Xul Solar and Emilio Pettoruti earned a following as considerable as that of less abstract and more sentimental portrait and landscape painters, like Raúl Soldi. Likewise, traditional abstract artists such as

Romulo Macció Romulo may refer to: People with the given name Romulo Italian * Rômulo (footballer, born 1987), Brazilian-born football player * Romulo Cincinato (1502 – circa 1593), painter Portuguese * Rómulo (footballer, born 1976), football player M ...

Anselmo Piccoli Anselmo Piccoli (September 4, 1915 – July 12, 1992) was an Argentine Abstract artist. Life and work Anselmo Piccoli was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1915. Politically active as a Socialist during secondary school, Piccoli found time to attend ...

Eduardo Mac Entyre Eduardo Mac Entyre (20 February 1929 – 5 May 2014) was an Argentine artist known for his geometric paintings. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a Scottish father and Belgian mother, Mac Entyre began pursuing his talent for sketches at the ...

Luis Felipe Noé Luis Felipe Noé (born May 26, 1933) is an Argentine artist, writer, intellectual and teacher. He is known in his home country as ''Yuyo''. In 1961 he formed Otra Figuración (another figuration) with three other Argentine artists. Their eponymo ...

, and Luis Seoane co-existed with equal appeal as the most conceptual mobile art creators such as the unpredictable Pérez Celis,

Gyula Kosice Gyula Kosice ( hu, Falk Gyula; 26 April 1924 – 25 May 2016), born as Ferdinand Fallik, was a Czechoslovakian-born and naturalized Argentine sculptor, plastic artist, theorist, and poet. He played a pivotal role in defining the concrete and non ...

of the Argentine

Madí Movement Madí (or MADI; also known as Grupo Madí or Arte Madí) is an international abstract (or concrete) art movement initiated in Buenos Aires in 1946 by the Hungarian-Argentinian artist and poet Gyula Kosice, and the Uruguayans Carmelo Arden Quin a ...

, and Marta Minujín, one of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

's most esteemed fellow

Conceptual artists Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called instal ...

. The emergence of avant-garde genres in Argentine sculpture also featured Pablo Curatella Manes and

Roberto Aizenberg Roberto Aizenberg (22 August 1928 – 16 February 1996), nicknamed "Bobby", was an Argentine painter and sculptor. He was considered the best-known orthodox surrealist painter in Argentina. Early years Aizenberg was the grandson of Russian- ...

, and constructivists such as

Nicolás García Uriburu Nicolás García Uriburu (December 24, 1937 – June 19, 2016) was an Argentine contemporary artist, landscape architect, and ecologist. His work in land art was aimed at raising consciousness about environmental issues such as water pollution. L ...

and Leon Ferrari, one of the world's foremost artists in his genre, today. In the 1960s and 1970s, many of these figures' abstract art found their way into popular advertising and even corporate logos. Generally possessing a strong sentimental streak, the Argentine public's taste for naïve art and simple pottery cannot be overlooked. Since Prilidiano Pueyrredón's day, artists in the naïve vein like

Cándido López Cándido López (29 August 1840 – 31 December 1902) was an Argentine soldier and painter who worked in the Naïve style. He is best known for his historical scenes from the Paraguayan War in which he fought. Biography Early life He beg ...

have captured the absurdity of war; Susana Aguirre, and Aniko Szabó, the idiosyncrasies of everyday neighborhoods; Guillermo Roux's

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, a circus atmosphere; and Gato Frías, childhood memories. Illustrator Florencio Molina Campos's tongue-in-cheek depictions of

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

life have endured as collectors' items. To help showcase Argentine and Latin American art and sculpture, local developer and art collector

Eduardo Constantini Eduardo Francisco Costantini (born September 17, 1946) is an Argentine real estate developer and businessman and the founder and chairman of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA). In April 2022, his net worth was estimated at U ...

set aside a significant portion of his personal collection, and in 1998, began construction on Buenos Aires' first major institution specializing in works by Latin American artists. His foundation opened the Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA) in 2001.

Graphic arts

In the 1920s, Buenos Aires was overflowing with creative drawings and design. Argentine illustrators and sketchers were attracting worldwide recognition, including artists such as Jose Freire Segundo, creator of gráfica of Aikal (1940); Jose Luis Salinas, called upon by

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspaper c ...

to create a comic strip of worldwide fame, ''

Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Magazi ...

