Information for the Argentina Traveller

ARGENTINA FACTS AND TRAVEL TIPS

Population 37.81 million

Religion 93% Roman Catholic, 2.5% Protestant, 2% Jewish, 1.5% Ukranian Catholic, 1% Armenian Orthodox

Climate/ Seasons  For residents of the northern hemisphere, Argentina offers the inviting possibility of enjoying two summers in the same year, but the country's great variety and elongated geography can make a visit in any season worthwhile. Buenos Aires' urban attractions, for example, transcend the seasons, but Patagonian destinations, such as the Moreno Glacier in Santa Cruz, are best to visit in the summer months (December to February). The Iguazú Falls in subtropical Misiones province are best in the southern hemisphere's winter or spring when heat and humidity are less oppressive. The winter months (mid-June to late September) also offer the opportunity to go skiing.

Health/ Immunizations Depending on your itinerary, your personal risk factors, and the length of your visit, your health care provider may offer you vaccination against hepatitis A, typhoid, hepatitis B, rabies, or influenza. Dengue Fever is a hazard in the subtropical north.   Routine immunizations, such as those that prevent tetanus/diphtheria or "childhood" diseases, should be reviewed and updated as needed. Quite a few diseases, including hepatitis A and typhoid fever, are transmitted by unsanitary food handling procedures and contaminated water. Food and beverage precautions are essential in order to reduce chance of illness. Anti-diarrheal drugs may be prescribed by your provider. The dusty, dry climate in non-jungle areas may affect persons with allergies, bronchitis, or sinusitis.  Ask your physician during your pre-trip physical check-up.

Insurance We highly reccomend that all travellers are adequately covered byMedical, Accident, Travel, and Rescue Insurance.  American Alpine Club is well known for their world-wide rescue insurance program.  World Travel Center offers great travel/health coverage for adventure traveller.

ARGENTINA'S ECOLOGY
Argentina forms the eastern half of South America's long, tapering tail. It's a big country - the eighth largest in the world, and the second largest on the South American continent. It borders Chile to the west (separated by the Andean Cordilleras range) and Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia to the north and east (separated by rivers). It also shares the offshore island territory of Tierra del Fuego with Chile, and continues to dispute the ownership of the Islas Malvinas (the Falklands to the Brits). Argentina's topography is affected by both latitude and altitude, and is accordingly varied. The country can be divided into four major physiographic provinces: the Andes to the west (with arid basins, grape-filled foothills, glacial mountains and the Lake District), the fertile lowland north (with subtropical rainforests), the central Pampas (a flat mix of humid and dry expanses) and Patagonia (a combination of pastoral steppes and glacial regions).

More than twenty national parks preserve large areas of these varied environments and protect wildlife (much of it unique) such as the caiman (or yacaré), puma, guanaco (a lowland relative of the upper-Andean llama), rhea (similar to an ostrich), Andean condor, flamingo, various marine mammals and unusual seabirds such as Magellanic penguins. Thorn forests, virgin rainforests, flowering cacti, extensive forests of araucarias (monkey-puzzle trees) and southern beech are also protected.

Argentina's climate ranges from subtropical in the north to humid and steamy in the centre, and cold in the temperate south. The Andes region has erratic rainfall, flash floods in summer, searing heat, snow at higher elevations, and the Zonda - a hot, dry wind. The lowlands receive sufficient rainfall to support swampy forests and upland savanna, but rainfall decreases from east to west; shallow summer flooding is common in the east. The winter dry season is pronounced, and the summer heat can be brutal. The flat pampas areas are also vulnerable to flooding; Patagonia is mild year-round in the east and glacial in the south.

ARGENTINA'S HISTORY
Pre-Columbian Argentina was farmed by sedentary Indian groups such as the Diaguita and used as a hunting ground by nomads. Indian resistance inhibited Spanish incursions and discouraged Spanish settlement. Buenos Aires was not successfully established until 1580, and remained a backwater for 200 years. A declining and unevenly distributed Indian population, which could not be milked for its labor, led to the creation of huge cattle ranches, known as haciendas - the genesis of the legendary gaucho (cowboy) and the source of great wealth for a lucky few.

