The City of Buenos Aires is located in the central-eastern region of the country, on the western bank of the Río de la Plata, in the middle of the Pampean plain. It limits to the south, west and north with the province of Buenos Aires and to the east with the river. Officially the city is divided into 48 neighborhoods that derive from the old parishes established in the 19th century. Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina according to simplyyellowpages.
First foundation
The first foundation was made by the advance Pedro de Mendoza, in the year 1536, who arrived from Spain looking for a path that would lead to riches in gold and silver. The population is settled in a precarious way due to the lack of construction materials, the scarcity of food in the place and the bad relationship with the aborigines who besiege the city causing famines to the Spanish, who came to commit anthropophagy. The explorers who went upriver set out from this same expedition and in 1537 founded Asunción, which soon showed better conditions. In 1541 it was finally decided to raise the population and the few residents of Buenos Aires moved to Asunción.
Second foundation
In 1580 the second and definitive foundation was made, by Juan de Garay. In this case, wealth was no longer sought since it was already known what this fluvial geography held, what was wanted was to occupy the territory, of great strategic importance since it meant an important exit to the South Atlantic (note that later, when materialize the occupations of South America by Spanish and Portuguese, this will be the only port in the South Atlantic of Spain).
Early years and viceroyalty
The new population developed very slowly during the first two centuries, since it was in a totally peripheral area of the colony, with no interest on the part of the Spanish other than to preserve it for its strategic value. Its population practiced a subsistence economy, based on agricultural exploitation, without producing surpluses, due to the scarce labor force, due to the small number of indigenous people in the area.
By 1680 the population was around 5000 residents. The subsistence economy evolved slowly, thanks to the invested capital arising from trade, and the production of hides began to be exploited and, to a lesser extent, tallow and cecina (dried meat) obtained from bighorn cattle, which at that time moved freely and without owner through the fields and was hunted in raids called dairy farms. Another reason that increased the importance of the city are the various border confrontations with the Portuguese. In 1680 they founded Nova Colonia do Sacramento on the opposite bank of the Río de la Plata, in front of Buenos Aires. This city that passed from hands several times in the next centuries, contributed to further develop smuggling and posed a threat to the Spanish occupation of the region.
The Río de la Plata region acquires great importance as a direct exit to the South Atlantic well into the 18th century, due to its accessibility, its strategic position in the territorial conflict with Portugal and in the access to Cape Horn, the route to the Pacific that began to arouse great interest in the European Powers. This is how in 1776 the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created, with its capital in Buenos Aires, including within its jurisdiction large territories, even Potosí itself, which was previously linked to Lima.. At this time, great changes began to take place in the city, beginning the construction of new buildings. It is also at this time when the industrial development of England begins to pressure for the location of its manufactures and for the obtaining of raw materials, beginning to emerge the agro-export character, which would later be perfected, in the River Plate region.
Independence
In 1806 England decided to occupy the area of Plata, in part to alleviate the loss of its North American colonies that provided raw materials and markets for its manufactures. With a small army they occupy Buenos Aires. Against their predictions, the porteños oppose this occupation and soon after an army armed by Creoles, under the command of Santiago de Liniers, recovers the city.
The English prepare more troops and in 1807 they try to retake it, already with a superior army but this time they find a prepared city and are defeated. This victory of the porteños is extremely significant, since it was achieved by their own means, without the intervention of the Crown. In 1808, Napoleon occupied Spain, producing a cessation of authority over the Colonies.
In 1814 the monarchical order in Spain was restored, so troops were sent to America, reconquering all the cities by 1816 with the exception of Buenos Aires, which maintained its independence since 1810, and which sends successive armies into the former Viceroyalty, to ensure the independence of their territories, consuming a large part of their resources during the next 10 years, a work that was completed only in 1824, when the liberating deeds of José de San Martín, starting from Argentina, and Bolívar, starting from Venezuela, they definitely expel the Spaniards from South America.
Present
Towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the city underwent an important transformation; the economic prosperity that the country was going through, added to the preparations for the 1st Centennial to be celebrated in 1910, allowed the urban infrastructure to develop.
From 189 to 1914 the city grew at one of the highest annual rates in the world and in 1914 it was the twelfth largest city in the world with 1,575,000 residents and it also grew culturally and commercially. In urban planning, it was modified in styles, tall buildings and in the urban layout. Plans were discussed and formulated to make Buenos Aires the symbol of a new and progressive nation.
In 1994, the Constitution of the City was reformed, granting it autonomy with respect to the national power, that is, citizens can elect their Head of Government, whereas before the Executive Power did.
The city has a population of three million residents, a figure that has remained fixed for years and added to that of the Greater Buenos Aires, is between 12 and 13 million. Despite the general impoverishment of the country, the capital remains the richest district.
It can also be said that the city was beautified as administrations are paying more and more attention to public spaces, generating new ones and improving existing ones. Thus, it can be concluded that despite the general adverse situation, the city begins the new millennium, with different characteristics, trying to consolidate itself as a good place to live, as an important, administrative and economic center for MERCOSUR and as a place for tourism..
Culture
Buenos Aires is one of the main cultural metropolises in the world.
Buenos Aires gastronomy stands out for its diversity, although the common denominator is the use of meats and the Italian influence in recipes, which was very widespread due to the migratory currents from that country at the beginning of the 20th century.
Another cultural manifestation typical of the porteño is filleting, a decorative and popular art, born in the first decades of the 20th century. It is usually presented in contexts related to tango, design and advertising. Flowers, scrolls, acanthus leaves, Argentine ribbons, are combined with popular characters through very vivid colors and through contrast the idea of volume is given. The texts are also part of the composition of the filleting, with phrases coined by popular wisdom. In 2006, the Buenos Aires legislature declared filleting as Cultural Heritage of the City of Buenos Aires after the enactment of Law 1941.
Cultural development can be seen in the large number of museums, theaters and libraries that can be found in the city. Corrientes Avenue, in whose traditional cafes and bars tango evolved in the early and mid- 20th century, is the artery where some of the most important theaters are located. In this sense, Buenos Aires has a very diverse offer, and many of the most important theaters depend directly on the City Government: the Colón Theater, the General San Martín Theater, the Alvear Theater, the Regio Theater, the Sarmiento Theater. and the Teatro de la Ribera, among others. There is also an important activity in the Cervantes National Theater, the Recoleta Cultural Center, the General San Martín Cultural Center, the Maipo Theater and the large number of independent theaters that are distributed throughout the neighborhoods.
The City Government administers ten museums that cover different themes: from the plastic arts (Eduardo Sívori Plastic Arts Museum) to history (Cornelio de Saavedra Historical Museum of Buenos Aires), passing through the cinema (Pablo Ducrós Hicken Cinema Museum). There are also many museums dependent on the National Government (such as the Museo de la Casa Rosada) or foundations (such as the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires).
26 public libraries depend on the City, with 317,583 copies. In addition, there are many libraries dependent on the different Powers of the Nation, as well as the different universities that are in the Capital.
Buenos Aires is also distinguished as the largest publishing center in the country, since the most important publishing houses reside there, and it is also the city where the newspapers and magazines with the largest circulation are published. The publishing industry in Buenos Aires is one of the most competitive in the region, and the density of bookstores is quite high. Old books, first editions and publications in different languages can be found regularly in different places, especially in shops located on Avenida de Mayo and Avenida Corrientes, between Callao and 9 de Julio.