''; and Florencio Molina Campos, the brilliant sketcher of the Alpargatas Almanacs of rural life (1930), who collaborated on three Walt Disney films. The culmination was the arrival, in 1927, of French painter, poster artist and sculptor Lucien Achille Mauzan, who was part of the artistic Art Deco movement. He settled in Buenos Aires and founded his own company ''Editorial Affiches Mauzan'' (Editorial Mauzan Posters) and created between 130 and 150 posters in the six years he spent in Argentina. He marks deeply in the poster art in Argentina,El Buenos Aires que se fue
(in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2018. where his reputation is enormous. One of his well-known works is the amicably tortured head of Geniol. In the 1950s renowned Uruguayan-Argentine journalist, caricaturist

Hermenegildo Sábat Hermenegildo Sábat (23 June 1933 – 2 October 2018) was an Argentine-Uruguayan caricaturist. Life and work Early career in journalism Hermenegildo Sábat was born in the oceanfront Pocitos section of Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1933. Named after ...

, portrayed political figures, as well as artists and other personalities. Many of his "Argentine cultural icons" are reproduced in ceramic tile in the

Buenos Aires Underground The Buenos Aires Underground ( es, Subterráneo de Buenos Aires, links=no), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Plaz ...

Comics

Argentine comics were living its " Golden Age" between the 1940s and the 1960s.

Cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

s and comic creators have contributed prominently to national culture, including

Alberto Breccia Alberto Breccia (April 15, 1919 – November 10, 1993) was an Uruguayan-born Argentine artist and cartoonist. A gifted penciller and inker, Breccia is one of the most celebrated and famous comics/ Historieta creators in the world, and specially p ...

Dante Quinterno Dante Quinterno (Buenos Aires City, October 26, 1909Buenos Aires City, May 14, 2003) was an Argentine comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential ...

, Oski, Francisco Solano López,

Horacio Altuna Horacio Altuna (born November 24, 1941) is an Argentine comics artist. Biography Altuna was born in Córdoba. He began working in the comics world in 1965 for the publisher Editorial Columbia. His first characters were Titan, a Superman-like s ...

Guillermo Mordillo Guillermo Mordillo (4 August 1932 – 29 June 2019), known simply as Mordillo, was an Argentine creator of cartoons and animations and was one of the most widely published cartoonists of the 1970s. He is most famous for his humorous, colorful, su ...

Roberto Fontanarrosa Roberto Alfredo Fontanarrosa, known popularly as ''El Negro'' Fontanarrosa (November 26, 1944 in Rosario – July 19, 2007), was an Argentine cartoonist, comics artist and writer. During his extended career, Fontanarrosa became one of the most ...

, whose grotesque characters captured life's absurdities with quick-witted commentary, and Quino, known for the soup-hating Mafalda, and her

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

gang of childhood friends, the theorist Oscar Masotta synthesized its contributions in the development of their own models of

action comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications and ...

( Héctor Oesterheld, Hugo Pratt), humor comics ( Divito, Quino) and folkloric comics ( Walter Ciocca) and the presence of four great artists ( José Luis Salinas, Arturo Pérez del Castillo, Hugo Pratt and

). Masotta, Oscar: (1970). '' La historieta en el mundo moderno''. Barcelona: Paidós. p. 144–146.

Architecture

The

architecture of Argentina The architecture of Argentina can be said to start at the beginning of the Spanish colonisation, though it was in the 18th century that the cities of the country reached their splendour. Cities like Córdoba, Salta, Mendoza, and also Buenos ...

can be said to start at the beginning of the

Spanish colonization The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

, though it was in the 18th century that the cities of the country reached their splendour. Cities like Córdoba, Salta, Mendoza, and also

conserved most their historical Spanish colonial architecture in spite of their urban growth. The simplicity of the ''

baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires includin ...

can be clearly appreciated in Buenos Aires, in the works of Italian architects such as André Blanqui and Antonio Masella, in the churches of San Ignacio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

, and the Cabildo. Italian and French influences increased after the war for independence at the beginning of the 19th century, though 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 beginning of the 20th, when the European tendencies penetrated into the country, reflected in numerous important buildings of Buenos Aires, such as the Santa Felicitam Church, by Ernesto Bunge; the Central Post Office and Palace of Justice, by Norbert Maillart; and the

National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures . Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana) *India: Indian National Congress *Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...

and the Colón Opera House, by

Vittorio Meano Vittorio Meano (1860, Susa, Piedmont1904) was an Italian architect born in Susa, Italy, near Turin. Background and early career He studied architecture in Albertina Academy in Turin. In 1884 he arrived in Argentina to work in the studio of ...

The architecture of the second half of the 20th century continued adapting French neoclassical architecture, such as the headquarters of the National Bank of Argentina, and the

NH Gran Hotel Provincial The NH Gran Hotel Provincial is a five star establishment in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Overview The hotel is one of a pair of twin buildings designed by architect Alejandro Bustillo. Inspired by seafront Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, France, th ...

