بوينس ايرس

مدينة بوينس آيرس المتمتعة بالحكم الذاتي Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
عاصمة و مدينة مستقلة
من الأعلى، من اليسار إلى اليمين: في المنزل القرنفلي ، Microcentro ، EDIFICIO كافانا ، و قصر الكونغرس ، و أوبيليسكو على تقاطع 9 دي خوليو و كورينتس السبل، و كامينيتو زقاق في لا بوكا ، نظرا ل منطقة الأعمال .
علم معطف الاذرع
اسماء مستعارة):  ملكة إل بلاتا ( La reina del Plata ) [1] [2] باريس أمريكا الجنوبية ( La París de Sudamérica ) [3]
مدينة بوينس آيرس المتمتعة بالحكم الذاتي الموقع في الأرجنتين Show map of Argentina مدينة بوينس آيرس المتمتعة بالحكم الذاتي مدينة بوينس آيرس المستقلة (أمريكا الجنوبية) Show map of South America
إحداثيات: 34 ° 36′12 ″ جنوبا 58 ° 22′54 غربا / 34.60333°S 58.38167°W / -34.60333; -58.38167إحداثيات : 34 ° 36′12 ″ جنوبا 58 ° 22′54 غربا  / 34.60333°S 58.38167°W / -34.60333; -58.38167
دولة	الأرجنتين
أنشئت	2 فبراير 1536 (بقلم بيدرو دي ميندوزا ) 11 يونيو 1580 (بقلم خوان دي غاراي )
حكومة
• نوع	مدينة مستقلة
• الجسم	الهيئة التشريعية للمدينة
•  رئيس البلدية	هوراسيو رودريغيز Larreta ( PRO )
• أعضاء مجلس الشيوخ	Martín Lousteau ( UCR ) ، Guadalupe Tagliaferri ( PRO ) ، Mariano Recalde ( FdT )
منطقة
•  العاصمة و مدينة مستقلة	203 كم 2 (78 ميل مربع)
• الأرض	203 كم 2 (78.5 ميل مربع)
• المترو	4،758 كم 2 (1،837 ميل مربع)
ارتفاع	25 م (82 قدمًا)
تعداد السكان  (تعداد 2010) [4]
• مرتبة	الأول
•  حضري	2،891،082
•  المترو	15،594،428
demonyms	بورتينو (م) ، بورتينيا (و)
وحدة زمنية	التوقيت العالمي المتفق عليه − 3 ( الفن )
رمز (رموز) المنطقة	011
HDI (2018)	0.867 مرتفع جدًا ( الأول ) [5]
موقع الكتروني	www .buenosaires .gob .ar (بالإسبانية)

بوينس آيرس ( / ˌ ب ث eɪ ن ə الصورة ɛər ı ض / أو / - aɪ ص ɪ ق / . ^[6] الأسبانية نطق:  [bwenos ajɾes] ( الاستماع ) )، ^[7] رسميا مدينة بوينس ذاتية الحكم أيريس (الإسبانية: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires ) ، هي عاصمة الأرجنتين وأكبر مدنها . تقع المدينة على الشاطئ الغربي لريو دي لا بلاتا، في أميركا الجنوبية الساحل الجنوبي الشرقي. يمكن ترجمة "بوينس آيرس" على أنها "رياح عادلة" أو "أجواء جيدة" ، ولكن الأول كان المعنى الذي قصده المؤسسون في القرن السادس عشر ، باستخدام الاسم الأصلي "Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre "، على اسم مادونا بوناريا في سردينيا ، إيطاليا.

مدينة بوينس آيرس ليست جزءًا من مقاطعة بوينس آيرس ولا عاصمة المقاطعة ؛ بل هي منطقة حكم ذاتي . في عام 1880 ، بعد عقود من الاقتتال السياسي ، تم جعل بوينس آيرس فيدرالية وإزالتها من مقاطعة بوينس آيرس. ^[8] و حدود المدينة وتوسيع نطاقها لتشمل بلدات بلغرانو و فلوريس . كلاهما الآن من أحياء المدينة . في التعديل الدستوري لعام 1994 منح مدينة الحكم الذاتي ، وبالتالي اسمها الرسمي من مدينة بوينس آيرس المستقلة. انتخب مواطنوها أولاً رئيسًا للحكومةفي عام 1996؛ في السابق ، تم تعيين العمدة مباشرة من قبل رئيس الأرجنتين .

تشكل منطقة بوينس آيرس الكبرى ، والتي تضم أيضًا العديد من مناطق مقاطعة بوينس آيرس ، رابع أكبر منطقة حضرية من حيث عدد السكان في الأمريكتين ، ويبلغ عدد سكانها حوالي 15.6 مليون نسمة. ^[4]

تم تصنيف جودة الحياة في بوينس آيرس في المرتبة 91 عالميًا في عام 2018 ، كونها واحدة من الأفضل في أمريكا اللاتينية . ^{[9] [10]} في عام 2012 ، كانت المدينة الأكثر زيارة في أمريكا الجنوبية ، وثاني أكثر مدينة زيارة في أمريكا اللاتينية. ^[11]

تشتهر بهندستها المعمارية الأوروبية الانتقائية المحفوظة ^[12] وحياتها الثقافية الغنية . ^[13] أقامت بوينس آيرس أول دورة ألعاب عموم أمريكا في عام 1951 وكانت موقعًا لاستضافة ملعبين في كأس العالم FIFA 1978 . وفي الآونة الأخيرة، استضافت بوينس آيرس في الألعاب الأولمبية الصيفية للشباب 2018 ^[14] و قمة G20 2018 . ^[15]

بوينس آيرس هي مدينة متعددة الثقافات وهي موطن لمجموعات عرقية ودينية متعددة ، تساهم في ثقافتها وكذلك في اللهجة المستخدمة في المدينة وفي بعض الأجزاء الأخرى من البلاد. هذا لأنه منذ القرن التاسع عشر ، كانت المدينة والبلد بشكل عام من المتلقين الرئيسيين لملايين المهاجرين من جميع أنحاء العالم ، مما يجعلها بوتقة تنصهر فيها العديد من المجموعات العرقية التي تعيش معًا. وبالتالي ، تعتبر بوينس آيرس واحدة من أكثر مدن الأمريكتين تنوعًا . ^[16]

علم أصل الكلمة

تم تسجيله في أرشيفات أراغون أن المبشرين الكاتالونيين واليسوعيين الذين وصلوا إلى كالياري ( سردينيا ) تحت تاج أراغون ، بعد الاستيلاء عليها من البيزانيين في عام 1324 أسسوا مقرهم على قمة تل يطل على المدينة. ^[17] كان يعرف التل لهم كما Bonaira (أو Bonaria في اللغة سردينيا )، كما أنه كان مجانيا للانتشارا رائحة كريهة في المدينة القديمة (منطقة القلعة)، وهي متاخمة ل المستنقعات . أثناء الحصار على كالياري، وبنيت الفريق الكتالوني على ملاذ ل مريم العذراء على قمة التل. في عام 1335 ، الملكألفونسو اللطيف تبرع الكنيسة إلى Mercedarians ، الذي بنى الدير الذي يقف إلى يومنا هذا. في السنوات التي تلت ذلك ، انتشرت قصة تدعي أن تمثالًا للسيدة العذراء مريم انتشل من البحر بعد أن ساعد بأعجوبة على تهدئة عاصفة في البحر الأبيض المتوسط . تم وضع التمثال في الدير. البحارة الإسبانية، وخاصة الأندلسيين ، تبجيلا هذه الصورة، وكثيرا ما استدعاء "معرض الرياح" لمساعدتهم في حياتهم الملاحة ومنع السفن الغارقة . سيتم إنشاء ملاذ لعذراء بوين أير في وقت لاحق في إشبيلية . ^[17]

في التأسيس الأول لبوينس آيرس ، وصل البحارة الإسبان لحسن الحظ إلى ريو دي لا بلاتا بمباركة "سانتا ماريا دي لوس بوينس آيرس" ، "مريم العذراء المقدّسة للرياح الطيبة" التي قيل إنها أعطتهم رياح طيبة لتصل إلى ساحل ما هو اليوم مدينة بوينس آيرس الحديثة. ^[18] أطلق بيدرو دي ميندوزا على المدينة اسم "مريم المقدسة للرياح العادلة" ، وهو الاسم الذي اقترحه قسيس بعثة ميندوزا - أحد المتحمسين لعذراء بوين آير - بعد مادونا بوناريا من سردينيا ^[19] (وهو لا تزال راعية جزيرة البحر الأبيض المتوسط حتى يومنا هذا ^[20].). سرعان ما تعرضت مستوطنة مندوزا للهجوم من قبل السكان الأصليين ، وتم التخلي عنها في عام 1541. ^[18]

لسنوات عديدة ، نُسب الاسم إلى سانشو ديل كامبو ، الذي قيل إنه صرخ: ما أجمل رياح هذه الأرض! عند وصوله. ولكن في عام 1882 ، بعد إجراء بحث مكثف في الأرشيفات الإسبانية ، خلص التاجر الأرجنتيني إدواردو ماديرو في النهاية إلى أن الاسم مرتبط ارتباطًا وثيقًا بإخلاص البحارة لسيدة بوين آير. ^[21]

تم إنشاء مستوطنة ثانية (ودائمة) في عام 1580 من قبل خوان دي غاراي ، الذي أبحر عبر نهر بارانا من أسونسيون (عاصمة باراغواي حاليًا). احتفظ غاراي بالاسم الذي اختاره ميندوزا في الأصل ، ودعا مدينة سيوداد دي لا سانتيزيما ترينيداد إي بويرتو دي سانتا ماريا ديل بوين إير ("مدينة الثالوث الأقدس وميناء سانت ماري للرياح العادلة"). أصبح الشكل المختصر الذي أصبح اسم المدينة في النهاية ، "بوينس آيرس" ، شائع الاستخدام خلال القرن السابع عشر. ^[22]

الاختصار المعتاد لبوينس آيرس باللغة الإسبانية هو Bs.As. ^[23] ومن الشائع أيضًا الإشارة إليها بـ "BA" أو "BA". ^[24] عند الإشارة تحديدًا إلى المدينة المتمتعة بالحكم الذاتي ، فمن الشائع جدًا تسميتها بالعامية "العاصمة" باللغة الإسبانية. منذ الاستقلال الذي تم الحصول عليه في عام 1994 ، تم تسميته "CABA" (حسب Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires ، مدينة بوينس آيرس المستقلة).

بينما يتم استخدام "BA" أكثر من قبل الرعاة السابقين المقيمين في المدينة ، غالبًا ما يستخدم السكان المحليون كلمة واحدة اختصار "Baires". ^{[ بحاجة لمصدر ]}

التاريخ

زمن الاستعمار

في عام 1516 ، كان الملاح والمستكشف خوان دياز دي سوليس ، الذي كان يبحر باسم إسبانيا ، أول أوروبي يصل إلى ريو دي لا بلاتا . تم قطع رحلته الاستكشافية عندما قُتل خلال هجوم شنته قبيلة تشاروا الأصلية في ما يعرف الآن بأوروغواي .

تأسست مدينة بوينس آيرس لأول مرة تحت اسم Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre ^[2] (حرفيا "مدينة السيدة العذراء القديسة مريم للرياح العادلة") بعد سيدة بوناريا (الراعية سانت سردينيا ) في 2 فبراير 1536 بواسطة بعثة استكشافية إسبانية بقيادة بيدرو دي ميندوزا . كانت المستوطنة التي أسسها مندوزا تقع في ما يعرف اليوم بمنطقة سان تيلمو في بوينس آيرس ، جنوب وسط المدينة .

