Argentina — books & literature

The story of Argentina

Long before Europeans arrived, the lands now called Argentina were home to peoples such as the Diaguita in the northwest and the Mapuche and Tehuelche further south. Spanish navigator Juan Díaz de Solís reached the Río de la Plata estuary in 1516, and Buenos Aires was founded in 1536, abandoned, then permanently refounded by Juan de Garay in 1580. The Spanish crown organised the region as the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Growing resentment of colonial rule erupted in the May Revolution of 1810, which installed the first local government, and full independence was declared on 9 July 1816 at the Congress of Tucumán. The 19th and early 20th centuries brought waves of European immigration, mostly Italian and Spanish, that reshaped Argentine culture, cuisine, and language. The 20th century was turbulent , the rise of Juan and Eva Perón, repeated military coups, the 1976-1983 dictatorship and its "Dirty War," and the 1982 Falklands War , before democracy was restored in 1983. Today Argentina is a major regional power known for its literature, football, and vast geography stretching from subtropical north to Patagonian south.

Timeline — key moments

1. 1516

   Juan Díaz de Solís becomes the first European to reach the Río de la Plata.

2. 1580

   Juan de Garay permanently (re)founds the city of Buenos Aires.

3. 1776

   Spain creates the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, centred on Buenos Aires.

4. 1810

   May Revolution: local criollos remove the Spanish viceroy, starting the path to independence.

5. 1816

   Independence declared at the Congress of Tucumán (9 July).

6. 1853

   National Constitution adopted, establishing a federal republic.

7. 1946

   Juan Perón elected president, beginning the Peronist era with Eva Perón as a central figure.

8. 1976-1983

   Military dictatorship rules Argentina; thousands of dissidents disappear ("Dirty War").

9. 1982

   Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas) fought against the United Kingdom.

10. 1983

    Democracy restored with the election of Raúl Alfonsín.

Top 10 things to know about Argentina

1. Argentina is the second-largest country in South America and among the largest in the world by land area.
2. Aconcagua, in the Argentine Andes, is the highest mountain in the Americas.
3. Tango, the music and dance, was born in the working-class ports of Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the late 19th century.
4. Argentina's men's football team has won the FIFA World Cup three times: 1978, 1986, and 2022.
5. Spanish is the official language, spoken with a distinctive Rioplatense accent.
6. Iguazu Falls, shared with Brazil, is one of the largest and most spectacular waterfall systems on Earth.
7. Argentina is one of the largest beef producers and consumers per capita in the world.
8. Patagonia, the vast southern region, spans both Argentina and Chile and is famed for glaciers and steppe.
9. Argentina has produced several Nobel laureates, including multiple in the sciences and in the Nobel Peace Prize.
10. Buenos Aires has long been nicknamed the "Paris of South America" for its European-style architecture.

Famous people from Argentina

Say it in Argentina's language

Did you know?

• ★"Argentina" comes from the Latin argentum ("silver"), reflecting early Spanish hopes of finding silver riches there.
• ★Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina, is often called "the End of the World" and is among the southernmost cities on Earth.
• ★Sharing mate (a bitter herbal tea) from a single gourd passed around a group is a daily social ritual across the country.

Argentina culture

• Asado, a slow-cooked barbecue centred on beef, is the cornerstone of Argentine social gatherings.
• Football is a near-religion, with fierce club rivalries such as Boca Juniors versus River Plate.
• Tango , both the dance and the music, often featuring the bandoneón , remains a defining cultural export.
• Waves of Italian and Spanish immigration in the 19th-20th centuries shaped Argentine cuisine, dialect, and everyday customs.

Why read Argentina's books

Argentine literature produced some of the most influential Spanish-language writers of the modern era, from Borges's labyrinthine short fiction to Cortázar's genre-bending novels. Reading Argentina's books opens a doorway into that literary tradition.