Culture

Argentine culture has been primarily informed and influenced by its European roots. Buenos Aires is undeniably the most European city in South America and considered by many its cultural capital, due both to the prevalence of people of European descent and to conscious imitation.   

  

Argentina has a rich history of world-renowned literature, including one of 20th century's most critically acclaimed writers, Jorge Luis Borges.   

  

Argentine cinema has achieved international recognition with films such as The Official Story, Nine Queens or Iluminados por el Fuego, although they only rarely rival Hollywood-type movies in popularity. Even low-budget productions, however, have earned prizes in cinema festivals (such as Cannes). The city of Mar del Plata organizes its own festival dedicated to this art.   

  

Argentine food is influenced by cuisine from Spain, Italy, Germany, France and other European countries. Argentina has a wide variety of staple foods, which include empanadas, a stuffed pastry; locro, a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd; and chorizo, a meat-based spicy sausage. The Argentine barbecue, asado, is one of the most famous in the world and includes various types of meats, among them chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and blood sausage. A common custom among Argentines is drinking mate.   

  

Football is the most popular sport, although the national sport of the country is pato. Argentina has a number of highly-ranked polo players.   

  

Argentine culture is exemplified by its music and dance, particularly tango. To foreigners, tango refers to a particular dance, but the music together with the lyrics (often sung in a kind of slang called lunfardo) are what most Argentines primarily mean by tango. In modern Argentina, tango music is enjoyed by itself, particularly since the radical Ástor Piazzolla redefined the music of Carlos Gardel.   

  

Since the 1970s, rock and roll has been widely popular in Argentina. Rock and roll and pop music have experienced periodic bursts of popularity, with many new bands (such as Soda Stereo and Sumo) and composers (such as Charly García and Fito Páez) becoming important referents of national culture. Argentine rock is the most listened-to music among youth.   

  

Buenos Aires is considered the techno and electronica capital of Latin America, and hosts a variety of events including local raves, the South American Music Conference, and Creamfields (which has the world record of 65,000 people).   

  

European classical music is well-represented in Argentina. Buenos Aires is home to the world-renowned Colón Theater. Classical musicians, such as Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim, and classical composers like Alberto Ginastera have become internationally famous..