Argentina Culture
Argentina culture has been largely influenced by European cultures. The cultural and administrative capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, is mostly distinguished by the dominance of people of European ancestry and of mindful simulation of European trends in architecture. The other significant influence is the gauchos and their conventional countryside way of living, featuring self-dependence. Lastly, endemic American customs (such as yerba mate blends) have been engrossed into the broad cultural background.Argentina culture is multifaceted and can be categorized into elements like literature, cinema, theater, architecture, cuisine, and sports.
Literature of Argentina
Argentina has a rich literary legacy and one of the most dynamic book publishing industries in the region. Argentine authors have made themselves famous in the literature of Latin America after becoming a completely unified body in the 1950s, with a powerful establishment and a distinct country-building strategy. The fight between the Unitarians (the protagonists of freethinking and supporters of a powerful central government that would promote migration from Europe) and the Federalists (who supported a slack union of districts on the basis of countryside conservatism) set the pitch for the literature of Argentina of the period.
The philosophical division between Facundo by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and gaucho classic Martin Fierro is an outstanding example of this.
Comics of Argentina
Comics creators and cartoonists have made a significant contribution to the culture of the country and some of the prominent artists include the following:
- Dante Quinterno
- Alberto Breccia
- Francisco Solano López
- Oski
- Guillermo Mordillo
- Horacio Altuna
- Roberto Fontanarrosa
- Quino (famous for the Mafalda Comics Strip)
Some of the prominent poets, authors, and scholars of Argentina include the following:
- Roberto Arlt
- Juan Bautista Alberdi
- Adolfo Bioy Casares
- Enrique Banchs
- Eugenio Cambaceres
- Silvina Bullrich
- Esteban EcheverrÃa
- Julio Cortázar
- Eduardo Mallea
- Leopoldo Lugones
- Tomás Eloy MartÃnez
- Ezequiel MartÃnez Estrada
- Manuel Puig
- Victoria Ocampo
- Osvaldo Soriano
- Ernesto Sabato
- MarÃa Elena Walsh
- Alfonsina Storni
Cinema of Argentina
Argentina is an important producer of motion pictures and the regional film industry makes approximately 80 complete films every year. The first animated feature films of the world were produced and released in the country by Quirino Cristiani, a cartoonist, in 1917 and 1918. The golden age of Argentine Cinema was in the 1930s thru the 1950s with a large number of films being produced and a lot of them are now regarded as epics of films in Spanish language. The film industry of the country gave rise to stars who were also tango performers and include the following:
- Floren Delbene
- Libertad Lamarque
- Tita Merello
- Tito Lusiardo
- Hugo del Carril
- Roberto Escalada
Of late, films from the New Wave of Cinema from the 1980s have accomplished global fame and some of these films are as follows:
Though the regional films in the country seldom competes with Hollywood films in terms of popularity, they are released every week and viewed extensively in the country and other parts of the world. Some of the films that are low budget productions, have won awards in film festivals like Cannes. These films are supported by events like the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema and the Mar del Plata Film Festival.
Argentine composers Gustavo Santaolalla, Luis Enrique Bacalov, and Eugenio Zanetti have won Academy Awards for Best Original Score nods. Lalo Schifrin has got a number of Grammys and is famous for the Mission Impossible musical theme.
Theater in Argentina
Buenos Aires is home to a number of theaters. Some of the most popular theaters in the country are as follows:
Famous playwrights of the country include the following:
Jorge Donn, Julio Bocca, Norma Fontenla, and Jose Neglia are some of the popular ballet dancers.
Sculpture, architecture, and painting of Argentina
The country boasts different forms of architecture, namely Beaux-Arts architecture, blend of Art Nouveau with Italianate patterns, Brutalist architecture, Rationalist architecture, and futurist creations. Some of the popular artists and architects of the country are as follows:
Famous painters and sculptors of the country include the following:
Cuisine of Argentina
Other than pastas, desserts, sausages that are prevalent in continental Europe, Argentineans enjoy a broad range of endemic cuisines such as the following:
Barbecue of the country (parrillada and asado) includes different categories of meats such as sweetbread, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), and chitterlings. Red meat is highly consumed and sandwiches de miga or thin sandwiches are quite famous.
Sports in Argentina
Pato is the national sport in the country but the country is known all over the world for association football or soccer. The national football team has won two FIFA World Cups.