, built by

Alejandro Bustillo Alejandro Bustillo (18 March 1889 – 3 November 1982) was an Argentine painter and architect who left his mark in various tourist destinations in Argentina, especially in the Andean region of the Patagonia. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, son ...

, and the Museo de Arte Hispano Fernández Blanco, by Martín Noel. Numerous Argentine architects have enriched their own country's cityscapes, and in recent decades, those around the world.

Juan Antonio Buschiazzo Juan Antonio Buschiazzo (October 29, 1845May 13, 1917) was an Italian-born Argentine architect and engineer who contributed to the modernisation of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the 1880s and to the construction of the city of La Plata, the new capi ...

helped popularize

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...

, and

Francisco Gianotti Francesco Gianotti (''Francisco'' in Spanish; April 4, 1881February 13, 1967) was an Italian architect who designed many important Art Nouveau buildings in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Born in 1881 in Lanzo, near Turin, Italy, he graduated as an arc ...

combined

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

with Italianate styles, each adding flair to Argentine cities during the early 20th century.

Francisco Salamone Francisco Salamone (June 5, 1897August 8, 1959) was an Argentine architect of Italian descent who, between 1936 and 1940, during the Infamous Decade, built more than 60 municipal buildings with elements of Art Deco style in 25 rural communities ...

and Viktor Sulĉiĉ left an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

legacy, and

created a prolific body of

Rationalist architecture In architecture, Rationalism is an architectural current which mostly developed from Italy in the 1920s and 1930s. Vitruvius had claimed in his work '' De architectura'' that architecture is a science that can be comprehended rationally. The for ...

Clorindo Testa Clorindo Manuel José Testa (December 10, 1923 – April 11, 2013) was an Italian-Argentine architect and artist. Testa was one of the leaders of the Argentine rationalist movement and one of the pioneers of the brutalist movement in Argen ...

introduced

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

locally,

César Pelli César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur ...

's and

Patricio Pouchulu Patricio Pouchulu (born April 13, 1965) is a contemporary organic architect. Born in Buenos Aires, he graduated as an architect at Universidad de Buenos Aires before moving to London to study with Peter Cook at The Bartlett School of Architect ...

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

creations have graced cities, worldwide. Pelli's 1980s throwbacks to the Art Deco glory of the 1920s, in particular, made him one of the world's most prestigious architects. Argentina cities have varied architecture. Commonly each house has an individual design, and is very rare to find any

tract housing Tract housing is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found in suburb developments that were modeled on the " Levi ...

neighborhood.

Popular culture

Cinema

The Argentine film industry created around 170 full-length titles in 2012. The world's first

animated feature films Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

were made and released in Argentina, by cartoonist

Quirino Cristiani Quirino Cristiani (July 2, 1896 – August 2, 1984) was an Italian-born Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though th ...

, in 1917 and 1918.

Argentine cinema Cinema of Argentina refers to the film industry based in Argentina. The Argentine cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Argentina or by Argentine filmmakers abroad. The Argentine film industry has histor ...

enjoyed a 'golden age' in the 1930s through the 1950s with scores of productions, many now considered classics of Spanish-language film. The industry produced actors who became the first movie stars of Argentine cinema, often tango performers such as

Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...

, Floren Delbene,

Tito Lusiardo Tito Lusiardo (September 13, 1896 – June 25, 1982 in Buenos Aires) was an iconic Argentine film actor and tango singer of the classic era. Lusiardo began acting for film in 1933 and made some 50 film appearances as an actor. He began a ...

Tita Merello Laura Ana "Tita" Merello (11 October 1904 – 24 December 2002) was an Argentine film actress, tango dancer and singer of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema (1940–1960). In her 6 decades in Argentine entertainment, at the time of her death, s ...

Roberto Escalada Roberto Escalada born Aldo Roberto Leggero (4 July 1914 – 5 December 1986 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine actor, an icon of the classic era of Argentine cinema. Roberto Escalada began his career working on the radio, and it was his voice ...

, and Hugo del Carril. More recent films from the "New Wave" of cinema since the 1980s have achieved worldwide recognition, such as ''

The Official Story ''The Official Story'' ( es, La historia oficial) is a 1985 Argentine drama historical film directed by Luis Puenzo and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe and Hugo Arana. In the ...

'' ( Best foreign film Oscar in 1986), ''

Man Facing Southeast ''Man Facing Southeast'' ( es, Hombre mirando al sudeste) is a 1986 Argentine science fiction drama film written and directed by Eliseo Subiela, starring Lorenzo Quinteros and Hugo Soto. The film was selected as the Argentine entry for the ...

