50 Fun Facts About Argentina

What is the capital city of Argentina?

Buenos Aires is the most populous city in Argentina and serves as its administrative, cultural, and economic center.

Which major mountain range forms part of Argentina's western border?

The Andes run through seven countries and hold the world's highest volcanoes, including Ojos del Salado on Argentina's western frontier.

Which partner dance began in the 1880s in the port districts of the Argentina-Uruguay estuary?

Tango grew up in the 1880s in the working-class port districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo; UNESCO added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

Which legendary Argentine footballer was often referred to by the nickname "El Pibe de Oro"?

Diego Maradona, a World Cup winner in 1986, was one of the most iconic figures in football history and was widely known as "El Pibe de Oro" (The Golden Boy).

What is the official currency of Argentina?

The 1992 peso replaced the austral at 10,000 to one and was pegged one-to-one to the US dollar until early 2002.

In what year did Argentina declare its independence from Spain?

The Congress of Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816; the house where it met is now a museum.

What is the highest mountain peak in Argentina, also the highest in the Americas?

Mount Aconcagua, located in the Andes mountain range, is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

Which infused drink, shared among friends from a gourd with a metal straw, is the national beverage of Argentina?

Mate, brewed from yerba mate leaves, was declared Argentina's national infusion by law in 2013; Syria, through emigrants who returned from Argentina, became the world's largest importer of yerba mate.

Which Argentine writer's labyrinthine short stories fill Ficciones and El Aleph, published in Spanish in the 1940s?

Jorge Luis Borges wrote the Ficciones stories between 1941 and 1956 and is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th-century literature.

Which vast, sparsely populated region of glaciers and steppe at the southern tip of South America is shared by Argentina and Chile?

Patagonia spans the southern Andes, deserts, steppes and grasslands of both countries.

What bird, known for its strong territorial calls, is the national bird of Argentina?

The Rufous Hornero, known as "Hornero" in Spanish, is a common ovenbird found across much of South America and is recognized as Argentina's national bird.

Which Argentine first lady championed labor rights and women's suffrage in the mid-1900s?

Eva Perón, 'Evita', pushed through the 1947 law giving Argentine women the vote and founded the Female Peronist Party in 1949.

Which waterfall system on the Brazil border is a major attraction of northeastern Argentina?

Iguazu Falls, on the Iguazu River between Misiones Province and Brazil's Paraná state, has some 275 separate drops; the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo) is the tallest at about 80 metres.

What is the name of the traditional Argentine cowboy, an iconic figure in the country's culture?

Gaucho has named the horsemen of the Pampas since the 18th century; today it can mean any skilled country person, and the gaucho is a folk symbol in Uruguay too.

Which Argentine city is known as the "End of the World" due to its southernmost location?

Ushuaia, on the Beagle Channel at 54°48′S, bills itself 'Fin del Mundo' and runs the End of the World Train, though Chile's Puerto Williams, across the channel, lies slightly further south.

What are Argentina's wide, fertile lowlands, known for cattle ranching, called?

Pampas grasslands cover more than 1,200,000 km2 across central Argentina, all of Uruguay and Brazil's southernmost state.

Which Argentine army officer is the only president of the country to have been elected three times?

Juan Perón won the presidency in 1946, 1951 and 1973; he was overthrown in 1955, spent 18 years in exile and died in office in July 1974.

What is the traditional Argentine barbecue of meats cooked over an open fire called?

Asado covers both the technique and the social event; the meat is grilled slowly over wood embers on a parrilla or staked on an iron cross (asado al asador).

Which large flightless bird, native to South America, is found in the grasslands of Argentina?

The rhea, called ñandú locally, is South America's largest bird; the greater rhea stands about 1.5 metres tall and spreads its big wings like sails when running.

What emblem sits in the centre stripe of the flag of Argentina?

The Sun of May, a golden sun with a human face, was added to the flag in 1818, copying the sun engraved on Argentina's first coin of 1813; it commemorates the May Revolution of 1810.

Which Argentine city is famous for Swiss-style architecture, skiing and chocolate?

San Carlos de Bariloche, on Lake Nahuel Huapi, has a 1940 Civic Centre built in Alpine style and chocolate shops founded by European immigrants; nearby Cerro Catedral is one of South America's largest ski resorts.

What is the primary grape variety used in the production of Argentina's most famous red wines?

Malbec, known as Côt in France and long associated with Cahors, arrived in Argentina in 1853 and thrives in the high, dry vineyards of the Andean foothills.

Who was the military leader who played a crucial role in the independence of Argentina, Chile, and Peru?

José de San Martín crossed the Andes in 1817, won Chacabuco (1817) and Maipú (1818) in Chile, then sailed north to take Lima and serve as Protector of Peru in 1821.

Which ice mass feeds the Perito Moreno and Upsala glaciers?

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field, about 350 km long along the Andes and shared with Chile, also feeds the Pío XI glacier, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica.

Which estuary where the Uruguay and Paraná meet forms part of Argentina's border with Uruguay?

The Río de la Plata, 'River of Silver', widens to about 220 km at its mouth, the widest river mouth in the world; Buenos Aires and Montevideo face each other across it.

Which concertina-like instrument, brought to Argentina by emigrants around 1870, anchors tango ensembles?