أدت المزيد من الهجمات من قبل السكان الأصليين إلى إجبار المستوطنين على المغادرة ، وفي عام 1542 ، تم التخلي عن الموقع. ^{[25] [26]} تم إنشاء مستوطنة ثانية (ودائمة) في 11 يونيو 1580 من قبل خوان دي غاراي ، الذي وصل بالإبحار عبر نهر بارانا من أسونسيون (عاصمة باراغواي حاليًا). أطلق على المستوطنة اسم "Santísima Trinidad" وأصبح ميناءها "Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires". ^[22]

منذ أيامها الأولى ، اعتمدت بوينس آيرس بشكل أساسي على التجارة. خلال معظم القرن السابع عشر ، كانت السفن الإسبانية مهددة من قبل القراصنة ، لذلك طوروا نظامًا معقدًا حيث تم إرسال السفن ذات الحماية العسكرية إلى أمريكا الوسطى في قافلة من إشبيلية (الميناء الوحيد المسموح له بالتجارة مع المستعمرات) إلى ليما ، بيرو ومنه إلى المدن الداخلية للملك. وبسبب هذا ، استغرقت المنتجات وقتًا طويلاً للوصول إلى بوينس آيرس ، وجعلتها الضرائب الناتجة عن النقل باهظة. أحبط هذا المخطط التجار في بوينس آيرس ، وتطورت صناعة التهريب غير الرسمية المزدهرة بعد قبولها من قبل السلطات داخل المستعمرات ومع البرتغاليين. وقد أدى ذلك أيضًا إلى استياء عميق بين البواطن تجاه السلطات الإسبانية.^[2]

مستشعرا بهذه المشاعر ، قام تشارلز الثالث ملك إسبانيا تدريجيا بتخفيف القيود التجارية قبل أن يعلن أخيرا أن بوينس آيرس ميناء مفتوحا في أواخر القرن الثامن عشر. كما أدى استيلاء القوات البريطانية على بورتوبيلو في بنما إلى زيادة الحاجة إلى تعزيز التجارة عبر طريق المحيط الأطلسي ، على حساب التجارة القائمة في ليما. كان أحد أحكامه هو فصل منطقة عن نائبة الملك في بيرو وإنشاء بدلاً من ذلك نائب الملك لريو دي لا بلاتا ، وعاصمتها بوينس آيرس. ومع ذلك ، فإن أفعال تشارلز المهادنة لم يكن لها التأثير المطلوب ، وأصبح البورتينيوس ، وبعضهم على دراية بأيديولوجية الثورة الفرنسية ، أكثر اقتناعًا بالحاجة إلى الاستقلال عن إسبانيا.

حرب الاستقلال

خلال الغزو البريطاني لريو دي لا بلاتا ، هاجمت القوات البريطانية بوينس آيرس مرتين. في عام 1806 نجح البريطانيون في غزو بوينس آيرس ، لكن جيشًا من مونتيفيديو بقيادة سانتياغو دي لينير هزمهم. في فترة وجيزة من الحكم البريطاني ، تمكن نائب الملك رافائيل سوبريمونتي من الفرار إلى قرطبةوعينت هذه المدينة كعاصمة. أصبحت بوينس آيرس العاصمة مرة أخرى بعد استعادتها من قبل القوات الأرجنتينية ، لكن سوبريمونتي لم يستطع استئناف مهامه كنائب للملك. أعد سانتياغو دي لينيرز، الذي تم اختياره والوالي الجديد، المدينة ضد هجوم بريطاني جديد محتمل وصدت الغزو الثاني من قبل بريطانيا في 1807. والعسكرة ولدت في مجتمع تغيرت موازين القوى بشكل إيجابي لل الكريول (على النقيض من peninsulars )، كما وكذلك تطور حرب شبه الجزيرة في إسبانيا. محاولة من قبل تاجر شبه الجزيرة Martín de Álzaga لإزالة Liniers واستبداله بـ Juntaهُزمت من قبل جيوش الكريولو. ومع ذلك ، بحلول عام 1810 ، كانت تلك الجيوش نفسها هي التي ستدعم محاولة ثورية جديدة ، وأزالت بنجاح نائب الملك الجديد بالتاسار هيدالغو دي سيسنيروس . تُعرف هذه باسم ثورة مايو ، والتي يتم الاحتفال بها الآن كعطلة وطنية. بدأ هذا الحدث حرب الاستقلال الأرجنتينية ، وغادرت العديد من الجيوش بوينس آيرس لمحاربة معاقل المقاومة الملكية المتنوعة ، بمستويات متفاوتة من النجاح. عقدت الحكومة في البداية من قبل اثنين من المجلس العسكري من العديد من الأعضاء ، ثم من قبل اثنين من الثلاثية ، وأخيراً من قبل مكتب أحادي الشخصي ، المدير الأعلى . تم إعلان الاستقلال الرسمي عن إسبانيا في عام 1816 ، فيكونغرس توكومان . تمكنت بوينس آيرس من تحمل حروب الاستقلال الأمريكية الإسبانية بأكملها دون الوقوع مرة أخرى تحت الحكم الملكي.

تاريخيا، كان بوينس آيرس الأرجنتين المكان الرئيسي ل يبرالي ، خالية من التداول ، والأفكار الأجنبية. في المقابل، فإن العديد من المحافظات، وخاصة تلك التي شمال غرب المدينة، دافع عن أكثر قومية و الكاثوليكيةنهج للقضايا السياسية والاجتماعية. في الواقع ، يمكن إرجاع الكثير من التوترات الداخلية في تاريخ الأرجنتين ، بدءًا من الصراعات المركزية الفيدرالية في القرن التاسع عشر ، إلى هذه الآراء المتناقضة. في الأشهر التي أعقبت مباشرة "ثورة مايو" ، أرسلت بوينس آيرس عددًا من المبعوثين العسكريين إلى الأقاليم بنية الحصول على موافقتهم. وبدلاً من ذلك ، أجج المشروع التوترات بين العاصمة والمحافظات ؛ انتهى العديد من هذه المهمات في اشتباكات عنيفة.

في القرن التاسع عشر حاصرت المدينة مرتين من قبل القوات البحرية: من قبل الفرنسيين من عام 1838 إلى عام 1840 ، ثم من قبل حملة أنجلو-فرنسية من عام 1845 إلى عام 1848. فشل كلا الحصارين في جلب الحكومة الأرجنتينية إلى طاولة المفاوضات ، والأجنبية. تخلت القوى في النهاية عن مطالبها.

القرنين التاسع عشر والعشرين

خلال معظم القرن التاسع عشر ، ظل الوضع السياسي للمدينة موضوعًا حساسًا. كانت بالفعل عاصمة مقاطعة بوينس آيرس ، وبين 1853 و 1860 كانت عاصمة ولاية بوينس آيرس المنفصلة . تم خوض هذه القضية أكثر من مرة في ساحة المعركة ، حتى تمت تسوية الأمر نهائيًا في عام 1880 عندما أصبحت المدينة فيدرالية وأصبحت مقرًا للحكومة ، مع تعيين رئيس البلدية من قبل الرئيس. في المنزل القرنفلي أصبح مقر الرئيس . ^[22]

كانت الظروف الصحية في المناطق الفقيرة مروعة ، مع ارتفاع معدلات الإصابة بالسل. عادة ما ألقى أطباء وسياسيون الصحة العامة المعاصرون باللوم على الفقراء أنفسهم ومنازلهم السكنية المتداعية (Conventillos) لانتشار المرض المخيف. تجاهل الناس حملات الصحة العامة للحد من انتشار الأمراض المعدية ، مثل حظر البصق في الشوارع ، والمبادئ التوجيهية الصارمة لرعاية الرضع والأطفال الصغار ، والحجر الصحي الذي يفصل العائلات عن أحبائهم المرضى. ^[27]

بالإضافة إلى الثروة الناتجة عن الرسوم الجمركية والتجارة الخارجية الأرجنتينية بشكل عام ، فضلاً عن وجود البامبا الخصبة ، أدى تطوير السكك الحديدية في النصف الثاني من القرن التاسع عشر إلى زيادة القوة الاقتصادية لبوينس آيرس مع تدفق المواد الخام إلى مصانعها. وجهة رائدة للمهاجرين من أوروبا ، وخاصة إيطاليا وإسبانيا ، من 1880 إلى 1930 ، أصبحت بوينس آيرس مدينة متعددة الثقافات صنفت نفسها إلى جانب العواصم الأوروبية الكبرى. خلال هذا الوقت، و مسرح كولون أصبحت واحدة من أماكن أعلى الأوبرا في العالم، وأصبحت المدينة عاصمة المنطقة من الإذاعة ، التلفزيون ، السينما ، و المسرح. تم بناء الطرق الرئيسية في المدينة خلال تلك السنوات ، وشهد فجر القرن العشرين تشييد أطول المباني في أمريكا الجنوبية وأول نظام تحت الأرض . الطفرة العمرانية الثانية ، من عام 1945 إلى عام 1980 ، أعادت تشكيل وسط المدينة وجزء كبير من المدينة.

اجتذبت بوينس آيرس أيضًا المهاجرين من مقاطعات الأرجنتين والبلدان المجاورة. بدأت مدن الشانتي ( فيلات بيسيريا ) في النمو حول المناطق الصناعية بالمدينة خلال الثلاثينيات ، مما أدى إلى انتشار المشاكل الاجتماعية والتناقضات الاجتماعية مع سكان بوينس آيرس المتنقلين إلى حد كبير. أصبح هؤلاء العمال القاعدة السياسية للبيرونية ، التي ظهرت في بوينس آيرس خلال المظاهرة المحورية في 17 أكتوبر 1945 ، في بلازا دي مايو . ^[28]كان عمال الصناعة في الحزام الصناعي في بوينس آيرس الكبرى هم قاعدة الدعم الرئيسية للبيرونية منذ ذلك الحين ، وأصبحت ساحة بلازا دي مايو موقعًا للمظاهرات والعديد من الأحداث السياسية في البلاد ؛ في 16 يونيو 1955 ، قصف فصيل منشق عن البحرية منطقة بلازا دي مايو ، مما أسفر عن مقتل 364 مدنياً (انظر قصف بلازا دي مايو ). كانت هذه هي المرة الوحيدة التي تعرضت فيها المدينة للهجوم من الجو ، وأعقب الحدث انتفاضة عسكرية أطاحت بالرئيس بيرون ، بعد ثلاثة أشهر (انظر Revolución Libertadora ).

في السبعينيات عانت المدينة من القتال بين الحركات الثورية اليسارية ( مونتونيروس ، ERP و FAR) والجماعة اليمينية شبه العسكرية Triple A ، بدعم من إيزابيل بيرون ، الذي أصبح رئيسًا للأرجنتين في عام 1974 بعد وفاة خوان بيرون.

أدى انقلاب مارس 1976 ، بقيادة الجنرال خورخي فيديلا ، إلى تصعيد هذا الصراع. في " الحرب القذرة " أدى إلى 30000 desaparecidos (الناس خطفوا وقتلوا من قبل الجيش خلال السنوات المجلس العسكري). ^[29] المسيرات الصامتة لأمهاتهن ( أمهات بلازا دي مايو ) هي صورة معروفة لمعاناة الأرجنتينيين خلال تلك الأوقات. و دكتاتورية الصورة عين رئيس البلدية، أوزفالدو كاكياتوري، وضعوا أيضًا خططًا لشبكة من الطرق السريعة تهدف إلى تخفيف الازدحام المروري الحاد في المدينة. ومع ذلك ، دعت الخطة إلى تجريف عشوائي على ما يبدو للمناطق السكنية ، وعلى الرغم من أنه تم طرح ثلاثة فقط من المناطق الثمانية المخطط لها في ذلك الوقت ، إلا أنها كانت في الغالب طرقًا سريعة مرفوعة بشكل اقتحامي لا تزال تدمر عددًا من الأحياء المريحة سابقًا حتى يومنا هذا.

زار البابا يوحنا بولس الثاني المدينة مرتين ، الأولى في عام 1982 ومرة ​​أخرى في عام 1987 ؛ في هذه المناسبات جمعت بعض أكبر الحشود في تاريخ المدينة. تزامنت عودة الديمقراطية عام 1983 مع انتعاش ثقافي ، وشهدت التسعينيات انتعاشًا اقتصاديًا ، لا سيما في قطاعي البناء والتمويل.