'', '' A Place in the World'', ''

Nine Queens ''Nueve Reinas'' () is a 2000 Argentinian crime film written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky. It stars Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, and Leticia Brédice. In the film, con artists Marcos (Darín) and Juan (Pauls) unexpectedly team up to sel ...

'', ''

Son of the Bride ''Son of the Bride'' ( es, El hijo de la novia) is a 2001 Argentine comedy drama film directed by Juan José Campanella and written by Campanella and Fernando Castets. The executive producers were Juan Vera and Juan Pablo Galli, and it was produ ...

'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Blessed by Fire'', ''

The Secret in Their Eyes ''The Secret in Their Eyes'' ( es, link=no, El secreto de sus ojos) is a 2009 Argentinian crime drama film directed, co-written, produced and edited by Juan José Campanella, based on the novel ''La pregunta de sus ojos'' (''The Question in Thei ...

'', winner of the 2009

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, and '' Wild Tales''. Although rarely rivaling

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

productions in popularity, local films are released weekly, and widely followed in Argentina and internationally. A number of local films, many of which are low-budget productions, have earned prizes in cinema festivals (such as

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

), and are promoted by events such as the

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...

and the

Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema The Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI, es, Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of B ...

. The per capita number of screens is one of the highest in Latin America, and viewing per capita is the highest in the region. A new generation of Argentine directors have caught the attention of critics worldwide. Cinema is an important facet of local culture, as well as a popular pastime, and levels of cinema attendance are comparable to those of European countries. Argentine composers

Luis Bacalov Luis Enríquez Bacalov (30 August 1933 – 15 November 2017) was an Argentine-born film composer. He learned music from Enrique Barenboim, father of Daniel Barenboim the conductor of the Berlin, and Chicago orchestras, and also Berta Sujovolsky ...

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

, and

Eugenio Zanetti Eugenio Zanetti (born October 19, 1949) is an Argentine dramatist, painter, film set designer, and theater and opera director. He won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction in 1995, for the film ''Restoration''. Biography Zanetti was born in ...

have been honored with

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

nods. Lalo Schifrin has received numerous Grammys, and is best known for the '' Mission:Impossible'' theme.

Music

'' Tango'', the music and lyrics (often sung in a form of slang called '' lunfardo''), is Argentina's musical symbol. The Milonga dance was a predecessor, slowly evolving into modern ''tango''. By the 1930s, tango had changed from a dance-focused music to one of lyric and poetry, with singers such as

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

, Hugo del Carril,

Roberto Goyeneche Roberto Goyeneche (January 29, 1926 in Saavedra, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires – August 27, 1994 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango singer of Basque descent, who epitomized the archetype of 1950s Buenos Aires' bohemian life, and becam ...

Raúl Lavié Raúl Lavié (born August 22, 1937) nickname ''El Negro'', is an Argentine entertainer prominent in the Tango genre. Life and work Raúl Alberto Peralta was born in Álvarez, located in the Rosario Department of the Santa Fe Province, Argentina i ...

, and

Edmundo Rivero Leonel Edmundo Rivero (June 8, 1911 – January 18, 1986) was an Argentine tango singer, composer, and impresario. Biography Early days Rivero was born in the southern Buenos Aires suburb of Valentín Alsina. Joining his father in some of his ...

. The golden age of tango (1930 to mid-1950s) mirrored that of jazz and

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

in the United States, featuring large orchestral groups too, like the bands of

Osvaldo Pugliese Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese (Buenos Aires, December 2, 1905 – July 25, 1995, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango musician. He developed dramatic arrangements that retained strong elements of the walking beat of salon tango but also heralded the de ...

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with ...

Francisco Canaro Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader. Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 y ...

, Julio de Caro, and Juan d'Arienzo. Incorporating

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the ad ...

and later, synthesizers into the genre after 1955, ''

bandoneón The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...

'' virtuoso

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

popularized "new tango" creating a more subtle, intellectual and listener-oriented trend. Today, tango enjoys worldwide popularity; ever-evolving, ''neo-tango'' is a global phenomenon with renowned groups like Tanghetto, Bajofondo, and the

Gotan Project Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...

Argentine rock Argentine rock (known locally as ''rock nacional'' , "national rock" in the sense of "local", "not international") is rock music composed or performed by Argentine bands or artists mostly in Spanish. Argentine rock began by recycling hits of Eng ...

, called ''rock nacional'', is the most popular music among the youth. Arguably the most listened-to form of Spanish-language rock, its influence and international success are owed to a rich, uninterrupted development. Bands such as

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstream ...

or Sumo, and composers like

Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...

