Buenos Aries Essay, Research Paper

Buenos Aries

The capital of the country, Buenos Aires is also Argentina’s leading

city in population, commerce, and industry. It is located near the

Atlantic Ocean coast, on the broad Rio de la Plata, an estuary at the

mouth of the Parana and Paraguay rivers. The early Spanish colonists

named the city for the “good winds” that brought them to the port.

Today about 10 million people live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan

area, one of the largest in the world. The city proper makes up a

federal district, and its mayor is appointed by the nation’s president.

The city is not a part of Buenos Aires province, which surrounds it.

The City–Its People and Commerce

Greater Buenos Aires is made up of many settlements that grew

together. The oldest European center lay in the neighborhood of the

present Plaza de Mayo, a large plaza in the downtown area. Streets

in the city were laid out according to a grid pattern described in the

Codigo de las Indias, a legal document followed by the Spaniards in

settling the Western Hemisphere. The original grid is today

surrounded by Balcarce, 25 de Mayo, Viamonte, Libertad, Salta, and

Estados Unidos streets.

Growth of the city first followed the high elevations, along which ox-

and horse-drawn two-wheeled carretas carried freight and which the

modern main avenues and the rail lines also follow. The most recent

developments in the city are the industrial sectors that extend from

the old center southward, such as Dock Sud, La Boca, Barracas,

Pinero, and Lanus.

The Parana River plays an important role in the life of Buenos Aires.

Oranges, grapefruit, cherries, plums, and vegetables are raised in its

delta area. Vacation housing is widespread, and on weekends

thousands of people fill the area to engage in recreational activities.

The Parana not only provides recreation, but also links the hinterlands

with Buenos Aires and supplies water to the population.

The central business district has high-rise office buildings and retail

stores. Automobiles are not allowed on the Calle Florida, and

shoppers roam its elegant stores, coffee houses, and hotels. The

nearby Calle Reconquista is the financial center.

Outside the central business district much of the surrounding city has

attractive cobblestone streets bordered by large, elegant houses and

small shops. Many parks and local shopping districts blend in with the

residential areas.

Various languages may be heard, and in addition to many other

languages,. newsstands sell papers in Spanish, English, and German.

Buenos Aires is noted for its many excellent bookstores.

Transportation

Buenos Aires is South America’s greatest railroad center, with lines

radiating from the city toward Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and

southern Brazil. Within the city there is an extensive subway

network. Air transportation is well developed in Argentina and has its

focal point in the capital. About three miles (five kilometers)

northwest from the downtown center is the airport, Aeroparque Jorge

Newberry, which handles domestic flights and some flights from

neighboring countries. Approximately 20 miles (35 kilometers) from the

city center lies Ezeiza Airport, the largest in the country and one of

the world’s major international air terminals.

The vast harbor system in Buenos Aires has opened the shallow river

channels to the largest ships. Huge warehouses line the 15 miles (24

kilometers) of wharves. The port is the largest in South America, but

the port facilities are old and inefficient. Proposals to move the port

to another, better harbor have met with little response. Avellaneda,

the main industrial center, is located just south of the Riachuelo

River. From north to south major parts of the harbor stand out in a

line extending for 6 miles (10 kilometers): huge power plants for the

city; the yacht harbor, also used for seaplanes; wharves for large

oceangoing vessels; and docks for smaller ships and for river and

coastal shipping.

Culture

Buenos Aires is a major publishing center, noted for the

world-renowned newspapers printed there. Among the most

outstanding are La Prensa and La Nacion. La Prensa became well

known for offering social services, library facilities, free evening

schools in commerce and music, free medical and legal aid, and a free

chemical laboratory. The paper had trouble with President Juan

Peron, who expropriated it because of its opposition to him. After

Peron was ousted in 1956, the paper was returned to its owners.

The city has many schools and technical colleges. The University of

Buenos Aires, the major university in Argentina, provides high-level

education. In music the city boasts one of the largest opera houses

in South America, the Colon Theater. There are many other theaters,

in which singers, instrumentalists, and actors from throughout the

world perform. Some of the cultural programs are broadcast over a

network of radio and television stations. Popular music is dominated

by the tango, a type of music originated in Argentina and known all

over the world.

History

Early attempts by Spanish colonists to settle at the site of Buenos

Aires, beginning in 1536, were discouraged by the presence of hostile

Indians. It was not until 1580 that Juan de Garay, a colonist from

Asuncion, established what became the first permanent community at

Buenos Aires. The city did not really begin to develop, however, until

the late 1700s. In response to British and Portuguese expansion in

the area and increased smuggling, Buenos Aires was made the seat of

a Spanish viceroyalty in 1776.

In the early 19th century Buenos Aires was a major center for the

movement to free the country from Spain. The city leaders had

foreseen great economic advantages from the free trade that

independence would bring. After independence the city grew rapidly

as the center of Argentine political power. In 1880 it was made the

permanent capital of the republic. Through World War I the city

benefited from a stable economy and substantial foreign immigration.

During and after World War II heavy industrial growth contributed to

the city’s expansion and reinforced its political and economic

dominance of the country. Population (1986 estimate), federal

district, 2,924,000.

Bibliography

Comptons Encylcopedia Online – Aol Keyword: Comptons

The Learning Company – Aol.Keyword: Learn

Magellan Maps – Yahoo.com: maps