في 17 مارس 1992 ، انفجرت قنبلة في السفارة الإسرائيلية ، مما أسفر عن مقتل 29 وجرح 242. انفجار آخر ، في 18 يوليو 1994 ، دمر مبنى يضم العديد من المنظمات اليهودية ، مما أسفر عن مقتل 85 وإصابة الكثيرين ، وكانت هذه الحوادث بمثابة بداية الشرق الأوسط. الإرهاب لأمريكا الجنوبية. بعد اتفاق عام 1993 ، تم تعديل الدستور الأرجنتيني لمنح بوينس آيرس الحكم الذاتي وإلغاء ، من بين أمور أخرى ، حق الرئيس في تعيين رئيس بلدية المدينة (كما كان الحال منذ عام 1880). في 30 يونيو 1996 ، اختار الناخبون في بوينس آيرس أول عمدة منتخب لهم ( جيفي دي جوبييرنو ).

القرن 21

في عام 1996 ، بعد إصلاح عام 1994 للدستور الأرجنتيني ، أجرت المدينة أول انتخابات عمدة بموجب القوانين الجديدة ، مع تغيير لقب رئيس البلدية رسميًا إلى "رئيس الحكومة". وكان الفائز هو فرناندو دي لا روا ، الذي أصبح فيما بعد رئيسًا للأرجنتين من 1999 إلى 2001.

فاز خليفة دي لا روا ، أنيبال إيبارا ، في انتخابات شعبية مرتين ، ولكن تم عزله ( وعُزل في النهاية في 6 مارس 2006) نتيجة للحريق في ملهى ريبوبليكا كروماجنون الليلي. في غضون ذلك ، تم تكليف خورخي تيلرمان ، الذي كان القائم بأعمال رئيس البلدية ، بالمكتب. في انتخابات عام 2007 ، فاز ماوريسيو ماكري من حزب الاقتراح الجمهوري (PRO) بالجولة الثانية من التصويت على دانييل فيلموس من جبهة تحرير فكتوريا.(FPV) ، تولى منصبه في 9 ديسمبر 2007. في عام 2011 ، ذهبت الانتخابات إلى جولة ثانية بنسبة 60.96٪ من الأصوات لصالح PRO ، مقارنة بـ 39.04٪ لـ FPV ، مما يضمن إعادة انتخاب ماكري لمنصب عمدة المدينة مع ماريا يوجينيا. فيدال نائبا لرئيس البلدية. ^[30]

تم تأسيس PRO في أكثر المناطق ثراءً في المدينة والذين تزيد أعمارهم عن خمسين عامًا. ^[31]

كانت انتخابات 2015 أول من استخدم نظام التصويت الإلكتروني في المدينة ، على غرار ذلك المستخدم في مقاطعة سالتا . ^[32] في هذه الانتخابات التي جرت يوم 5 يوليو عام 2015، صعدت ماكري منصبه كرئيس بلدية ومتابعة له الترشح للانتخابات الرئاسية و هوراسيو رودريغيز Larreta جرت بصفته مرشح رئاسة البلدية لPRO. في الجولة الأولى من التصويت ، حصل ماريانو ريكالدي من FPV على 21.78٪ من الأصوات ، بينما حصل Martín Lousteau من حزب ECO على 25.59٪ وحصل Larreta على 45.55٪ ، مما يعني أن الانتخابات ذهبت إلى جولة ثانية لأن PRO لم يتمكن من تأمين الأغلبية. مطلوب للنصر. ^[33]عُقدت الجولة الثانية في 19 يوليو 2015 وحصل لاريتا على 51.6 ٪ من الأصوات ، تلاه عن كثب Lousteau بنسبة 48.4 ٪ ، وبالتالي ، فاز PRO بالانتخابات لولاية ثالثة مع Larreta كعمدة ودييجو سانتيلي كنائب. في هذه الانتخابات ، كان PRO أقوى في شمال بوينس آيرس الأكثر ثراءً ، بينما كانت منظمة التعاون الاقتصادي أقوى في الأحياء الجنوبية الأفقر من المدينة. ^{[34] [35]}

• 

  تم تصميم Puente de la Mujer بواسطة Santiago Calatrava .

• 

  منظر لشارع 9 de Julio مع Obelisco

• 

  Puerto Madero أحد المراكز المالية الرئيسيةفي بوينس آيرس

الجغرافيا

تقع مدينة بوينس آيرس في منطقة بامبا ، باستثناء بعض المناطق مثل محمية بوينس آيرس البيئية ، و "المدينة الرياضية" التابعة لنادي بوكا جونيورز (نادي كرة القدم) ، ومطار خورخي نيوبري ، وحي بويرتو ماديرو الرئيسي. المنفذ نفسه تم بناء هذه جميعها على أرض مستصلحة على طول سواحل ريو دي لا بلاتا (أوسع نهر في العالم). ^{[36] [37] [38]}

تم عبور المنطقة سابقًا بواسطة تيارات وبحيرات مختلفة ، تم إعادة تعبئة بعضها والبعض الآخر بالأنابيب. من بين أهم التيارات هي Maldonado و Vega و Medrano و Cildañez و White. في عام 1908 ، عندما دمرت الفيضانات البنية التحتية للمدينة ، تم توجيه العديد من الجداول وتصحيحها. علاوة على ذلك ، بدءًا من عام 1919 ، تم إغلاق معظم الجداول. والجدير بالذكر أن مالدونادو كان يُغلى بالأنابيب في عام 1954 ؛ يتم تشغيله حاليًا أسفل شارع خوان ب. جوستو .

المناخ

تحت تصنيف مناخ كوبن ، بوينس آيرس لديها مناخ شبه استوائي رطب ( CFA ) مع أربعة فصول متميزة. ^{[39] [40]} نتيجة للتأثيرات البحرية من المحيط الأطلسي المجاور ، ^[41] المناخ معتدل ودرجات الحرارة القصوى نادرة. ^[42] لأن يقع في المدينة في المنطقة حيث بامبيرو و Sudestada تمر الرياح من قبل، ^[43] والطقس المتغير بسبب هذه الكتل الهوائية المتناقضة. ^[44]

الصيف حار ورطب. ^[42] أكثر الشهور دفئًا هو يناير بمتوسط ​​يومي 24.9 درجة مئوية (76.8 درجة فهرنهايت). ^[45] تشيع موجات الحر خلال فصل الصيف. ^[46] ومع ذلك ، فإن معظم موجات الحرارة تكون قصيرة المدة (أقل من أسبوع) ويتبعها مرور رياح بامبيرو الباردة والجافة التي تجلب عواصف رعدية عنيفة وشديدة تليها درجات حرارة أكثر برودة. ^{[44] [47]} أعلى درجة حرارة تم تسجيلها على الإطلاق كانت 43.3 درجة مئوية (110 درجة فهرنهايت) في 29 يناير 1957. ^[48]

الشتاء بارد مع درجات حرارة معتدلة أثناء النهار والليالي الباردة. ^[42] متوسط ​​الارتفاعات خلال الموسم 16.3 درجة مئوية (61.3 درجة فهرنهايت) بينما متوسط ​​الانخفاض 8.1 درجة مئوية (46.6 درجة فهرنهايت). ^[49] متوسطات الرطوبة النسبية في أعلى 70٪ ، مما يعني أن المدينة تشتهر بالضباب المعتدل إلى الكثيف خلال الخريف والشتاء. ^[50] يوليو هو أبرد شهر ، بمتوسط ​​درجة حرارة 11.0 درجة مئوية (51.8 درجة فهرنهايت). ^[45] تحدث نوبات البرد التي تنشأ من القارة القطبية الجنوبية كل عام تقريبًا ، ويمكن أن تستمر لعدة أيام. ^{[49] في} بعض الأحيان ، تؤدي كتل الهواء الدافئة القادمة من الشمال إلى ارتفاع درجات الحرارة. ^[51]كانت أدنى درجة حرارة تم تسجيلها على الإطلاق في وسط بوينس آيرس (مرصد بوينس آيرس المركزي) −5.4 درجة مئوية (22 درجة فهرنهايت) في 9 يوليو 1918. ^[48] الثلج نادر جدًا في المدينة: حدث آخر تساقط للثلوج في 9 يوليو 2007 عندما خلال أبرد شتاء تشهده الأرجنتين منذ ما يقرب من 30 عامًا ، ضربت البلاد تساقطات شديدة للثلوج والعواصف الثلجية. كان هذا أول تساقط ثلوج كبير في المدينة منذ 89 عامًا. ^{[52] [53]}

يتميز الربيع والخريف بظروف مناخية متغيرة. ^{[٥٤] يمكن} للهواء البارد القادم من الجنوب أن يجلب درجات حرارة أكثر برودة بينما يؤدي الهواء الساخن الرطب القادم من الشمال إلى ارتفاع درجات الحرارة. ^[44]

تتلقى المدينة 1،236.3 ملم (49 بوصة) من الأمطار سنويًا. ^[45] بسبب الجيومورفولوجيا إلى جانب عدم كفاية شبكة الصرف ، فإن المدينة معرضة بشدة للفيضانات خلال فترات هطول الأمطار الغزيرة. ^{[55] [56] [57] [58]}

الحكومة والسياسة

هيكل الحكومة

منذ اعتماد دستور المدينة في عام 1996 ، احتسبت بوينس آيرس بسلطة تنفيذية منتخبة ديمقراطيا ؛ تنص المادة 61 من دستور الولايات على أن " حق الاقتراع حر ومتساو وسري وعالمي وإلزامي وغير تراكمي. ويتمتع الأجانب المقيمون بنفس الحق ، بما يقابله من التزامات ، على قدم المساواة مع المواطنين الأرجنتينيين المسجلين في المقاطعة ، بموجب الشروط المنصوص عليها في القانون ". ^[62] السلطة التنفيذية منوطة برئيس الحكومة (بالإسبانية: Jefe de Gobierno ) ، الذي يتم انتخابه جنبًا إلى جنب مع نائب رئيس الحكومة. على غرار نائب رئيس الأرجنتين ، يترأس نائب رئيس الحكومة الهيئة التشريعية للمدينة ، الهيئة التشريعية للمدينة.

يتم انتخاب رئيس الحكومة والهيئة التشريعية لمدة أربع سنوات ؛ يتم تجديد نصف أعضاء الهيئة التشريعية كل سنتين. تستخدم الانتخابات طريقة D'Hondt للتمثيل النسبي. يتألف الفرع القضائي من محكمة العدل العليا ( Tribunal Superior de Justicia ) ومجلس القضاء ( Consejo de la Magistratura ) والنيابة العامة ومحاكم المدينة الأخرى.

Legally, the city has less autonomy than the Provinces. In June 1996, shortly before the City's first Executive elections were held, the Argentine National Congress issued the National Law 24.588 (known as Ley Cafiero, after the Senator who advanced the project) by which the authority over the 25,000-strong Argentine Federal Police and the responsibility over the federal institutions residing at the City (e.g., National Supreme Court of Justice buildings) would not be transferred from the National Government to the Autonomous City Government until a new consensus could be reached at the National Congress. Furthermore, it declared that the Port of Buenos Aires, along with some other places, would remain under constituted federal authorities.^[63] As of 2011^[update], the deployment of the Metropolitan Police of Buenos Aires is ongoing.^[64]

Beginning in 2007, the city has embarked on a new decentralization scheme, creating new Communes (comunas) which are to be managed by elected committees of seven members each. Buenos Aires is represented in the Argentine Senate by three senators (as of 2017^[update], Federico Pinedo, Marta Varela and Pino Solanas).^[65] The people of Buenos Aires also elect 25 national deputies to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.

