Country Guide

People and Culture

This cosmopolitan country has descendants from all over the world and the continent...

The most striking thing about a visit to Argentina is the shear abundance and diversity of its people. From its golden era in the late 1800s, Buenos Aires was a destination of choice for many Europeans who were looking to make their fortune in the Americas.

This created a rush of different races and creeds to flood into Argentina, from Italians and Spanish, to Greeks and Turkish. Where most had to then live in the squalid apartments of the portside, old rivalries had to be cast aside pretty quickly.

On top of this, where the Spanish were fairly brutal in their eradication of local indigenous peoples in Argentina, remnants and bloodlines can still be seen up in the north, around Salta, for Incans, and from Corrientes to the north of Argentina there remains strong ancestry with the Guarani amongst others.

What this diversity has created is a race of people who, while guarding the traditions and cultures of their fore fathers, are also very tolerant of those around them. Argentina, in this respect, is very unique and, again, is one of the reasons why we promote it wholeheartedly.

To illustrate this culture of tolerance and acceptance, we highly recommend taking part in drinking the “mate”. This dried leaf is a little like tea and is prepared using hot water and a gourd. Once the herb begins to release its flavour, the gourd is passed to one of those in the circle who then sucks up the flavoured water through a type of straw. The gourd is then refilled and the process continues until the herb no longer gives out any flavour. The whole process is done without circumstance and is, very much, a means for Argentines to keep in touch with one another. While it is an acquired taste, “mate” is very much a part of traditional Argentina and reflects their values as a people.