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The Name Argentina
Comes from the Latin argentum, which means silver. The origin of the
name goes back to the voyages made by the first Spanish conquistadores
(conquerors) to the Río de la Plata. The shipwrecked survivors of the
expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de Solís discovered Indians in the region
who presented them with silver objects. The news about the legendary
Sierra del Plata, a mountain rich in silver, reached Spain around 1524.
From this date the Portuguese named the river of Solís, the Silver River
(Río de la Plata). Two years later the Spanish used the same name. Since
1853 the official name of the country has been the República Argentina
(Republic of Argentina).
Location,
Area and Frontiers
Located in the southern part of South America and thus in the southern
hemisphere, continental Argentina has an area of almost 2.8 million
square kilometres. It is bounded by Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia
and Chile.
Geography
The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is the enormous contrast
between the immense eastern plains and the imposing mountain range of
the Andes to the west. This is the frontier with Chile and it has the
highest peak in the Western Hemisphere: the Aconcagua, 6.959 metres
high.
In its passage from
Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvellous contrasts, the
plateaux of the Northwest, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers
of the Patagonian Andes.
To the north, Chaco
is a forested area that follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo.
Between the Paraná
and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos,
Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands
show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are
fissures that provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú.
La Pampa, in the
centre of Argentina, is the largest and best-known area of plains. It
has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces
of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the southeast of
Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains
of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges.
Further south, from
the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaux of Patagonia,
swept by the wind almost all year long. The Atlantic coast lined with
high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with
its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.
Population
The current population of Argentina is estimated to be some 36 million
of which almost half live in the Federal Capital and the province of
Buenos Aires. These figures give us a population density of 12.9 inhabitants
per square kilometre. 95% of Argentineans are principally descendants
of Spaniards and Italians due to the massive European immigration.
Language
Spanish is the official language of the Argentine Republic. In Buenos
Aires forms of lunfardo are used which is a city slang.
Religion
There is complete religious freedom in Argentina although the majority
profess the Roman Catholic religion. There are also other religions
such as Protestant, Jewish, Moslem, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox,
etc.
Currency
The official Argentine currency is the ARS (Argentina Peso). There are
notes of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos and coins of 1, 2 and 5 pesos,
and 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos.
In January 2002, Argentina abandoned the convertibility system and
since then there exists a floating exchange regime by which the ARS
is quoted daily in terms of the USD and any other currency. Taking the
ARS as base currency, rates as of 2002.04.30 indicate ARS 1.0 worths
USD 2.9 (United States Dollars), EUR 2.6 (Euros) and GBP 4.2 (United
Kingdom Pounds). For further information, please visit http://www.xe.com.
We'll keep you informed of the latest quotation.
Banks and money / credit cards
Suggestions
- You may bring
travelers cheques and change them into Argentine Pesos (ARS)
without any commissions at the Amex Bank (Arenales 707, Plaza San
Martín, Retiro). With commission, some options are: Alhec Group,
Paraguay 641; Banco Piano, San Martín 347; Cambio Montevideo,
Tucumán 540; Banex, San Martín 136.
- You can bring USD cash and change at the 2nd lower level of the Hilton Hotel Buenos Aires, venue of the XIIIth Congress, at the Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires at their stand in the Commercial Exhibition of the Congress; they will provide change at the daily free rate of the Banco Central de la República Argentina.
- Another way
of payment are international credit cards, such as American
Express, Visa International and Mastercard.
- The Hilton Hotel
provides change at the rate of the day at the front desk only to host
pax through Forex Cambio Agency. Besides, the Hilton accepts
travelers cheques to pay hotel expenses with a commission that varies
between 1 and 1.5%. As for Forex Cambio, it changes travelers
cheques into ARS for the same commission. Those pax that have any
special enquiries do not hesitate to contact the Hilton Hotel directly
(reservationsba@hilton.com).
- Participants
can obtain only ARS at an ATM -signalled by the 'Banelco' and
'Link' logos at the floating exchange regime -by which the ARS is
quoted daily in terms of the USD and any other currency. 'Link' is
available 50 mts. away from the Hilton Hotel, at Olga Cosenttini 811.
'Banelco' are also available 200 mts. away from the Hotel at Banco
Francés and Banco Río.
- You can also
consult the Congress webpage, www.eh.net/XIIICongress,
at 'Host City & Congress Site', 'Information on Buenos Aires from
The Economist', 'Insider tips: Banks and Money' and 'About Argentina',
'Currency'.
Government
and Constitution
The country is a representative federal republic with Buenos Aires as
the Federal Capital and 23 provinces. There are three authorities: the
executive, the legislative and the judicial. The first is exercised
by the President of the Nation, elected for a term of four years. He
has ample powers, including the power of approving or vetoing decisions
by Congress. The National Congress has two chambers. The Chamber of
Deputies has 254 directly elected members. The Senate has 72 members
elected by provincial jurisdictions, three per province and three for
the Federal Capital. The provinces and the city of Buenos Aires are
autonomous and elect their own officials; the Governors and the Chief
of Government are the ultimate authorities.
The current Constitution
dates from 1853. Nevertheless, it has undergone changes on various occasions;
the last time was in August 1994, which allowed the reelection of the
President of the Nation for one more term.
Historic
Dates
25th of May 1810. The First "Gobierno Patrio" or Home Government Assembly
was constituted.
9th of July 1816.
Proclamation of Independence by the Provincias Unidas del Río de la
Plata.
National
Emblems
The flag has three horizontal stripes: the middle one white with the
golden sun and the two outside ones of sky blue. The national flower
is the ceibo; the national stone is the manganese spar or "the rose
of the Inca".
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