Buenos Aires became the capital of the new Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776, acknowledgment that the region had outgrown Spain's political and economic domination. However, continuing dissatisfaction with Spanish interference led to the revolution of 25 May 1810 and eventual independence in 1816. Independence revealed the seething regional disparities which Spanish rule had obscured. The Federalists of the interior (conservative landowners, supported by the gauchos and rural working class) advocated provincial autonomy, while the Unitarists of Buenos Aires (cosmopolitan city dwellers who welcomed the injection of European capital, immigrants and ideas) upheld Buenos Aires' central authority. After a disastrous and tyrannical period of rule by the nominally Federalist Juan Manuel Rosas, Buenos Aires and Unitarism prevailed, ushering in a new era of growth and prosperity with the Unitarist constitution of 1853.

Sheep were introduced and the Pampas was given over to the cultivation of cereal crops. European immigration, foreign investment and trade were hallmarks of the new liberalism. However, excessive foreign interests made the economy particularly vulnerable to world economic downturns; wealth was concentrated in the hands of the very few, and unemployment rose as smallholdings failed and farmers were forced to leave the land and head for the cities.

The first decades of the 20th century saw increasingly weak civilian rule, economic failure, continuing resentment of the landed elite and distrust of British interests, leading to a military coup in 1943 which paved the way for the rise of dictator Juan Perón. An obscure colonel with a minor post in the labor ministry, he won the presidency in 1946 and again in 1952. With his equally popular and charismatic wife Eva at his side, he instituted a stringent economic program which stressed domestic industrialization and self-determination, appealing to both the conservative nationalist and working-class factions. His party was squashed by a military coup in 1955, leading to Perón's banishment to Spain and initiating 30 years of disastrous military rule, interspersed by only brief periods of civilian rule. Perón returned to rule briefly in 1973, dying in office in 1974 and bequeathing power to his third wife, Isabel. Increasing economic problems and political instability led to strikes, political kidnappings and guerrilla warfare. Isabel's government fell in 1976, and the new military government instituted a reign of terror.

The years 1976 to 1983 have been described as the years of the Dirty War. Opposition and criticism were eradicated by paramilitary death squads which operated with the state's complicity, bringing about the 'disappearance' of between 10,000 and 30,000 citizens. The most famous victims of this period were the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, women who bravely kept an open, public vigil for the 'disappeared' members of their families, and who often 'disappeared' themselves.

This internal conflict ironically came to an end only with the emergence of a 'real' war in the south Atlantic: the battle for the Malvinas/Falklands. General Leopold Galtieri seized the Malvinas from the British to distract attention from Argentina's appalling political corruption and economic mismanagement. Surges of nationalistic hysteria in both countries resulted in a British flotilla sailing across the world to save one of the few remaining pink bits on the map. Britain was the eventual 'victor' in what was a mutually shameful and costly episode. Ownership of the Malvinas, however, remains disputed. In June 1995, the Argentine foreign minister offered to buy the islands, offering each of the 2000 islanders US$800,000 for their nationality. The matter has been further complicated by Britain's belief that oilfields lie offshore, and further bickering seems likely.

Ignominious failure at home and abroad finally sealed the fate of Argentina's military rule, and the country returned to the constitution of 1853. Former Perónist president Carlos Menem instituted major economic changes - selling off nationalized industries, opening the economy to foreign investment and pegging the peso one-to-one to the US dollar in 1991 - which reduced inflation from 5000% in 1989 to an astonishing 1% in 1997. But while these changes tamed inflation, they also led to rising unemployment and a prolonged recession.