• 

  Casa Rosada, workplace of the President of Argentina is located in the neighborhood of Monserrat

• 

  The Palace of Justice of the Argentine Nation is in the neighborhood of San Nicolás

• 

  The Buenos Aires City Hall in the right corner of the entrance to the Avenida de Mayo

Demographics

The population in 1825 was over 81,000 people.^[66]

Census data

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1950	5,166,140	—
1960	6,761,837	+30.9%
1970	8,416,170	+24.5%
1980	9,919,781	+17.9%
1990	11,147,566	+12.4%
2000	12,503,871	+12.2%
2010	14,245,871	+13.9%
2019	15,057,273	+5.7%
for Buenos Aires Agglomeration:[67]

In the census of 2010 there were 2,891,082 people residing in the city.^[69] The population of Greater Buenos Aires was 13,147,638 according to 2010 census data.^[70] The population density in Buenos Aires proper was 13,680 inhabitants per square kilometer (34,800 per mi²), but only about 2,400 per km² (6,100 per mi²) in the suburbs.^[71]

Buenos Aires' population has hovered around 3 million since 1947, due to low birth rates and a slow migration to the suburbs. However, the surrounding districts have expanded over fivefold (to around 10 million) since then.^[69]

The 2001 census showed a relatively aged population: with 17% under the age of fifteen and 22% over sixty, the people of Buenos Aires have an age structure similar to those in most European cities. They are older than Argentines as a whole (of whom 28% were under 15, and 14% over 60).^[72]

Two-thirds of the city's residents live in apartment buildings and 30% in single-family homes; 4% live in sub-standard housing.^[73] Measured in terms of income, the city's poverty rate was 8.4% in 2007 and, including the metro area, 20.6%.^[74] Other studies estimate that 4 million people in the metropolitan Buenos Aires area live in poverty.^[75]

The city's resident labor force of 1.2 million in 2001 was mostly employed in the services sector, particularly social services (25%), commerce and tourism (20%) and business and financial services (17%); despite the city's role as Argentina's capital, public administration employed only 6%. Manufacturing still employed 10%.^[73]

Largest groups of foreign-born people:

Paraguay	79,295
Bolivia	75,948
Peru	59,389
Uruguay	29,754
Spain	24,578
Italy	21,216
Chile	8,831
Brazil	7,181

Districts

The city is divided into barrios (neighborhoods) for administrative purposes, a division originally based on Catholic parroquias (parishes).^[76] A common expression is that of the Cien barrios porteños ("One hundred porteño neighborhoods"), referring to a composition made popular in the 1940s by tango singer Alberto Castillo; however, Buenos Aires only consists of 48 official barrios. There are several subdivisions of these districts, some with a long history and others that are the product of a real estate invention. A notable example is Palermo – the city's largest district – which has been subdivided into various barrios, including Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood, Las Cañitas and Palermo viejo, among others. A newer scheme has divided the city into 15 comunas (communes).^[77]

Saavedra Núñez V. Urquiza C Belgrano V. P. P. C. V. O. Colegiales Palermo Agronomía L. P. Chacarita V. Crespo Recoleta Retiro V. Devoto V. del P. V. R. M. C. V. S. R. V. G. M. Caballito Almagro Balva- nera S. Nicolás Monserrat Pto. Madero Versalles V. L. V. S. Floresta Flores P. C. Boe- do S. C. P. P. C S. T. Liniers Mataderos P. Avellaneda Villa Lugano Villa Riachuelo Villa Soldati N. Pompeya Barracas La Boca

Population origin

The majority of porteños have European origins, mostly from the Italian regions of Calabria, Liguria, Piedmont, Lombardy, Sicily and Campania and from the Andalusian, Galician, Asturian, and Basque regions of Spain.^[78][79] Unrestricted waves of European immigrants to Argentina starting in the mid-19th century significantly increased the country's population, even causing the number of porteños to triple between 1887 and 1915 from 500,000 to 1.5 million.^[80]

Other significant European origins include Slovak, German, Irish, Norwegian, Polish, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Greek, Czech, Albanian, Croatian, Slovenian, Dutch, Russian, Serbian, English, Hungarian and Bulgarian. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a small wave of immigration from Romania and Ukraine.^[81] There is a minority of criollo citizens, dating back to the Spanish colonial days. The Criollo and Spanish-aboriginal (mestizo) population in the city has increased mostly as a result of immigration from the inner provinces and from other countries such as neighboring Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Peru, since the second half of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

The Jewish community in Greater Buenos Aires numbers around 250,000, and is the largest in the country. The city is also eighth largest in the world in terms of Jewish population.^[82] Most are of Northern, Western, Central, and Eastern European Ashkenazi origin, primarily Swedish, Dutch, Polish, German, and Russian Jews, with a significant Sephardic minority, mostly made up of Syrian Jews and Lebanese Jews.^[83] Important Lebanese, Georgian, Syrian and Armenian communities have had a significant presence in commerce and civic life since the beginning of the 20th century.

Most East Asian immigration in Buenos Aires comes from China. Chinese immigration is the fourth largest in Argentina, with the vast majority of them living in Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area.^[84] In the 1980s, most of them were from Taiwan, but since the 1990s the majority of Chinese immigrants come from the Mainland Chinese province of Fukien (Fujian).^[84] The mainland Chinese who came from Fukien mainly installed supermarkets throughout the city and the suburbs; these supermarkets are so common that, in average, there is one every two and a half blocks and are simply referred to as el chino ("the Chinese").^[84][85] Japanese immigrants are mostly from the Okinawa Prefecture. They started the dry cleaning business in Argentina, an activity that is considered idiosyncratic to the Japanese immigrants in Buenos Aires.^[86] Korean Immigration occurred after the division of Korea; they mainly settled in Flores and Once.^[87]

In the 2010 census [INDEC], 2.1% of the population or 61,876 persons declared to be Indigenous or first-generation descendants of Indigenous people in Buenos Aires (not including the 24 adjacent Partidos that make up Greater Buenos Aires).^[88] Amongst the 61,876 persons who are of indigenous origin, 15.9% are Quechua people, 15.9% are Guaraní, 15.5% are Aymara and 11% are Mapuche.^[88] Within the 24 adjacent Partidos, 186,640 persons or 1.9% of the total population declared themselves to be Indigenous.^[88] Amongst the 186,640 persons who are of indigenous origin, 21.2% are Guaraní, 19% are Toba, 11.3% are Mapuche, 10.5% are Quechua and 7.6% are Diaguita.^[88]

In the city, 15,764 people identified themselves as Afro-Argentine in the 2010 Census.^[89]

Religion

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was the second largest Catholic city in the world after Paris.^[90][91] Christianity is still the most prevalently practiced religion in Buenos Aires (~71.4%),^[92] a 2019 CONICET survey on religious beliefs and attitudes found that the inhabitants of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA) were 56.4% Catholic, 26.2% non-religious and 15% Evangelical; making it the region of the country with the highest proportion of irreligious people.^[92] A previous CONICET survey from 2008 had found that 69.1% were Catholic, 18% "indifferent", 9.1% Evangelical, 1.4% Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons and 2.3% adherents to other religions.^[93] The comparison between both surveys reveals that the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area is the region in which the decline of Catholicism was most pronounced during the last decade.^[92]

Buenos Aires is also home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere after the United States.^[94][95] The Jewish community of Buenos Aires has historically been characterized by its high level of assimilation, organization and influence in the cultural history of the city.^[96]

Buenos Aires is the seat of a Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop (the Catholic primate of Argentina), currently Archbishop Mario Poli. His predecessor, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was elected to the Papacy as Pope Francis on 13 March 2013. There are Protestant, Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Buddhist and various other religious minorities as well.^[97]

• 

  The Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in the city.

• 

  Templo Libertad is a Jewish synagogue. Argentina's Jewish population is the largest in Latin America.

• 

  Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, is the oldest non-Catholic church building in Latin America.

• 

  Russian Orthodox church in San Telmo.

• 

  St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral.

Urban problems

Villas miserias are a type of slum whose size ranges from small groups of precarious houses to large communities with thousands of residents.^[98] In rural areas, the houses in the villas miserias might be made of mud and wood. Villas miseria are found around and inside the large cities of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Córdoba and Mendoza, among others. There are 4,228 villas miseria throughout the country. Around 1,600 are in the Buenos Aires suburbs. ^[99]

Buenos Aires has below 2 m² (22 sq ft) of green space per person, which is 90% less than New York, 85% less than Madrid and 80% less than Paris. The World Health Organization (WHO), in its concern for public health, produced a document stating that every city should have a minimum of 9 m² (97 sq ft) of green space per person; an optimal amount of space per person would range from 10 to 15 m² (161 sq ft).^[100][101]

Economy

Buenos Aires is the financial, industrial, and commercial hub of Argentina. The economy in the city proper alone, measured by Gross Geographic Product (adjusted for purchasing power), totaled US$84.7 billion (US$34,200 per capita) in 2011^[102] and amounts to nearly a quarter of Argentina's as a whole.^[103] Metro Buenos Aires, according to one well-quoted study, constitutes the 13th largest economy among the world's cities.^[104] The Buenos Aires Human Development Index (0.867 in 2018) is likewise high by international standards.^[105]

Port

The port of Buenos Aires is one of the busiest in South America, as navigable rivers by way of the Rio de la Plata connect the port to northeastern Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the distribution hub for said vast area of the South American continent. The Port of Buenos Aires handles over 11,000,000 metric tons (11,000,000 long tons; 12,000,000 short tons) annually,^[106] and Dock Sud, just south of the city proper, handles another 17,000,000 metric tons (17,000,000 long tons; 19,000,000 short tons) .^[107] Tax collection related to the port has caused many political problems in the past, including a conflict in 2008 that led to protests and a strike in the agricultural sector after the government raised export tariffs.^[108]

Services

The city's services sector is diversified and well-developed by international standards, and accounts for 76 percent of its economy (compared to 59% for all of Argentina's).^[109] Advertising, in particular, plays a prominent role in the export of services at home and abroad. However, the financial and real estate services sector is the largest and contributes to 31 percent of the city's economy. Finance (about a third of this) in Buenos Aires is especially important to Argentina's banking system, accounting for nearly half the nation's bank deposits and lending.^[109] Nearly 300 hotels and another 300 hostels and bed & breakfasts are licensed for tourism, and nearly half the rooms available were in four-star establishments or higher.^[110]

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is, nevertheless, still prominent in the city's economy (16 percent) and, concentrated mainly in the southern part of the city. It benefits as much from high local purchasing power and a large local supply of skilled labor as it does from its relationship to massive agriculture and industry just outside the city limits. Construction activity in Buenos Aires has historically been among the most accurate indicators of national economic fortunes, and since 2006 around 3 million square meters (32×10^⁶ sq ft) of construction has been authorized annually.^[109] Meat, dairy, grain, tobacco, wool and leather products are processed or manufactured in the Buenos Aires metro area. Other leading industries are automobile manufacturing, oil refining, metalworking, machine-building, and the production of textiles, chemicals, clothing and beverages.