The bandoneon, a German relative of the concertina from the 1840s, became tango's defining voice; by 1930 German factories were shipping some 25,000 a year to Argentina.

Which Argentine city sits at the heart of the largest wine-producing area in South America?

Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes near Aconcagua, anchors a province that makes roughly 70% of Argentina's wine; olive oil is its other big industry.

Which Argentine province is home to the Quebrada de Humahuaca?

The Quebrada de Humahuaca, a 150 km Andean valley in Jujuy province, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003; Purmamarca's Hill of Seven Colours lies within it.

Which Argentine won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on carbohydrate metabolism?

Luis Federico Leloir won the 1970 chemistry prize alone for discovering sugar nucleotides and their role in carbohydrate biosynthesis; his mentor Bernardo Houssay had won the 1947 medicine prize.

Which protected area in Argentine Patagonia is home to the Perito Moreno Glacier?

Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Santa Cruz Province, is home to a vast ice field and several glaciers, most notably the Perito Moreno Glacier.

Which sport is the most popular in Argentina, with a national team that has won multiple World Cups?

The titles came in 1978, 1986 and 2022, and the side has also lifted the Copa América a record 16 times.

Which Argentine sweet sandwiches dulce de leche between two soft biscuits?

The alfajor, two soft biscuits sandwiching dulce de leche and often coated in chocolate, came to Argentina from Spain, where the name derives from Arabic.

Which Argentine city is known for its UNESCO-listed Jesuit Block and Estancias?

The Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Argentina, comprising the university, church, and residential buildings of the Jesuit order, along with several rural estancias (farms).

What navigable sea route separates mainland South America from Tierra del Fuego?

The Strait of Magellan, first navigated by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, was the key natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific until the Panama Canal opened in 1914.

Which Argentine revolutionary figure co-led the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro?

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, born in Argentina in 1928, trained as a physician before joining Castro's guerrillas in Mexico in 1955; he was killed in Bolivia in 1967.

Which spotted cat, the largest in the Americas, survives in Argentina's northern forests?

The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas and third largest in the world after the tiger and lion; in Argentina it survives mainly in the Yungas, Chaco and Misiones forests.

Which Argentine folk dance, played on guitar, violin and bombo, originated in Santiago del Estero?

The chacarera, from Santiago del Estero, is a lively couples' dance built on a compound metre mixing 6/8 and 3/4, with zapateo footwork from the men.

Which South American country shares the longest land border with Argentina?

Chile's border with Argentina runs about 5,300 km along the Andes, the third longest in the world after Canada–United States and Kazakhstan–Russia.

Which freshwater wetland system in Corrientes Province is the second largest wetland in the world?

The Iberá Wetlands, whose name is Guaraní for 'bright water', cover some 13,000 km² of marshes and lagoons; Iberá National Park was created in 2018 on land donated by the Tompkins foundation.

Which Argentine president implemented market reforms in the early 1990s?

Carlos Menem, president from 1989 to 1999, launched the 1991 Convertibility Plan pegging the peso to the dollar and privatised state firms such as YPF and the telephone company.

Which building on the Plaza de Mayo is the official workplace of Argentina's president?

The Casa Rosada's pink is popularly said to have been chosen under President Sarmiento (1868–74) to blend the red of the Federalists with the white of the Unitarians.

Which Argentine city is home to the National Flag Memorial?

The National Flag Memorial (Monumento Nacional a la Bandera) is a monumental complex in Rosario, Argentina, dedicated to the Argentine flag, created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812.

Which mammal, whose sickle-shaped third claw can reach 22 cm, ranges as far south as northern Argentina?

The giant armadillo, up to about 1.5 metres long including the tail, is the largest living armadillo; its extinct glyptodont relatives were far bigger.

Which historical event in Argentina in 1976 led to a period of state terrorism and human rights abuses?

The military coup of 24 March 1976 deposed Isabel Perón; the juntas that followed, styling themselves the National Reorganization Process, held power until democracy returned on 10 December 1983.

Talampaya National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2000 with which neighbouring park?

Ischigualasto, in San Juan province and nicknamed the Valley of the Moon, holds Late Triassic deposits of about 231 to 226 million years ago with some of the earliest known dinosaurs, such as Eoraptor.

Which Argentine painter and inventor of imaginary languages spent time in avant-garde Paris?

Xul Solar (Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari) lived in Europe from 1912 to 1924, invented the languages neocriollo and panlengua, and was a close friend of Borges.

Which thick Andean stew of corn, beans, meat and gourd is traditionally eaten in Argentina on national holidays?

Locro is an indigenous dish of the Andes, a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion and gourd, served on patriotic days.

Which South Atlantic islands, ruled by Britain since 1833, does Argentina claim as its own?

The Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, were reoccupied by Britain in 1833; in a 2013 referendum 99.8% of islanders voted to stay a British overseas territory.

Which protected marine area in Chubut Province is famous for whale watching?

Península Valdés, a World Heritage Site since 1999, is a major breeding ground for southern right whales, which gather off Puerto Pirámides between June and December.

Which Argentine author wrote 'Rayuela' (Hopscotch), known for its non-linear structure?

Julio Cortázar published Rayuela in 1963; an author's note offers two orders, chapters 1 to 56 straight through or 'hopscotching' across all 155 chapters via a Table of Instructions.