President Fernando de la Rua of the UCR center-left Alliance, elected to a four-year term in 1999, promised a crackdown on corruption and tough fiscal measures to balance Argentina's budget. But after four years of recession and with an unemployment rate of more than 20%, the Argentine people had enough. De la Rua's austerity plans prompted nationwide strikes and demonstrations, which grew violent after the government instituted harsh restrictions on bank withdrawals. Argentina plunged into economic and political turmoil in December 2001 when it defaulted on a US$132 billion loan repayment - the largest default in history. De la Rua and many of his government ministers resigned amid rioting, looting and widespread civil chaos in which 27 people were killed.

On January 1, 2002, Eduardo Duhalde became Argentina's fifth president in two weeks. A staunch Perónist, Duhalde takes a populist and protectionist stance, though a skeptical public has not forgotten the corruption scandals that clouded his term as governor of Buenos Aires. One of his first moves was to unpeg the peso from the dollar; the currency devalued by more than 50% almost immediately. The move was unpopular but necessary to secure any further aid from the International Monetary Fund.

Following its devaluation, the peso performed better than expected in the world currency market. Duhalde's plans for sweeping reforms, including scrapping the current presidential system for a parliamentary democracy, were undermined by his government's lack of popular support. Protests and strikes continued almost daily, and frustrated people who couldn't get to their money vandalized banks.

A presidential election in early 2003 sprang the surprise of the year: former president Carlos Menem withdrew and left Nestor Kirchner president.

Kirchner was expected to be a lame duck, but instead sprang into reform overdrive, soon gaining 75% approval despite only receiving 22% of votes. The protests have dwindled, the violence has for the most part eased and the stage of siege has been lifted. Nevertheless, Argentina's climb out of this ever-deepening financial pit promises to be long and arduous.

Culture
European influences permeate Argentina's art, architecture, literature and lifestyle. However, in the field of literature in particular, this has been a cross-cultural transaction, with Argentina producing writers of international stature such as Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Ernesto Sábato, Manuel Puig and Osvaldo Soriano. With the education of many Argentines taking place in Europe, Buenos Aires in particular has self-consciously emulated European cultural trends in art, music and architecture. As a result, there are many important art museums and galleries in the city, and it has a vigorous theater community. Argentine cinema has also achieved international stature, and has been used as a vehicle to exorcise the horrors of the Dirty War.

Probably the best known manifestation of Argentine popular culture is the tango - a dance and music which has captured the imagination of romantics worldwide. Folk music is also thriving. Sport is extremely important to the Argentines and soccer is more of a national obsession than a game. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, and the exploits of Diego Maradona (the most famous Argentine since Che Guevara), have kept soccer fans, paparazzi and columnists busy for the past 10 years.

Argentine Roman Catholicism, the official state religion, is riddled with popular beliefs which diverge from official doctrine. Spiritualism and veneration of the dead are deep-seated, with pilgrimages to the resting places of relations and of the famous dead a common sight. Spanish is the official language, but some immigrant communities retain their language as a badge of identity. Italian is widely understood, reflecting the influence of the country's single largest immigrant group, and BBC English is the preserve of the Anglo community. There are 17 native languages, including Quechua, Mapuche, Guaraní, Tobas and Matacos.

Meat dominates Argentina's menus, and 'meat' means beef. Mixed grills (parrillada) are apparently the way to go, serving up a cut of just about every part of the animal: tripe, intestines, udders - the lot. In this vegetarian's nightmare, Italian favorites, such as gnocchi (ñoquis), are a welcome alternative. Exquisite Argentine ice cream (helado) deserves a special mention - again reflecting Italian influences. The sharing of mate, Paraguayan tea, is a ritual more than a beverage, and if offered is a special expression of acceptance. The leaves, a relation to holly, are elaborately prepared and the mixture is drunk from a shared gourd.

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

Surprisingly, Argentina has few festivals and fiestas, and most public holidays reflect the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. Things come to a stop over the Christmas to New Year and Easter periods. Saints' days and provincial holidays are other important events, as are 25 May (commemorating the May Revolution of 1810), Malvinas Day (10 June) and Columbus Day (12 October).