El Sur del Sur: The Way We Are

El Sur del Sur
The Southernmost South
The Way We Are

A PLACE FOR DREAMS AND HOPES

Bosch -Gimpera Map.

The first settlers
A long time ago, thousands of years back in the past, hunting tribes arrived from the north of the American continent in search of a land to settle down. When they found it, they did not imagine they were laying the foundations of a country that would eventually be named Argentina.

America. Engraving.
Theodor de Bry, 1591.

The indigenous peoples
The tribes inhabiting the Argentine territory were essentially nomadic and generally lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. In the 16th century, the confrontation with the Spanish conqueror curtailed their chances of cultural development. Nevertheless, in spite of this blow, they managed to survive in time and history. Today they constitute an important segment of the Argentine population.

Engraving, O. W. Bierly.

The Spanish conquest
The infinity of the immense uninhabited territory started to find its boundaries in the 16th century, when ships brought white men from a different world. The understanding between natives and Spanish conquerors was not easy. A new generation of men was born with violence, pain and blood, thus giving rise to a new country.

Inmigrants.
Port of Buenos Aires

The immigrants' arrival
From the 19th century onwards, men seeking their place in the world arrived from Europe with their suitcases packed with illusions. With rejections, coincidences and the search for a unitary thought between European immigrants and the natives inhabiting the new country began writing a new history. The Plata River region received different immigratory waves which brought the spirit and habits of Spaniards and Italians, with the basic addition of Swiss, French, German and also Paraguayan people, all of these to a lesser extent.

Argentinians today.

The present of Argentine people
The 20th century Argentina thus became an alloyance of races and cultures producing the interweaving of a complex identity that progressively became a feature of the Argentine people. Tango, soccer, political passions were only some of the cultural productions which spoke of a project worked out within a sea of conflicting ideologies and habits, but with the will to create a country as stated by the preamble of the National Constitution: "for all the honorable men who wish to inhabit the Argentine land".

The Way We Are

Table of contents

Surfing the South

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