Argentina has a diverse culture. It is a multicultural country, as a result of the geographical variety and the presence and combination of many ethnic groups composing its population. It was colonized by the Spaniards, in the first half of the sixteenth century, and then, throughout the time, especially since the late nineteenth century, inhabited by hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Europe as well as Latin American countries.
 
Therefore, the city of Buenos Aires and other urban centers show European architectural styles, while some smaller towns and preserved areas in major cities also keep certain features of the colonial era.
 
Museums, cinemas and Art Galleries are everywhere in great cities and should certainly be explored by you, also literary bars or others offering a variety of genres of live music.
 
You must see many architectural wonders such as the Casa Rosada, the Congress building and the Metropolitan Cathedral, the colonial houses and the French-influenced buildings of Recoleta neighborhood. An unforgettable highlight is the Colon Theatre, considered one of the four greatest opera houses in the world for its acoustics and infrastructure. The most prominent figures of music and ballet have performed here.
 
Buenos Aires has approximately 100 cinemas and 90 theatres, turning it in one of the main cities of Latin America for its cultural activity.
 
As a very educated and multi-cultural country, Argentina produced writers of international stature.
More than 10,000 new books are edited annually in Argentina, and many of them are the work of local poets, novelists, essayists, dramatic artists, writers and scientists. The international Book Fair, that takes place every autumn in Buenos Aires, gathers hundreds of thousands of attendants who are able to get in touch with authors from the five continents.
 
As known by all of us, Borges is the giant of the Argentine literature. Nevertheless, we do have to mention some other novelists and original poets, whose works have been translated into English and other languages, and whose reading is highly advisable during your visit to this country. Among others, from the 19th century up to the present, Domingo F. Samiento, Esteban Echeverría, Olegario V. Andrade, Jose Mármol (who was the author of the first Argentine novel, “Amalia”).
 
During the second half of the XIX century the typically Argentine and epic characteristics appeared in the literary production through the gaucho's poetry written by Hilario Ascasubi, Estanislao del Campo and Rafael Obligado. But it was “Martin Fierro” by José Hernández, which gained an important place in the universal literature. Translated in to 54 languages, it shows the qualities of this countryman, his values, struggles and greatness. Other names to remember from the XIX Century are Lucio V. López, José María Miró, Miguel Cané, Lucio V. Mansilla, Leopoldo Lugones, Alfonsina Storni, Baldomero Fernández Moreno, Gustavo Martínez Zuviria, Roberto Arlt.
 
Contemporary authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Leopoldo Marechal, Victoria Ocampo, Ernesto Sábato, Eduardo Mallea, Juan José Saer, Manuel Mujica Láinez, Julio Cortázar, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Marco Denevi, are examples of sensitive interpreters of loneliness, passions, social behavior and customs. Their works have been translated into different languages, and are very well known by literary people and intellectuals all over the world.
 
The language of the plastic Argentine art has been modernizing from the 20th century. This one was a very important period for the painting, represented by Petorutti, the Group of Paris, Antonio Berni, Guttero and Xul Solar. From the last generation of artists we admire the works of Benito Quinquela Martin, Fernando Fader, Raúl Soldi and Lino Spilimbergo, among others, who established the modernity in the plastic arts. Artistic movements like the cubism and the surrealism were imagined with the same view as in Europe.
 
In the 60´s the Pop Art celebrates the epic of the urban solitude that had the most expression in the Instituto Di Tella.
 
The present tendencies of the art can receive different titles like Automatic Painting, Psychic Automatism, Action Painting (Painting of Action), Abstract Expressionism or Informal Art.
 
Probably the best known expression of Argentine popular culture is the Tango, a dance and music which has captured the hearts of romantics world-wide. And although known almost exclusively as the birthplace of this genre, the country is home to a diverse array of music and dance styles from its various geographic regions. Largely a mixture of European and indigenous influences, these musical genres can be divided into two categories: folklore and popular music. Zambas, cuecas, vidalas, carnavalitos, the pericón, malambos, milongas, chacareras, are deeply rooted in the culture of the nation, and are highly popular.
 
Tango is Buenos Aires' representative music. It was born in the outskirts of the city and has spread all over the world. Composers, orchestra directors, players and singers such as Carlos Gardel, Enrique S. Discépolo, Homero Manzi, Catulo Castillo, Anibal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Mariano Mores, Horacio Salgan, Eladia Vázquez, Carlos Di Sarli, Ángel Vargas, Edmundo Rivero, Tita Merello, Susana Rinaldi, José Libertella, Ubaldo de Lío, Alberto Marino Daniel Binelli, Pablo Ziegler, Néstor Marconi, Juan José Mosalini, Horacio Ferrer and notably Astor Piazzolla are some of the great innovators who have introduced tango in the musical stream of universal expression.
 
 
 
The Argentinean gaucho deserves to be specially mentioned: mostly mestizos, mixture of Spanish and aborigine, rural inhabitants who had their origin in the 18th century in the region of Las Pampas, and have spread throughout the country.
 
Emblematic symbol, they highlight the national character and are almost elevated to a mythical level. They have great virtues, such as honor, courage, strength, honesty and warm hospitality.
 
Gauchos were skillful with horses that, during those days, ran freely across the vast territory. They captured, domesticated and used them as a mean of transportation; they were also used to perform intrepid competitions and to look after cattle, whose essential value then was its hide and fat, imperishable products.
 
Typical elements of this region used by the gauchos were boleadoras (hunting tool invented by the indigenous to catch rheas and deer), the chambergo (traditional black wide-brimmed hat adorned with a handmade silver shawl), and the poncho (wool cape with an opening in the middle for the head), amongst other value objects that represent the way of life of the people who lived in this region.
 
The descendants of those Gauchos, today's countrymen, and their horses, still continue on their tasks in the fields. You can see them in the Argentinean Estancias, carrying on the traditions of their forefathers.