Government finances

The city's budget, per Mayor Macri's 2011 proposal, included US$6 billion in revenues and US$6.3 billion in expenditures. The city relies on local income and capital gains taxes for 61 percent of its revenues, while federal revenue sharing contributes 11 percent, property taxes, 9 percent, and vehicle taxes, 6 percent. Other revenues include user fees, fines, and gambling duties. The city devotes 26 percent of its budget to education, 22 percent for health, 17 percent for public services and infrastructure, 16 percent for social welfare and culture, 12 percent in administrative costs and 4 percent for law enforcement. Buenos Aires maintains low debt levels and its service requires less than 3 percent of the budget.^[111]

Culture

As Buenos Aires is strongly influenced by European culture, the city is sometimes referred to as the "Paris of South America".^[2][112] With its scores of theaters and productions, the city has the busiest live theater industry in Latin America.^[113] In fact, every weekend, there are about 300 active theaters with plays, a number that places the city as 1st worldwide, more than either London, New York or Paris, cultural Meccas in themselves. The number of cultural festivals with more than 10 sites and 5 years of existence also places the city as 2nd worldwide, after Edinburgh.^[114] The Centro Cultural Kirchner (Kirchner Cultural Center), located in Buenos Aires, is the largest cultural center of Latin America,^[115][116] and the third worldwide.^[117]

Buenos Aires is the home of the Teatro Colón, an internationally rated opera house.^[118] There are several symphony orchestras and choral societies. The city has numerous museums related to arts and crafts, history, fine arts, modern arts, decorative arts, popular arts, sacred art, theater and popular music, as well as the preserved homes of noted art collectors, writers, composers and artists. The city is home to hundreds of bookstores, public libraries and cultural associations (it is sometimes called "the city of books"), as well as the largest concentration of active theaters in Latin America. It has a zoo and botanical garden, a large number of landscaped parks and squares, as well as churches and places of worship of many denominations, many of which are architecturally noteworthy.^[118]

The city has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network after it was named "City of Design" in 2005.^[119]

Porteño identity

The identity of porteños has a rich and complex history, and has been the subject of much analysis and scrutiny.^[120] The great European immigration wave of the early 20th century was integral to "the growing primacy of Buenos Aires and the accompanying urban identity", and established the division between urban and rural Argentina more deeply.^[121] Immigrants "brought new traditions and cultural markers to the city," which were "then reimagined in the porteño context, with new layers of meanings because of the new location."^[122] The heads of state's attempt to populate the country and reframe the national identity resulted in the concentration of immigrants in the city and its suburbs, who generated a culture that is a "product of their conflicts of integration, their difficulties to live and their communication puzzles."^[123] In response to the immigration wave, during the 1920s and 1930s a nationalist trend within the Argentine intellectual elite glorified the gaucho figure as an exemplary archetype of Argentine culture; its synthesis with the European traditions conformed the new urban identity of Buenos Aires.^[124] The complexity of Buenos Aires' integration and identity formation issues increased when immigrants realized that their European culture could help them gain a greater social status.^[125] As the rural population moved to the industrialized city from the 1930s onwards, they reaffirmed their European roots,^[126] adopting endogamy and founding private schools, newspapers in foreign languages, and associations that promoted adherence to their countries of origin.^[125]

Porteños are generally characterized as night owls, cultured, talkative, uninhibited, sensitive, nostalgic, observant and arrogant.^[13][120] Argentines outside Buenos Aires often stereotype its inhabitants as egotist people, a feature that people from the Americas and westerners in general commonly attribute to the entire Argentine population and use as the subject of numerous jokes.^[127] Writing for BBC Mundo Cristina Pérez felt that "the idea of the [Argentines'] vastly developed ego finds strong evidence in lunfardo dictionaries," in words such as "engrupido" (meaning "vain" or "conceited") and "compadrito" (meaning both "brave" and "braggart"), the latter being an archetypal figure of tango.^[128] Paradoxically, porteños are also described as highly self-critical, something that has been called "the other side of the ego coin."^[128] Writers consider the existence of these behaviors the consequence of the European immigration and prosperity that the city experienced during the early 20th century, which generated a feeling of superiority in parts of the population.^[127]

Art

Buenos Aires has a thriving arts culture,^[129] with "a huge inventory of museums, ranging from obscure to world-class."^[130] The barrios of Palermo and Recoleta are the city's traditional bastions in the diffusion of art, although in recent years there has been a tendency of appearance of exhibition venues in other districts such as Puerto Madero or La Boca; renowned venues include MALBA, the National Museum of Fine Arts, Fundación Proa, Faena Arts Center, and the Usina del Arte.^[131] Other popular institutions are the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art, the Quinquela Martín Museum, the Evita Museum, the Fernández Blanco Museum, the José Hernández Museum, and the Palais de Glace, among others.^[132] A traditional event that occurs once a year is La Noche de los Museos ("Night of the Museums"), when the city's museums, universities, and artistic spaces open their doors for free until early morning; it usually takes place in November.^[133][134]

The first major artistic movements in Argentina coincided with the first signs of political liberty in the country, such as the 1913 sanction of the secret ballot and universal male suffrage, the first president to be popularly elected (1916), and the cultural revolution that involved the University Reform of 1918. In this context, in which there continued to be influence from the Paris School (Modigliani, Chagall, Soutine, Klee), three main groups arose. Buenos Aires has been the birthplace of several artists and movements of national and international relevance, and has become a central motif in Argentine artistic production, especially since the 20th century.^[135] Examples include: the Paris Group – so named for being influenced by the School of Paris – constituted by Antonio Berni, Aquiles Badi, Lino Enea Spilimbergo, Raquel Forner and Alfredo Bigatti, among others; and^[136] the La Boca artists – including Benito Quinquela Martín and Alfredo Lazzari, among others – who mostly came from Italy or were of Italian descent, and usually painted scenes from working-class port neighborhoods.^[137] During the 1960s, the Torcuato di Tella Institute – located in Florida Street – became a leading local center for pop art, performance art, installation art, conceptual art, and experimental theater; this generation of artists included Marta Minujín, Dalila Puzzovio, David Lamelas and Clorindo Testa.

Buenos Aires has also become a prominent center of contemporary street art; its welcoming attitude has made it one of the world's top capitals of such expression.^[138][139] The city's turbulent modern political history has "bred an intense sense of expression in porteños," and urban art has been used to depict these stories and as a means of protest.^[129][139] However, not all of its street art concerns politics, it is also used as a symbol of democracy and freedom of expression.^[129] Murals and graffiti are so common that they are considered "an everyday occurrence," and have become part of the urban landscape of barrios such as Palermo, Villa Urquiza, Coghlan and San Telmo.^[140] This has to do with the legality of such activities —provided that the building owner has consented—, and the receptiveness of local authorities, who even subsidize various works.^[138] The abundance of places for urban artists to create their work, and the relatively lax rules for street art, have attracted international artists such as Blu, Jef Aérosol, Aryz, ROA, and Ron English.^[138] Guided tours to see murals and graffiti around the city have been growing steadily.^[141]

• 

  MALBA

• 

  Recoleta Cultural Center

• 

  Museum of Decorative Arts

• 

  Faena Arts Center

Literature

Buenos Aires has long been considered an intellectual and literary capital of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world.^[142][143] Despite its short urban history, Buenos Aires has an abundant literary production; its mythical-literary network "has grown at the same rate at which the streets of the city earned its shores to the pampas and buildings stretched its shadow on the curb."^[144] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culture boomed along with the economy and the city emerged as a literary capital and the seat of South America's most powerful publishing industry,^[145] and "even if the economic path grew rocky, ordinary Argentines embraced and stuck to the habit of reading."^[146] By the 1930s, Buenos Aires was the undisputed literary capital of the Spanish-speaking world, with Victoria Ocampo founding the highly influential Sur magazine—which dominated Spanish-language literature for thirty years—^[147] and the arrival of prominent Spanish writers and editors who were escaping the civil war.^[146]

Buenos Aires is one of the most prolific book publishers in Latin America and has more bookstores per capita than any other major city in the world.^[146][148] Buenos Aires has at least 734 bookstores—roughly 25 bookshops for every 100,000 inhabitants—far above other world cities like London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow and New York.^[146][148] The city also has a thriving market for secondhand books, ranking third in terms of secondhand bookshops per inhabitant, most of them congregated along Avenida Corrientes.^[148] Buenos Aires' book market has been described as "catholic in taste, immune to fads or fashion", with "wide and varied demand."^[148] The popularity of reading among porteños has been variously linked to the wave of mass immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and to the city's "obsession" with psychoanalysis.^[148]

The Buenos Aires International Book Fair has been a major event in the city since the first fair in 1975,^[142] having been described as "perhaps the most important and largest annual literary event in the Spanish-speaking world,"^[149] and "the most important cultural event in Latin America".^[150] In its 2019 edition, the Book Fair was attended by 1.8 million people.^[150]

Language

Buenos Aires' dialect of Spanish, which is known as Rioplatense Spanish, is distinguished by its use of voseo, yeísmo, and aspiration of s in various contexts. It is heavily influenced by the dialects of Spanish spoken in Andalusia and Murcia, and shares its features with that of other cities like Rosario and Montevideo, Uruguay.

In the early 20th century, Argentina absorbed millions of immigrants, many of them Italians, who spoke mostly in their local dialects (mainly Neapolitan, Sicilian and Genoese). Their adoption of Spanish was gradual, creating a pidgin of Italian dialects and Spanish that was called cocoliche. Its usage declined around the 1950s. A phonetic study conducted by the Laboratory for Sensory Investigations of CONICET and the University of Toronto showed that the prosody of porteño is closer to the Neapolitan language of Italy than to any other spoken language.^[151]

Many Spanish immigrants were from Galicia, and Spaniards are still generically referred to in Argentina as gallegos (Galicians). Galician language, cuisine and culture had a major presence in the city for most of the 20th century. In recent years, descendants of Galician immigrants have led a mini-boom in Celtic music (which also highlighted the Welsh traditions of Patagonia).

Yiddish was commonly heard in Buenos Aires, especially in the Balvanera garment district and in Villa Crespo until the 1960s. Most of the newer immigrants learn Spanish quickly and assimilate into city life.

The Lunfardo argot originated within the prison population, and in time spread to all porteños. Lunfardo uses words from Italian dialects, from Brazilian Portuguese, from African and Caribbean languages and even from English. Lunfardo employs humorous tricks such as inverting the syllables within a word (vesre). Today, Lunfardo is mostly heard in tango lyrics;^[152] the slang of the younger generations has been evolving away from it.

Buenos Aires was also the first city to host a Mundo Lingo event on 7 July 2011, which have been after replicated in up to 15 cities in 13 countries.^[153]

Music

According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, "Argentina has one of the richest art music traditions and perhaps the most active contemporary musical life" in South America.^[154] Buenos Aires boasts of several professional orchestras, including the Argentine National Symphony Orchestra, the Ensamble Musical de Buenos Aires and the Camerata Bariloche; as well as various conservatories that offer professional music education, like the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música.^[154] As a result of the growth and commercial prosperity of the city in the late 18th century, theater became a vital force in Argentine musical life, offering Italian and French operas and Spanish zarzuelas.^[154] Italian music was very influential during the 19th century and the early 20th century, in part because of immigration, but operas and salon music were also composed by Argentines, including Francisco Hargreaves and Juan Gutiérrez.^[154] A nationalist trend that drew from Argentine traditions, literature and folk music was an important force during the 19th century, including composers Alberto Williams, Julián Aguirre, Arturo Berutti and Felipe Boero.^[154] In the 1930s, composers such as Juan Carlos Paz and Alberto Ginastera "began to espouse a cosmopolitan and modernist style, influenced by twelve-tone techniques and serialism"; while avant-garde music thrived by the 1960s, with the Rockefeller Foundation financing the Centro Interamericano de Altos Estudios Musicales, which brought internationally famous composers to work and teach in Buenos Aires, also establishing an electronic music studio.^[154]

The Río de la Plata is known for being the birthplace of tango, which is considered an emblem of Buenos Aires.^[155] The city considers itself the Tango World Capital, and as such hosts many related events, the most important being an annual festival and world tournament.^[155] The most important exponent of the genre is Carlos Gardel, followed by Aníbal Troilo; other important composers include Alfredo Gobbi, Ástor Piazzolla, Osvaldo Pugliese, Mariano Mores, Juan D'Arienzo and Juan Carlos Cobián.^[156] Tango music experienced a period of splendor during the 1940s, while in the 1960s and 1970s nuevo tango appeared, incorporating elements of classical and jazz music. A contemporary trend is neotango (also known as electrotango), with exponents such as Bajofondo and Gotan Project. On 30 September 2009, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage declared tango part of the world's cultural heritage, making Argentina eligible to receive financial assistance in safeguarding tango for future generations.^[157]

The city hosts several music festivals every year. A popular genre is electronic dance music, with festivals including Creamfields BA, SAMC, Moonpark, and a local edition of Ultra Music Festival. Other well-known events include the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival, Personal Fest, Quilmes Rock and Pepsi Music. Some music festivals are held in Greater Buenos Aires, like Lollapalooza, which takes place at the Hipódromo de San Isidro in San Isidro.

