Argentina
Where the Andes meet the Pampas, and neighbors share more than a border.
Argentina gave the world one of its most quietly useful inventions. In the 1890s, Buenos Aires police official Juan Vucetich developed the first practical system for identifying people by their fingerprints, a method still used around the globe today. It is a small, human example of the same idea this whole hemisphere is built on, that one nation's careful work can end up serving everyone.
There is an old Argentine saying, "Al mal tiempo, buena cara," put a good face on bad weather. It is a small piece of wisdom shared across the Americas in a hundred different words, the same common ground this whole project stands on.
Get to Know Argentina
Capital: Buenos Aires. Official language: Spanish. Currency: Argentine peso. Home to Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Americas at 22,838 feet.
Fun Facts
- Buenos Aires' Avenida 9 de Julio is considered the widest avenue in the world, wide enough for as many as 20 lanes of traffic.
- Patagonia is home to one of the largest Welsh speaking communities outside the United Kingdom, tracing back to settlers who arrived in the 1860s.
- Dulce de leche, the caramel like spread found in kitchens across the country, is said to have been invented in Argentina.
Why Visit
Iguazu Falls, shared with Brazil, ranks among the most spectacular waterfall systems anywhere. Patagonia's glaciers, especially Perito Moreno, calve into turquoise lakes visitors can watch up close. Buenos Aires carries its tango culture in its streets, cafes, and architecture. Argentina's seasons run opposite the Northern Hemisphere, December through February is warm and ideal for Buenos Aires and Iguazu, June through August is ski season in the Andes and Patagonia.
Made in Argentina
Argentina is known the world over for leather craftsmanship, Malbec wine, and the mate gourd and yerba mate tradition shared at kitchen tables across the country. This space is reserved for a future Local Marketplace Spotlight, featuring Trust Standard certified Argentine businesses once that pillar of the Americas Ecosystem exists. Soon.