, Luis Alberto Spinetta,

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

and

Andrés Calamaro Andrés Calamaro (Andrés Calamaro Massel, August 22, 1961) is an Argentine musician, composer and Latin Grammy winner. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential rock artists in Spanish. He is also one of the most complete artist ...

are referents of national culture. Mid-1960s Buenos Aires and Rosario were cradles of the music, and by 1970, Argentine rock was well established among middle class youth (see: Almendra, Sui Generis, Pappo, Crucis,

Pescado Rabioso Pescado Rabioso (Rabid Fish) were an Argentinian rock band led by Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. Initially a trio accompanied by drummer Black Amaya and bassist Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino, they became a quartet with the ...

Serú Girán Serú Girán was an Argentine rock supergroup. Formed in 1978, the group consisted of Charly García ( keyboards, synthesizers and vocals), David Lebón (guitars and vocals), Oscar Moro ( drums and percussion) and Pedro Aznar (electric and fre ...

bridged the gap into the 1980s, when Argentine bands became popular across Latin America and elsewhere (

Enanitos Verdes Enanitos Verdes (literal translation: "Little green dwarves", roughly equivalent to the English phrase "Little green men") is a rock trio from Argentina, formed in 1979 in the city of Mendoza. History The band started in 1979, with Marciano ...

, Fabulosos Cadillacs and Virus). There are many subgenres: underground, pop-oriented, and some associated with the working class (

La Renga La Renga is a hard rock Argentine band, formed in 1988. They had moderate success with the albums '' A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida'' and '' Bailando en una pata'', between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996 ...

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el prim ...

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos ...

, V8 and Los Redonditos). Current popular bands include

Babasónicos Babasónicos is an Argentine rock band, formed in the early 1990s along with others such as Peligrosos Gorriones and Los Brujos. After emerging in the wave of Argentine New Rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babasonicos became one o ...

Los Auténticos Decadentes Los Auténticos Decadentes (Spanish for "The Authentic Decadents") is an Argentine band that mixes ska with Latin American rhythms. The band was formed around the year 1986 by Cucho and Nito, who invited Gastón to join them. Their first hit was ...

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

, Horcas,

Attaque 77 Attaque 77 ("Attack 77"), sometimes stylized as A77aque, is an Argentine punk rock group. The band was formed in 1987 as a group of friends who got together to play their favorite songs, most of them by The Ramones, their favorite band and the o ...

Bersuit Bersuit Vergarabat is an Argentine rock band that formed formally in 1987. History The previous name of the band (from 1987 to May 1989) was ''Henry y la Palangana''. By the end of 1989, the band had changed name several times, adopting nonse ...

Los Piojos Los Piojos were an Argentine rock band. Extremely popular, it became one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine music scene. Unlike most suburban outfits, however, their style evolved significantly with each successive album, not only deve ...

Catupecu Machu Catupecu Machu is an Argentine rock band, usually classified as within Rock en Español. Its current band members are Fernando Ruiz Díaz on vocals and guitar; Sebastián Cáceres on bass guitar; Agustín Rocino on drums; and Macabre González on ...

Carajo Carajo was an Argentinian rock band from Buenos Aires. It was formed in 2000 with Marcelo "Corvata" Corvalan on bass and vocals, Andres "Andy" Vilanova on drums and Hernan "Tery" Langer on guitar and backing vocals. The first two share the his ...

and Callejeros.

European classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

is well represented in Argentina. Buenos Aires is home to the world-renowned Colón Theater. Classical musicians, such as Martha Argerich, Eduardo Alonso-Crespo, Daniel Barenboim,

Eduardo Delgado Eduardo Delgado (born October 3, 1943) is an Argentina, Argentine classical pianist and teacher living in California. Born in Rosario, Argentina, Delgado is a recipient of the Vladimir Horowitz Award and has received grants from the Mozarteum Arge ...

, and

Alberto Lysy Alberto Lysy (February 11, 1935 – December 30, 2009) was a prestigious Argentine violinist and conductor of Ukrainian ancestry. The violin gifted to him was a very old Stradivarius. Among his friends were Charlie Chaplin and family whose Swiss ...

, and classical composers such as

Juan José Castro Juan José Castro (March 7, 1895September 3, 1968) was an Argentine composer and conductor. Born in Avellaneda, Castro studied piano and violin under Manuel Posadas and composition under Eduardo Fornarini, in Buenos Aires. In the 1920s he was ...

and

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buenos ...

, and contemporary composers such as

Osvaldo Golijov Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work. Biography Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...

Gerardo Gandini Gerardo Gandini (Buenos Aires (Argentina), October 16, 1936 – Buenos Aires, March 22, 2013) was a pianist, composer, and music director, who became one of the most relevant figures of contemporary Argentine music of the second half of the 20th ...

