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ARGENTINA
Capital | Buenos Aires
FLAG DESCRIPTION: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May; the colors represent the clear skies and snow of the Andes; the sun symbol commemorates the appearance of the sun through cloudy skies on 25 May 1810 during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence; the sun features are those of Inti, the Inca god of the sun
Population | 41,343,201 (July 2010 est)
Area | 2,766,890 SQ KM
Official Language | Spanish
Holidays | National Independence Day, 9 July
Currency | Argentine Peso
Time Zone | UTC+3
Best Time to Visit | March to May (spring)
Connecting with the Culture | Listening to the deafening roar of the spectacular Iguazu Falls; Being enchanted by street Tango at the Sunday antique market in San Telmo; Taking in the dizzy heights of Cristo Redentor in the Central Andes
Read | Patricia Sagastizabal’s A Secret for Julia, which won Argentina’s equivalent of the Pulitzer prize in 2000.
Listen | to the legendary tangos of Carlos Gardel
Watch | the magic realism of Luis Cesar D’Angioillo’s Killing Grandpa
Eat | empanadas (turnovers stuffed with savory fillings); alfrijoles (a popular sweet)
Drink | mate (pronounced mah-tay)
In a Word | Que tal? (how are you?)
Characteristics | Tango; Spanish colonial architecture; glaciers; the Andes; charmingly inflated egos; hearty steak; wine; cumbia music; gauchos
Surprises | Wonderful helado (ice cream); locals enjoying mate just about everywhere; gauchos still in traditional dress
NEWS ABOUT ARGENTINA:
Argentina: Buenos Aires City teachers strike
(PHOTO: Argentina school room/travelpod.com) (HN, 4/10/12) - Buenos Aires city teachers in Argentina went on strike today, after rejecting the City government’s plan to merge 96 classes due to a lack of students, yesterday. The secretary-general of the Ademys Teachers’ union, Carlos Oroz, said, “We are going to set a strike & then march from the corner of Avenida de Mayo & Chacabuco to the Buenos Aires City Legislature, where the City Education Ministry offices are located”. Oroz continued, “Everybody knows what they [City government] are going to tell us. They will insist with their plan of closing all classes with 15 or less students & fusing them with other classes. Unless the City government goes backwards with its plan, we are not cancelling the strike.” (Read more at the Buenos Aires Herald)
Argentina train crash: all 50 victims identified, 703 injured in total
(PHOTO: Buenos Aires Once rail station after Thursday's crash/Buenos Aires Herald) (HN, 2/24/12) - - Both the Justice & Security ministries in Argentina confirmed today that all 50 victims of the train crash at Once station yesterday have been identified. The list of injured had increased to 703 people this morning, however, 46 patients were registered to be currently admitted to hospitals across the Capital. The names of the 50 victims, 28 women & 22 men, were not to be published immediately, officials said. The day after the devastating events, family members were still searching for their loved ones at the central health centres in the Capital, City Morgue, & at Chacarita & Flores cemeteries.The train crashed when it was moving into the station & failed to stop & collided into the station buffers. When it crashed, it was travelling at 20kmph & the impact of the crash caused the 2nd carriage to be pushed 6mtrs into the 1st carriage of the train & was filled with approx. 1,200 passengers. Once station is located in the Plaza Miserere & is one of Buenos Aires' central train stations. (READ MORE at the Buenos Aires Herald)
