Argentine culture has significant European influences, especially from Spain and Italy in its architecture, literature, and publishing industries. Buenos Aires is considered the cultural capital of Argentina. Argentina has a rich history of literature and was home to important modernist and vanguardist literary movements. The country also has a strong film, television, and music industry, especially known for tango. Some iconic aspects of Argentine culture include European classical music, association football, and foods like empanadas, locro, and yerba mate.

1. Argentina: Part 2 Jean Lowry 50587

2. Culture… Argentine culture has significant European influences. Buenos Aires, its cultural capital, is largely characterized by both the prevalence of people of European descent, and of conscious imitation of European styles in architecture Argentina has a rich literary history, as well as one of the region's most active publishing industries The struggle between the Federalists and the Unitarians set the tone for Argentine literature of the time Argentine literature of that period was fiercely nationalist It was followed by the modernist movement, which emerged in France in the late 19th century, and this period in turn was followed by vanguardism, with Ricardo Güiraldes as an important reference Numerous Argentine architects have enriched their own country's cityscapes and, in recent decades, those around the world The Argentine film industry creates around 80 full-length motion pictures annually

3. Culture… Cont’d The Teatro Colón is a national landmark for opera and classical performances; its acoustics are considered the best in the world. Tango, the music and lyrics (often sung in a form of slang called lunfardo), is Argentina's musical symbol The golden age of tango(1930 to mid-1950s) mirrored that of Jazz and Swing in the United States, featuring large orchestral groups too, like the bands of Osvaldo Pugliese, Anibal Troilo, Francisco Canaro, Julio de Caro and Juan D'Arienzo European classical music is well represented in Argentina The Argentine television industry is large and diverse, widely viewed in Latin America, and its productions seen around the world Argentines enjoy the highest availability of cable and satellite television in Latin America, similar to percentages in North America

4. Culture… Cont’d The official national sport of Argentina is pato, played with a six-handle ball on horseback, but the most popular sport is association football Basketball is the second most popular sport; a number of basketball players play in the U.S. National Basketball Association and European leagues The Vamosvamos Argentina chant is a trademark of Argentine fans during sporting events Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of Indigenous and Criollo creations, which include empanadas (a stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humitas and yerba mate, all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage The Argentine wine industry, long among the largest outside Europe

5. Source… "Argentina." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina>.