Cinema

Argentine cinema history began in Buenos Aires with the first film exhibition on 18 July 1896 at the Teatro Odeón.^[158][159] With his 1897 film, La bandera Argentina, Eugène Py became one of the first filmmakers of the country; the film features a waving Argentine flag located at Plaza de Mayo.^[159] In the early 20th century, the first movie theaters of the country opened in Buenos Aires, and newsreels appeared, most notably El Viaje de Campos Salles a Buenos Aires.^[159] The real industry emerged with the advent of sound films, the first one being Muñequitas porteñas (1931).^[158][159] The newly founded Argentina Sono Film released ¡Tango! in 1933, the first integral sound production in the country.^[159] During the 1930s and the 1940s (commonly referred as the "Golden Age" of Argentine cinema), many films revolved around the city of Buenos Aires and tango culture, reflected in titles such as La vida es un tango, El alma del bandoneón, Adiós Buenos Aires, El Cantor de Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires canta. Argentine films were exported across Latin America, specially Libertad Lamarque's melodramas, and the comedies of Luis Sandrini and Niní Marshall. The popularity of local cinema in the Spanish-speaking world played a key role in the massification of tango music. Carlos Gardel, an iconic figure of tango and Buenos Aires, became an international star by starring in several films during that era.

In response to large studio productions, the "Generation of the 60s" appeared, a group of filmmakers that produced the first modernist films in Argentina during the early years of that decade. These included Manuel Antín, Lautaro Murúa and René Mugica, among others.^[160] During the second half of the decade, films of social protest were presented in clandestine exhibitions, the work of Grupo Cine Liberación and Grupo Cine de la Base, who advocated what they called "Third Cinema". At that time, the country was under a military dictatorship after the coup d'état known as Argentine Revolution. One of the most notable films of this movement is La hora de los hornos (1968) by Fernando Solanas. During the period of democracy between 1973 and 1975, the local cinema experienced critical and commercial success, with titles including Juan Moreira (1973), La Patagonia rebelde (1974), La Raulito (1975), and La tregua (1974) – which became the first Argentine film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. However, because of censorship and a new military government, Argentine cinema stalled until the return of democracy in the 1980s. This generation – known as "Argentine Cinema in Liberty and Democracy" – were mostly young or postponed filmmakers, and gained international notoriety. Camila (1984) by María Luisa Bemberg was nominated for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, and Luis Puenzo's La historia oficial (1985) was the first Argentine film to receive the award.

Located in Buenos Aires is the Pablo Ducrós Hicken Museum of Cinema, the only one in the country dedicated to Argentine cinema and a pioneer of its kind in Latin America.^[161] Every year, the city hosts the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI), which, in its 2015 edition, featured 412 films from 37 countries, and an attendance of 380 thousand people.^[162] Buenos Aires also hosts various other festivals and film cycles, like the Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, devoted to horror.

Media

Buenos Aires is home to five Argentine television networks: America, Television Pública Argentina, El Nueve, Telefe, and El Trece. Four of them are located in Buenos Aires, and the studios of America is located in La Plata.

Fashion

Buenos Aires' inhabitants have been historically characterized as "fashion-conscious".^{[163][164][165]} National designers display their collections annually at the Buenos Aires Fashion Week (BAFWEEK) and related events.^[166] Inevitably being a season behind, it fails to receive much international attention.^[167] Nevertheless, the city remains an important regional fashion capital. According to Global Language Monitor, as of 2017^[update] the city is the 20th leading fashion capital in the world, ranking second in Latin America after Rio de Janeiro.^[168] In 2005, Buenos Aires was appointed as the first UNESCO City of Design,^[169] and received this title once again in 2007.^[170] Since 2015, the Buenos Aires International Fashion Film Festival Buenos Aires (BAIFFF) takes place, sponsored by the city and Mercedes-Benz.^[171] The government of the city also organizes La Ciudad de Moda ("The City of Fashion"), an annual event that serves as a platform for emerging creators and attempts to boost the sector by providing management tools.^[172]

The fashionable neighborhood of Palermo, particularly the area known as Soho, is where the latest fashion and design trends are presented.^[173] The "sub-barrio" of Palermo Viejo is also a popular port of call for fashion in the city.^[174] An increasing number of young, independent designers are also setting up their own shops in Bohemian San Telmo, known for its wide variety of markets and antique shops.^[173] Recoleta, on the other hand, is the epicenter of branches of exclusive and upscale fashion houses.^[173] In particular, Avenida Alvear is home to the most exclusive representatives of haute couture in the city.^[174]

Cityscape

Architecture

Buenos Aires architecture is characterized by its eclectic nature, with elements resembling Paris and Madrid. There is a mix, due to immigration, of Colonial, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Neo-Gothic, and French Bourbon styles.^[175] Italian and French influences increased after the declaration of 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 the beginning of the 20th century, when European influences penetrated into the country, reflected by several buildings of Buenos Aires such as the Iglesia Santa Felicitas by Ernesto Bunge; the Palace of Justice, the National Congress, all of them by Vittorio Meano, and the Teatro Colón, by Francesco Tamburini and Vittorio Meano.

The simplicity of the Rioplatense baroque style can be clearly seen in Buenos Aires through the works of Italian architects such as André Blanqui and Antonio Masella, in the churches of San Ignacio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the Cathedral and the Cabildo.

In 1912, the Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento was opened to the public; its construction was funded by the generous donation of Argentine philanthropist Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena, a member of Argentina's most prominent family. The church is an excellent example of French neo-classicism. With extremely high-grade decorations in its interior, the magnificent Mutin-Cavaillé coll organ (the biggest ever installed in an Argentine church with more than four thousand tubes and four manuals) presided the nave. The altar is full of marble, and was the biggest ever built in South America at that time.^[176]

In 1919, the construction of Palacio Barolo began. This was South America's tallest building at the time and was the first Argentine skyscraper built with concrete (1919–1923).^[177] The building was equipped with 9 elevators, plus a 20-meter (66 ft)-high lobby hall with paintings in the ceiling and Latin phrases embossed in golden bronze letters. A 300,000-candela beacon was installed at the top (110 m), making the building visible even from Uruguay. In 2009, the Barolo Palace went under an exhaustive restoration, and the beacon was made operational again.

In 1936, the 120-meter (394 ft)-tall Kavanagh building was inaugurated. The Kavanagh building, with its 12 elevators (provided by Otis) and the world's first central air conditioning system (provided by the North American company "Carrier"), is still an architectural landmark in Buenos Aires.^[178]

The architecture of the second half of the 19th century continued to reproduce French neoclassic models, such as the headquarters of the Banco de la Nación Argentina built by Alejandro Bustillo, and the Museo Hispanoamericano de Buenos Aires of Martín Noel. However, since the 1930s, the influence of Le Corbusier and European rationalism consolidated in a group of young architects from the University of Tucumán, among whom Amancio Williams stands out. The construction of skyscrapers proliferated in Buenos Aires until the 1950s. Newer modern high-technology buildings by Argentine architects in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st include the Le Parc Tower by Mario Álvarez, the Torre Fortabat by Sánchez Elía, and the Repsol-YPF tower by César Pelli.

Education

Primary education

Primary education comprises grades 1–7. Most primary schools in the city still adhere to the traditional seven-year primary school, but kids can do grades 1–6 if their high school lasts 6 years, such as ORT Argentina.

Secondary education

Secondary education in Argentina is called Polimodal (having multiple modes) since it allows the student to choose their orientation. Polimodal is usually 3 years of schooling, although some schools have a fourth year. Before entering the first year of polimodal, students choose an orientation from the following five specializations: Humanities and Social Sciences, Economics and Management of Organizations, Art and Design, Health and Sport and Biology and Natural Sciences.

Nevertheless, in Buenos Aires, secondary education consists of 5 years ranging from 1st year to 5th year as opposed to primary education's 1st to 7th grade. Most schools do not require students to choose their orientation, as they study the basics such as art, biology, math, history, and technology, but there are schools that do, regardless of if they are oriented to a certain profession or they have orientations to choose from when they reach a specific year.

Some high schools depend on the University of Buenos Aires, and these require an admission course when students are taking the last year of high school. These high schools are ILSE, CNBA, Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini and Escuela de Educación Técnica Profesional en Producción Agropecuaria y Agroalimentaria (School of Professional Technique Education in Agricultural and Agrifood Production). The last two do have a specific orientation.

In December 2006 the Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Congress passed a new National Education Law restoring the old system of primary followed by secondary education, making secondary education obligatory and a right, and increasing the length of compulsory education to 13 years. The government vowed to put the law in effect gradually, starting in 2007.^[179]

University education

There are many public universities in Argentina, as well as a number of private universities. The University of Buenos Aires, one of the top learning institutions in South America, has produced five Nobel Prize winners and provides taxpayer-funded education for students from all around the globe.^{[180][181][182]} Buenos Aires is a major center for psychoanalysis, particularly the Lacanian school. Buenos Aires is home to several private universities of different quality, such as: Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Buenos Aires Institute of Technology, CEMA University, Favaloro University, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, University of Belgrano, University of Palermo, University of Salvador, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy, Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales, Universidad del Museo Social Argentino, Universidad Austral, Universidad CAECE and Torcuato di Tella University.

Tourism

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council,^[184] tourism has been growing in the Argentine capital since 2002. In a survey by the travel and tourism publication Travel + Leisure Magazine in 2008, visitors voted Buenos Aires the second most desirable city to visit after Florence, Italy.^[185] In 2008, an estimated 2.5 million visitors visited the city.^[186]

Visitors have many options for travel such as going to a tango show, an estancia in the Province of Buenos Aires, or enjoying the traditional asado. New tourist circuits have recently evolved, devoted to Argentines such as Carlos Gardel, Eva Perón or Jorge Luis Borges. Before 2011, due to the Argentine peso's favorable exchange rate, its shopping centers such as Alto Palermo, Paseo Alcorta, Patio Bullrich, Abasto de Buenos Aires and Galerías Pacífico were frequently visited by tourists. Nowadays, the exchange rate has hampered tourism and shopping in particular. In fact, notable consumer brands such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton have abandoned the country due to the exchange rate and import restrictions. The city also plays host to musical festivals, some of the largest of which are Quilmes Rock, Creamfields BA, Ultra Music Festival (Buenos Aires), and the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival.

The most popular tourist sites are found in the historic core of the city, specifically, in the Montserrat and San Telmo neighborhoods. Buenos Aires was conceived around the Plaza de Mayo, the colony's administrative center. To the east of the square is the Casa Rosada, the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina. To the north, the Catedral Metropolitana which has stood in the same location since colonial times, and the Banco de la Nación Argentina building, a parcel of land originally owned by Juan de Garay. Other important colonial institutions were Cabildo, to the west, which was renovated during the construction of Avenida de Mayo and Julio A. Roca. To the south is the Congreso de la Nación (National Congress), which currently houses the Academia Nacional de la Historia (National Academy of History). Lastly, to the northwest, is City Hall.

Parks

Buenos Aires has over 250 parks and green spaces, the largest concentration of which are on the city's eastern side in the neighborhoods of Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Palermo, and Belgrano. Some of the most important are:

• Parque Tres de Febrero was designed by urbanist Jordán Czeslaw Wysocki and architect Julio Dormal. The park was inaugurated on 11 November 1875. The subsequent dramatic economic growth of Buenos Aires helped to lead to its transfer to the municipal domain in 1888, whereby French Argentine urbanist Carlos Thays was commissioned to expand and further beautify the park, between 1892 and 1912. Thays designed the Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the adjoining Plaza Italia and the Rose Garden.
• Botanical Gardens, designed by French architect and landscape designer Carlos Thays, the garden was inaugurated on 7 September 1898. Thays and his family lived in an English style mansion, located within the gardens, between 1892 and 1898, when he served as director of parks and walks in the city. The mansion, built in 1881, is currently the main building of the complex.
• Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens Is the largest of its type in the world, outside Japan. Completed in 1967, the gardens were inaugurated on the occasion of a State visit to Argentina by Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko of Japan.
• Plaza de Mayo Since being the scene of May Revolution of 1810 that led to Argentinian independence, the plaza has been a hub of political life in Argentina.
• Plaza San Martín is a park located in the city's neighborhood of Retiro. Situated at the northern end of pedestrianized Florida Street, the park is bounded by Libertador Ave. (N), Maipú St. (W), Santa Fe Avenue (S), and Leandro Alem Av. (E).