, and

Oscar Edelstein Oscar Edelstein (born 12 June 1953) is a contemporary composer from Argentina. Known for creativity and inventiveness, frequently he is described as leading Latin America's avant-garde. He is also a pianist, conductor, and researcher. Biograp ...

are internationally acclaimed. All major cities in Argentina have impressive theaters or opera houses, and provincial or city orchestras. Some cities have annual events and important

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

festivals like Semana Musical Llao Llao in

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Par ...

, and the multitudinous Amadeus in Buenos Aires. Carlos Morel - Payada en una pulpería

Argentine folk music is uniquely vast. Beyond dozens of regional dances, a national folk style emerged in the 1930s. Perón's Argentina would give rise to

Nueva Canción Nueva canción (European , ; 'new song') is a left-wing social movement and musical genre in Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, characterized by folk-inspired styles and socially committed lyrics. ''Nueva canción'' is widely recognized to ...

, as artists began expressing in their music objections to political themes.

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century. Biography ...

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

, and

Mercedes Sosa Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...

would be defining figures in shaping Nueva Canción, gaining worldwide popularity in the process. The style found a huge reception in Chile, where it took off in the 1970s, and went on to influence the entirety of

Latin American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance language, Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved Afric ...

. Today,

Chango Spasiuk Horacio ''"Chango"'' Spasiuk (born September 23, 1968 in Apóstoles, Misiones) is an Argentine chamamé musician and accordion player. Of Ukrainian grandparents, ''El Chango'' had a strong Polka music influence from his early days; Eastern Europea ...

and

Soledad Pastorutti Soledad "La Sole" Pastorutti (born October 12, 1980, in Arequito, Santa Fe) is an Argentine folk singer, who brought the genre to the younger generations at the end of the 20th century, and the beginning of the 21st. She is also a film and TV ...

have brought folk back to younger generations.

León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentini ...

's ''folk-rock'' bridged the gap between Argentine folklore and Argentine rock, introducing both styles to millions overseas in successive tours.

Theater

is one of the world's great capitals of theater. The Teatro Colón is a national landmark for opera and classical performances; built at the end of the 19th century, its acoustics are considered the best in the world, and is currently undergoing a major refurbishment in order to preserve its outstanding sound characteristics, the French-romantic style, the impressive Golden Room (a minor auditorium targeted to Chamber Music performances), and the museum at the entrance. With its theater scene of national and international caliber,

Corrientes Avenue Avenida Corrientes () is one of the principal thoroughfares of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The street is intimately tied to the tango and the porteño sense of identity. Like the parallel avenues Santa Fe, Córdoba, and San Juan, it t ...

is synonymous with the art. It is thought of as ''the street that never sleeps'', and sometimes referred to as the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

of Buenos Aires. Many great careers in acting, music, and film have begun in its many theaters. The ''

Teatro General San Martín The Teatro General San Martín (General San Martín Theater) is an important public theater in Buenos Aires, located on Corrientes Avenue and adjacent to the cultural center of the same name. It is one of the major theaters in Argentina and offer ...

'' is one of the most prestigious, along Corrientes Avenue, and the ''

Teatro Nacional Cervantes The Teatro Nacional Cervantes in Buenos Aires is the national stage and comedy theatre of Argentina. Overview Located on Córdoba Avenue and two blocks north of Buenos Aires' renowned opera house, the Colón Theatre, the Cervantes houses three ...

'' functions as the national stage theater of Argentina. The '' Teatro Argentino de La Plata'', '' El Círculo'' in Rosario, '' Independencia'' in Mendoza, and '' Libertador'' in Córdoba are also prominent.

Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the Dirty War. One recu ...

Copi COPI is a coatomer, a protein complex that coats vesicles transporting proteins from the ''cis'' end of the Golgi complex back to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they were originally synthesized, and between Golgi compartments. This ...

Roberto Cossa Roberto Cossa (born November 30, 1934) is a prominent Argentinian playwright and theatre director. Life and work Roberto Cossa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the quiet residential borough of Villa del Parque. He first acted ...

, Marco Denevi,

Carlos Gorostiza Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez (; June 7, 1920 – July 19, 2016) was an Argentine playwright, theatre director, and novelist. His seminal work ''El puente'' debuted in 1949 and he garnered numerous awards for his proceeding works. He later was Se ...

, and

Alberto Vaccarezza Bartolomé Ángel Venancio Alberto Vaccarezza (1886–1959) was an Argentine poet and playwright. Vaccarezza was born in Buenos Aires on April 1, 1886. He is usually credited as the foremost exponent of the sainete genre, having written its mo ...

are a few of the more prominent Argentine playwrights.

Julio Bocca Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, admini ...

Jorge Donn Jorge Donn (25 February 1947 in Ciudad Jardin, Buenos Aires – 30 November 1992 in Lausanne, Switzerland), was an Argentine internationally known ballet dancer. He was best known for his work with Maurice Béjart's '' Ballet of the 20th Ce ...

, José Neglia, and Norma Fontenla are some of the great

ballet dancers A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

of the modern era.

Cuisine

Besides many of the pasta, sausage, and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of Indigenous and

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...

creations, which include '' empanadas'' (a stuffed pastry), ''

locro Locro (from the Quechua ''ruqru'') is a hearty thick squash stew, associated with Native Andean civilizations, and popular along the Andes mountain range. It is one of the national dishes of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Northwest Ar ...

'' (a mixture of maize,

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

, meat,

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

, onion, and gourd),

humitas Humita (from Quechua ''humint'a'') is a Native South American dish from pre-Hispanic times, a traditional food from the Andes and it can be found in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Northwest Argentina. It consists of fresh choclo (Peruvian ...

, and

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba-maté (''Ilex paraguariensis''; from Spanish ; pt, erva-mate, or ; gn, ka'a, ) is a plant species of the holly genus ''Ilex'' native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leav ...

, all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage. Other popular items include chorizo (a pork sausage), ''facturas'' ( Viennese-style pastry),

dulce de leche ''Dulce de leche'' (; pt, doce de leite), also known as caramelized milk, milk candy or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, ...

, a sort of milk

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizati ...

jam and the

alfajor An ''alfajor'' or ''alajú'' (, plural ''alfajores'') is a traditional confection typically made of flour, honey, and nuts. It is found in Argentina, Peru, Chile, the Philippines, Southern Brazil, Southern France, Spain, and Uruguay. The ar ...

. The Argentine barbecue ''

asado ' () is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries, especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An ''asado'' usually consists of beef, por ...

'', includes succulent types of meat, among them chorizo,

sweetbread Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus (also called throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or pancreas (also called stomach, belly or gut sweetbread), typically from calf (french: ris de veau, es, hígado) or lamb (). Sweetbreads have a ri ...

chitterlings Chitterlings (), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are the small intestines of domestic animals. They are usually made from pigs' intestines. They may also be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.'' Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st editi ...

, and ''morcilla'' (

blood sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the ...

). Thin sandwiches, known as sandwiches de miga, are also popular. Argentines have the highest consumption of red meat in the world. The

Argentine wine Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Du ...

industry, long among the largest outside Europe, has benefited from growing investment since 1992; in 2007, 60% of foreign investment worldwide in

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ra ...

was destined to Argentina. The country is the fifth most important wine producer in the world,''Encyclopædia Britannica, Book of the Year (various issues): statistical appendix.'' with the annual ''per capita'' consumption of wine among the highest. Malbec grape, a discardable varietal in France (country of origin), has found in the

Province of Mendoza Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic ...

an ideal environment to successfully develop and turn itself into the world's best Malbec. Mendoza accounts for 70% of the country's total wine production. "Wine tourism" is important in Mendoza province, with the impressive landscape of the Cordillera de Los Andes, and the highest peak in the Americas,

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summ ...

( high) providing a very desirable destination for international tourism.

Sports

The official national sport of Argentina is

pato ', also called ' (, literally "duck game"), is a game played on horseback that combines elements from polo and basketball. Since 1953 it has been the national sport of Argentina. ' is Spanish for "duck", as early games used a live duck inside a ...

, although it is not very popular. It is played with a six-handle ball on horseback. Football is the most popular sport in Argentina. The national football team has won 25 major international titles, including three FIFA World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and 15 Copa América. Over one thousand Argentine players play abroad, the majority of them in European football leagues. There are 331,811 registered football players, with increasing numbers of girls and women, who have organized their own national championships since 1991, and were South American champions in 2006. The

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...

(AFA) was formed in 1893, and is the eighth oldest national football association in the world. The AFA today counts 3,377 football clubs, including 20 in the Premier Division. Since the AFA went professional in 1931, fifteen teams have won national tournament titles, including River Plate with 33 and

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the Arge ...

with 24. Over the last twenty years, futsal and

beach football Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an ...

have become increasingly popular. The Argentine national beach football team was one of four competitors in the first international championship for the sport, in Miami in 1993.

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

is the second most popular sport; a number of basketball players play in the NBA and European leagues including Emanuel Ginóbili,

Andrés Nocioni Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979) is an Argentine retired professional basketball player. He was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection before spending eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 2004 to 2012. No ...