• 

  Congressional Plaza

• 

  Buenos Aires Botanical Garden

• 

  Plaza de Mayo

• 

  Parque Tres de Febrero

Theaters

Buenos Aires has over 280 theaters, more than any other city in the world.^[187] Because of this, Buenos Aires is declared the "World's Capital of Theater".^[188] They show everything from musicals to ballet, comedy to circuses.^[189] Some of them are:

• Teatro Colón is ranked the third best opera house in the world by National Geographic,^[190] and is acoustically considered to be among the world's five best concert venues. It is bounded by the wide 9 de Julio Avenue (technically Cerrito Street), Arturo Toscanini Street, Tucumán Street, as well as Libertad Street at its main entrance.^[191] It is in the heart of the city on a site once occupied by Ferrocarril Oeste's Plaza Parque station.
• Cervantes Theater (Teatro Nacional Cervantes), located on Córdoba Avenue and two blocks north of Buenos Aires' renowned opera house, the Colón Theater, the Cervantes houses three performance halls, of which the María Guerrero Salon serves as its main hall. Its 456 m² (4,900 ft²) stage features a 12 m (39 ft) rotating circular platform and can be extended by a further 2.7 m (9 ft). The Guerrero Salon can seat 860 spectators, including 512 in the galleries. A secondary hall, the Orestes Caviglia Salon, can seat 150 and is mostly reserved for chamber music concerts. The Luisa Vehíl Salon is a multipurpose room known for its extensive gold leaf decor.
• Teatro Gran Rex opened on 8 July 1937 as the largest cinema in South America of its time; it is an Art Deco-style theater.
• Teatro Avenida (Avenida Theater) was inaugurated on Buenos Aires' central Avenida de Mayo in 1908 with a production of Spanish dramatist Lope de Vega's Justice Without Revenge. The production was directed by María Guerrero, a Spanish Argentine theater director who popularized classical drama in Argentina during the late 19th century and would establish the important Cervantes Theater (Teatro Nacional Cervantes) in 1921.

LGBT tourism

Buenos Aires has become a recipient of LGBT tourism,^[192][193] due to the existence of some gay-friendly sites and the legalization of same-sex marriage on 15 July 2010, making it the first country in Latin America, the second in the Americas, and the tenth in the world to do so. Its Gender Identity Law, passed in 2012, made Argentina the "only country that allows people to change their gender identities without facing barriers such as hormone therapy, surgery or psychiatric diagnosis that labels them as having an abnormality". In 2015, the World Health Organization cited Argentina as an exemplary country for providing transgender rights. Despite these legal advances, however, homophobia continues to be a hotly contested social issue in the city and the country.^[194]

Hotels

Buenos Aires has various types of accommodation ranging from luxurious five star hotels in the city center to budget hotels located in suburban neighborhoods. Nonetheless, the city's transportation system allows easy and inexpensive access to the city.

There were, as of February 2008^[update], 23 five-star, 61 four-star, 59 three-star and 87 two or one-star hotels, as well as 25 boutique hotels and 39 apart-hotels; another 298 hostels, bed & breakfasts, vacation rentals and other non-hotel establishments were registered in the city. In all, nearly 27,000 rooms were available for tourism in Buenos Aires, of which about 12,000 belonged to four-star, five-star, or boutique hotels. Establishments of a higher category typically enjoy the city's highest occupation rates.^[195] The majority of the hotels are located in the central part of the city, in close proximity to most main tourist attractions.

Landmarks

• Cabildo was used as the seat of government during the colonial times of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate. The original building was finished in 1610 but was soon found to be too small and had to be expanded. Over the years many changes have been made. In 1940, the architect Mario Buschiazzo reconstructed the colonial features of the Cabildo using various original documents.
• Kavanagh building is located at 1065 Florida St. in the barrio of Retiro, overlooking Plaza San Martín. It was constructed in the 1930s in the Rationalist style by the architects Gregorio Sánchez, Ernesto Lagos and Luis María de la Torre, and finished in 1936. The building's features include austere lines, lack of external ornamentation, and large prismatic volumes. It was declared a national historical monument in 1999,^[196] and is one of the most impressive architectural masterpieces of Buenos Aires. Standing at a height of 120 m, it still retains its impact against the city's modern skyline. In 1939 its façade received an award from the American Institute of Architects.^[197]
• Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires. Overlooking the Plaza de Mayo of the city center, it is located on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets in the neighborhood of San Nicolás. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires.
• National Library is the largest library in Argentina and one of the most important in the Americas.
• The Obelisk was built in May 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city. It is located in the center of the Plaza de la República (Republic Square), the spot where the Argentine flag was flown for the first time in Buenos Aires, at the intersection of Nueve de Julio and Corrientes avenues. Its total height is 67 meters (220 feet) and its base area is 49 square meters (530 square feet). It was designed by architect Alberto Prebisch, and its construction took barely four weeks.
• Palacio de Aguas Corrientes (perhaps the world's most ornate water pumping station)

• 

  Las Nereidas font by Lola Mora

• 

  Kavanagh building

• 

  La Recoleta Cemetery

• 

  Palacio de Aguas Corrientes

Transport

Airports

The Ministro Pistarini International Airport, commonly known as Ezeiza Airport, is located in the suburb of Ezeiza, in Buenos Aires Province, approximately 22 km south of the city. This airport handles most international air traffic to and from Argentina as well as some domestic flights.

The Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, located in the Palermo district of the city next to the riverbank, is only within the city limits and serves primarily domestic traffic within Argentina and some regional flights to neighboring South American countries.

Other minor airports near the city are El Palomar Airport, which is located 18 km west of the city and handles some scheduled domestic flights to a number of destinations in Argentina, and the smaller San Fernando Airport which serves only general aviation.

Local roads and personal transport

Buenos Aires is based on a square, rectangular grid pattern, save for natural barriers or the relatively rare developments explicitly designed otherwise (most notably, the Parque Chas neighborhood). The rectangular grid provides for 110-meter (361 ft)-long square blocks named manzanas . Pedestrian zones in the central business district such as Florida Street are partially car-free and always bustling, access provided by bus and the Underground (subte) Line C. Buenos Aires, for the most part, is a very walkable city and the majority of residents in Buenos Aires use public transport.

Two diagonal avenues alleviate traffic and provide better access to Plaza de Mayo and the city center in general; most avenues running into and out of it are one-way and feature six or more lanes, with computer-controlled green waves to speed up traffic outside of peak times.

The city's principal avenues include the 140-meter (459 ft)-wide July 9 Avenue, the over 35-kilometer (22 mi)-long Rivadavia Avenue,^[198] and Corrientes Avenue, the main thoroughfare of culture and entertainment.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the construction of the General Paz Avenue beltway that surrounds the city along its border with Buenos Aires Province, and the freeways leading to the new international airport and to the northern suburbs, heralded a new era for Buenos Aires traffic. Encouraged by pro-automaker policies that were pursued towards the end of the Perón (1955) and Frondizi administrations (1958–62) in particular, auto sales nationally grew from an average of 30,000 during the 1920–57 era to around 250,000 in the 1970s and over 600,000 in 2008.^[199] Today, over 1.8 million vehicles (nearly one-fifth of Argentina's total) are registered in Buenos Aires.^[200]

Toll motorways opened in the late 1970s by mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore, now used by over a million vehicles daily, provide convenient access to the city center.^[201] Cacciatore likewise had financial district streets (roughly 1 square kilometer (0.39 sq mi) in area) closed to private cars during daytime. Most major avenues are, however, gridlocked at peak hours. Following the economic mini-boom of the 1990s, record numbers started commuting by car and congestion increased, as did the time-honored Argentine custom of taking weekends off in the countryside.

Local public transport

Commuter rail

The Buenos Aires commuter rail system has seven lines:

The Buenos Aires commuter network system is very extensive: every day more than 1.3 million people commute to the Argentine capital. These suburban trains operate between 4 am and 1 am. The Buenos Aires commuter rail network also connects the city with long-distance rail services to Rosario and Córdoba, among other metropolitan areas. The city center is home to four principal terminals for both long-distance and local passenger services: Constitucion, Retiro, Federico Lacroze and Once. In addition, Buenos Aires station serves as a minor terminus.

Commuter rail in the city is mostly operated by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos, though the Urquiza Line and Belgrano Norte Line are operated by private companies Metrovías and Ferrovías respectively.^{[202][203][204]} All services had been operated by Ferrocarriles Argentinos until the company's privatization in 1993, and were then operated by a series of private companies until the lines were put back under state control following a series of high-profile accidents.^[205][206]

Since 2013, there has been a series of large investments on the network, with all lines (with the exception of the Urquiza Line) receiving new rolling stock, along with widespread infrastructure improvements, track replacement, electrification work, refurbishments of stations and building entirely new stations.^{[207][208][209]} Similarly, almost all level crossings have been replaced by underpasses and overpasses in the city, with plans to replace all of them in the near future.^[210] One of the most major projects under way is the electrification of the remaining segments of the Roca Line – the most widely used in the network – and also moving the entire section of the Sarmiento Line which runs through the heart of the city's underground to allow for better frequencies on the line and reduce congestion above ground.^[211][212]

There are also three other major projects on the table. The first would elevate a large segment of the San Martín Line which runs through the city center and electrify the line, while the second would see the electrification and extension of the Belgrano Sur Line to Constitucion station in the city center.^[213][214] If these two projects are completed, then the Belgrano Norte Line would be the only diesel line to run through the city. The third and most ambitious is to build a series of tunnels between three of the city's railway terminals with a large underground central station underneath the Obelisk, connecting all the commuter railway lines in a network dubbed the Red de Expresos Regionales.^[215]

Cycling

In December 2010, the city government launched a bicycle sharing program with bicycles free for hire by users upon registration. Located in mostly central areas, there are 31 rental stations throughout the city providing over 850 bicycles to be picked up and dropped off at any station within an hour.^[216] As of 2013^[update], the city has constructed 110 km (68.35 mi) of protected bicycle lanes and has plans to construct another 100 km (62.14 mi).^[217] In 2015, the stations were automated and the service became 24 hours through use of a smart card or mobile phone application.

Underground

The Buenos Aires Underground (locally known as subte, from "subterráneo" meaning underground or subway), is a high-yield^{[clarification needed]} system providing access to various parts of the city. Opened in 1913, it is the oldest underground system in the Southern Hemisphere and oldest in the Spanish-speaking world. The system has six underground lines and one overground line, named by letters (A to E, and H) and there are 100 stations, and 58.8 km (37 mi) of route, including the Premetro line.^[218] An expansion program is underway to extend existing lines into the outer neighborhoods and add a new north-south line. Route length is expected to reach 89 km (55 mi) by 2011.

Line A is the oldest one (service opened to public in 1913) and stations kept the "belle-époque" decoration, while the original rolling stock from 1913, affectionately known as Las Brujas were retired from the line in 2013. Daily ridership on weekdays is 1.7 million and on the increase.^[219][220] Fares remain relatively cheap, although the city government raised fares by over 125% in January 2012. A single journey, with unlimited interchanges between lines, costs AR$19, which is roughly US$0.28 as of May 2020.^[221]

The most recent expansions to the network were the addition of numerous stations to the network in 2013: San José de Flores and San Pedrito to Line A, Echeverría and Juan Manuel de Rosas to Line B and Hospitales to Line H. Current works include the completion of Line H northwards and addition of three new stations to Line E in the city center.^[222][223] The construction of Line F is due to commence in 2015,^[224] while two other lines are planned for construction in the future.