Carlos Delfino Carlos Francisco Delfino (born August 29, 1982) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player for Victoria Libertas Pesaro of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He holds dual citizenship in both Italy and Argentina. Standing at , he ...

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980) is an Argentine former professional basketball player and current executive who currently serves as the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. ...

Pablo Prigioni Pablo Prigioni (born May 17, 1977) is an Argentine-Italian former professional basketball player, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played the point guard position, and was a member of the senior Argentina ...

Juan Ignacio Sánchez Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown (born May 8, 1977), commonly known as Pepe Sánchez, is an Argentine-American former professional basketball player. He played at the point guard position. He was a part of Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal team. ...

and

Fabricio Oberto Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto (; born March 21, 1975) is an Argentine-Italian color analyst and former professional basketball player. At , he played as a center and power forward. With the LNB club Atenas, in his native Argentina, Oberto began ...

. The national basketball team won the gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and the bronze medal in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Argentina is currently ranked third by the

International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

. Argentina has an important rugby union team, ''" Los Pumas"'', with many of its players playing in Europe. Argentina beat host nation France twice in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

, placing them third in the competition, and also finished 4th in the 2015 edition of the World Cup. The Pumas are currently ranked fifth in the official world rankings. Historically, Argentina has had a strong showing within

Auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

was five times Formula One world champion under four different teams, winning 102 of his 184 international races, and is widely ranked as the greatest driver of all time. Other distinguished racers were

Oscar Alfredo Gálvez Oscar Alfredo Gálvez (17 August 1913 – 16 December 1989) was a racing driver from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 18 January 1953, in which he scored two championship points. He was ...

, Juan Gálvez,

José Froilán González José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One ...

and

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor of ...

. Field hockey with the national team ''Las Leonas'' is one of the world's most successful, with four Olympic medals, two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, a World League and seven Champions Trophy.

Luciana Aymar Luciana Paula Aymar (; born 10 August 1977) is an Argentine retired field hockey player. She is the only player in history to receive the FIH Player of the Year Award eight times, and she is considered as the best female hockey player of all ti ...

is recognized as the best female player in the history of this sport. Argentina reigns undisputed in

Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

, having won more international championships than any other country and been seldom beaten since the 1930s. The Argentine Polo Championship is the sport's most important international team trophy. The country is home to most of the world's top players, among them

Adolfo Cambiaso Adolfo Cambiaso (born 15 April 1975) is an Argentine professional polo player with a 10-goal handicap rating. Early years From an early age his mother, Martina de Estrada Lainez, encouraged her son Adolfo and his half brothers to play polo.

, the best in Polo history. Other popular sports include tennis, handball, boxing, volleyball and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...

. The Vamos vamos Argentina chant is a trademark of Argentine fans during sporting events.

Values

Argentine values is a shared identity core that brings together actions and thoughts aimed at increasing social capital and fostering the common good among Argentines. As Rokeach state, "Values are the evaluative component of an individual's attitudes and beliefs. Values guide how we think about things in terms of what is right/wrong and correct/incorrect. Values trigger positive or negative emotions. Values also guide our actions "(Neuliep, 2009, p. 66). Argentine Values intends to create a community formed by all those who are convinced that Argentina is a great country. Argentina is a collective country where its values focus on diversity and solidarity. In addition to being a collectivistic society. The Argentines are from traditional customs, but also kind and friendly. The greeting is a crucial element in the Argentine culture where we see that nobody leaves without being greeted; Men kiss women, Women kiss men, and other men kiss men on the cheek. Another principal value for Argentines is the family. In Argentina, for example, it is prevalent for family members to visit traditionally on Sunday, meetings in which there are music, food, and games. But apart from these types of meetings, the family almost always meets for family events or gatherings such as births, weddings, and similar activities. For me that I had the experience of living three months in the country, it was very nice to see how generations come together, and "values are transmitted across generations" (Prioste, Narciso, Goncalves, & Pereira, 2017).Ana Prioste, Isabel Narciso, Miguel M. Gonçalves & Cícero R. Pereira (2017) Values' family flow: associations between grandparents, parents and adolescent children, Journal of Family Studies, 23:1, 98–117, DOI: 10.1080/13229400.2016.1187659

References

External links

''Sistema Nacional de Consumos Culturales''
("National System of Cultural Consumption") – Official website. It contains a report of a comprehensive, nationwide statistical study of cultural mores, undertaken in August 2005.
Argentine Culture, Riches and Diversity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture of Argentina

Language

Literature

Visual arts

Painting and sculpture

Graphic arts

Comics

Architecture

Popular culture

Cinema

Music

Theater

Cuisine

Sports

Values

See also

References

External links