Tramways

Buenos Aires had an extensive street railway (tram) system with over 857 km (533 mi) of track, which was dismantled during the 1960s after the advent of bus transportation, but surface rail transport has made a small comeback in some parts of the city. The PreMetro or Line E2 is a 7.4 km (4.6 mi) light rail line that connects with Underground Line E at Plaza de los Virreyes station and runs to General Savio and Centro Cívico. It is operated by Metrovías. The official inauguration took place on 27 August 1987.

A 2-meter (7 ft)-long modern tramway, the Tranvía del Este, opened in 2007 in the Puerto Madero district, using two tramcars on temporary loan. However, plans to extend the line and acquire a fleet of trams did not come to fruition, and declining patronage led to the line's closure in October 2012.^[225] A heritage streetcar maintained by tram fans operates on weekends, near the Primera Junta line A Underground station in the neighborhood of Caballito.

Buses

There are over 150 city bus lines called Colectivos, each one managed by an individual company. These compete with each other and attract exceptionally high use with virtually no public financial support.^[226] Their frequency makes them equal to the underground systems of other cities, but buses cover a far wider area than the underground system. Colectivos in Buenos Aires do not have a fixed timetable, but run from four to several per hour, depending on the bus line and time of the day. With inexpensive tickets and extensive routes, usually no further than four blocks from commuters' residences, the colectivo is the most popular mode of transport around the city.^[226]

Buenos Aires has recently opened a bus rapid transit system, the Metrobus. The system uses modular median stations that serve both directions of travel, which enable pre-paid, multiple-door, level boarding. The first line, opened on 31 May 2011, runs across the Juan B. Justo Ave has 21 stations.^[227] The system now has 4 lines with 113 stations on its 43.5 km (27.0 mi) network, while numerous other lines are under construction and planned.^[228]

Taxis

A fleet of 40,000 black-and-yellow taxis ply the streets at all hours. License controls are not enforced rigorously.^{[citation needed]} There have been reports of organized crime controlling the access of taxis to the city airports and other major destinations.^{[citation needed]} Taxi drivers are known for trying to take advantage of tourists.^[229] Radio-link companies provide reliable and safe service; many such companies provide incentives for frequent users. Low-fare limo services, known as remises, have become popular in recent years.^[230][231]

Ferries

Buenos Aires is also served by a ferry system operated by the company Buquebus that connects the port of Buenos Aires with the main cities of Uruguay, (Colonia del Sacramento, Montevideo and Punta del Este). More than 2.2 million people per year travel between Argentina and Uruguay with Buquebus. One of these ships is a catamaran, which can reach a top speed of about 80 km/h (50 mph).^[232]

Public Transportation statistics

According to data released by Moovit in July 2017, the average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Buenos Aires, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 79 min. 23% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 20 percent of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 8.9 km, while 21% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.^[233]

Security

The Guardia Urbana de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Urban Guard) was a specialized civilian force of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that used to deal with different urban conflicts with the objective of developing actions of prevention, dissuasion and mediation, promoting effective behaviors that guarantee the security and the integrity of public order and social coexistence. The unit continuously assisted the personnel of the Argentine Federal Police, especially in emergency situations, events of massive concurrence, and protection of tourist establishments.

Urban Guard officials did not carry any weapons in the performing of their duties. Their basic tools were a HT radio transmitter and a whistle.

As of March 2008^[update], the Guardia Urbana was removed.

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police was the police force under the authority of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The force was created in 2010 and was composed of 1,850 officers.

In 2016, the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police and part of the Argentine Federal Police were merged to create the new Buenos Aires City Police force.

The Buenos Aires City Police force began operations on 1 January 2017. Security in the city is now the responsibility of the Buenos Aires City Police.^[234]

The police is headed by the Chief of Police who is appointed by the head of the executive branch of the city of Buenos Aires.

There are four major departments:

• Public Security
• Investigations and Research
• Scientific and Technical
• Administration

Geographically, the force is divided into 56 stations throughout the city. All police station employees are civilians.

The Buenos Aires City Police force is composed of over 25,000 officers.

Sports

Basketball

In 1912, the practice of basketball in Argentina was started by the Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (YMCA) of Buenos Aires,^[235] when Canadian Professor Paul Phillip was in charge of teaching basketball at the YMCA of Paseo Colón Avenue.

The first basketball clubs in Argentina, Hindú and Independiente, were located at the YMCAs of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. By 1912 the first basketball games were held by YMCA headquarters in Buenos Aires. Nowadays, the Argentine Basketball Confederation is headquartered in Buenos Aires.

Boxing

Argentina has been the home of world champions in professional boxing. Carlos Monzon was a hall of fame World Middleweight champion, and the current undisputed linear Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez hails from Argentina. Omar Narvaez, Lucas Matthysse, Carolina Duer, and Marcos Maidana are five modern-day world champions as well.

Horse racing

Argentines' love for horses can be experienced in several ways: horse racing at the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo racetrack, polo in the Campo Argentino de Polo (located just across Libertador Avenue from the Hipódromo), and pato, a kind of basketball played on horseback that was declared the national game in 1953. Polo was brought to the country in the second half of the 19th century by English immigrants.

Rugby

The first rugby union match in Argentina was played in 1873 in the Buenos Aires Cricket Club Ground, located in the neighborhood of Palermo, where the Galileo Galilei planetarium is located today. Rugby enjoys widespread popularity in Buenos Aires, most especially in the north of the city, which boasts more than eighty rugby clubs. The city is home to the Argentine Super Rugby franchise, the Jaguares. The Argentina national rugby union team competes in Buenos Aires in international matches such as the Rugby Championship.

Football

Football is a popular pastime among many of the city's citizens, as Buenos Aires, featuring no fewer than 24 professional teams, has the highest concentration of teams of any city in the world.^[236] with many of its teams playing in the major league. The best-known rivalry is the one between Boca Juniors and River Plate, the match is better known as Superclásico. Watching a match between these two teams was deemed one of the "50 sporting things you must do before you die" by The Observer.^[236]

Other major clubs include San Lorenzo de Almagro, Club Atlético Huracán, Vélez Sarsfield, Chacarita Juniors, Club Ferro Carril Oeste, Nueva Chicago and Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors.

Diego Maradona, born in Lanús Partido, a county south of Buenos Aires, is widely hailed as one of the sport's greatest players of all time. Maradona started his career with Argentinos Juniors and went on to play for Boca Juniors, the national football team and others (most notably FC Barcelona in Spain and SSC Napoli in Italy).^[237]

Tennis

Buenos Aires native Guillermo Vilas (who was raised in Mar del Plata) and Gabriela Sabatini were great tennis players of the 1970s and 1980s^[118] and popularized tennis Nationwide in Argentina. Vilas won the ATP Buenos Aires numerous times in the 1970s. Other popular sports in Buenos Aires are golf, basketball, rugby and field hockey.

Events and venues

Buenos Aires has been a candidate city for the Summer Olympic Games on three occasions: for the 1956 Games, which were lost by a single vote to Melbourne; for the 1968 Summer Olympics, held in Mexico City; and in 2004, when the games were awarded to Athens. However, Buenos Aires hosted the first Pan American Games (1951)^[118] and was also host city to several World Championship events: the 1950 and 1990 Basketball World Championships, the 1982 and 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships and, most remembered, the 1978 FIFA World Cup, won by Argentina on 25 June 1978, when it defeated the Netherlands at the Estadio Monumental 3–1. In September 2013, the city hosted the 125th IOC Session, Tokyo was elected the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Thomas Bach was new IOC President. Buenos Aires bid to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.^[238] On 4 July 2013, the IOC elected Buenos Aires as the host city.^[14] Buenos Aires hosted the 2006 South American Games too.

Juan Manuel Fangio won five Formula One World Driver's Championships, and was only outstripped by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, with seven Championships. The Buenos Aires Oscar Gálvez car-racing track hosted 20 Formula One events as the Argentine Grand Prix, between 1953 and 1998; it was discontinued on financial grounds. The track features various local categories on most weekends.

The 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 Dakar Rally started and ended in the city.

Notable people

Notable people originally from Buenos Aires:

• 

  Norma Aleandro, actress, screenwriter, and theater director^[239]

• 

  Martha Argerich, classical concert pianist.

• 

  Daniel Barenboim, pianist and conductor^[240]

• 

  Jorge Luis Borges, writer

• 

  Fernando Caldeiro, Argentine NASA astronaut

• 

  Alfredo Di Stéfano, football player and coach

• 

  Pope Francis

• 

  Carlos Gardel, singer-songwriter, raised in Buenos Aires

• 

  Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

• 

  Ricardo Montaner, singer

• 

  Lalo Schifrin, musician and composer^[241]

• 

  Luis Scola, basketball player

Honorary citizens

People awarded the honorary citizenship of Buenos Aires are:

Date	Name	Notes
12 March 2018	Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (1968–present)	President of Croatia.[242]

International relations

World rankings

Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha – World City, according to the Loughborough University group's (GaWC) 2020 ranking.^[243] It is ranked 22nd in the 2010 ranking of global cities by the American journal Foreign Policy, in conjunction with consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. (See "Global city" for the top 30 in the list.)

Twin towns and sister cities

Buenos Aires is twinned with the following cities:^[244][245]

Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities

Buenos Aires is part of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities^[272] from 12 October 1982 establishing brotherly relations with the following cities:

Partner cities

• Beirut, Lebanon^[273]
• Budapest, Hungary^[274]
• Hanoi, Vietnam^[275]
• Lisbon, Portugal^[276]
• Lugano, Switzerland^[277]
• Ottawa, Canada^[278]
• Paris, France^[279]
• Rome, Italy^[280]
• Saint Petersburg, Russia^[281]
• Santiago de Compostela, Spain^[273]

See also

• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
• Cicerones de Buenos Aires
• Largest cities in the Americas
• List of mayors and chiefs of government of Buenos Aires
• List of twin towns and sister cities of Buenos Aires
• OPENCities
• Outline of Argentina

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

• Adelman, Jeremy. Republic of capital: Buenos Aires and the legal transformation of the Atlantic world (Stanford University Press, 1999)
• Baily, Samuel L. "The Adjustment of Italian Immigrants in Buenos Aires and New York, 1870–1914." American Historical Review (1983): 281–305. in JSTOR
• Bao, Sandra, and Bridget Gleeson. Lonely Planet Buenos Aires (Travel Guide) (2011)
• Benson, Andrew. The Rough Guide to Buenos Aires (2011)
• Buenos Aires Travel Guide 2014: Essential Tourist Information, Maps & Photos (2014)
• Emerson, Charles. 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War (2013) compares Buenos Aires to 20 major world cities; pp 252–66.
• Keeling, David J. Buenos Aires: Global dreams, local crises (Wiley, 1996)
• Moya, Jose C. Cousins and strangers: Spanish immigrants in Buenos Aires, 1850–1930 (University of California Press, 1998)
• Mulhall, Michael George, and Edward T. Mulhall. Handbook of the River Plate: Comprising Buenos Ayres, the Upper Provinces, Banda Oriental, Paraguay (2 vol. 1869) online
• Scobie, James R. Buenos Aires: plaza to suburb, 1870–1910 (Oxford University Press, 1974)
• Socolow, Susan Migden. The Merchants of Buenos Aires, 1778–1810: Family and Commerce (Cambridge University Press, 1978)
• Sofer, Eugene F. From Pale to Pampa: A social history of the Jews of Buenos Aires (Holmes & Meier, 1982)

External links

• Official government website (in Spanish)
• OPENCities Monitor participant
• Population estimates
• Encyclopædia Britannica
• Microsoft Encarta (Archived 2009-10-31)
• Geographic data related to Buenos Aires at OpenStreetMap