It’s time for our main South-American rival, Argentina. Let’s find out some interesting facts about our neighbor.
ARGENTINA
- Name as written in its native language: Argentina
- Language: Spanish
- Capital: Buenos Aires
- Currency: Argentine peso (BRL 0.037 – exchange rate on 10/03/2022)
- Main soccer player: Lionel Messi
- Typical dish: Bife de Chorizo
Interesting Facts
Argentina is the most famous border country in Brazil, thanks to soccer rivalries; but Argentine culture has other interesting points.
Starting with geography, Argentina has the highest point (Mount Aconcagua, 6962 meters above sea level) and the lowest point (Laguna del Carbón, 105 meters below sea level) of the Southern Hemisphere. For those who dream of seeing snow, Patagonia is a known destination in Argentina where, besides snow, tourists also find penguins. It is worthy to note that Patagonia is a region that occupies the territories of Argentina and Chile and has around 800,000 km².
Argentina is the cradle of tango. The dance that mixes drama and music is present in Argentine culture since the 19th century. Today tango is considered a cultural heritage by UNESCO and, when visiting Buenos Aires, it is possible to watch the most popular tango concerts.
Speaking of Argentine economy, the country has been going through a serious economic crisis for quite a while. Today Argentina has more than 13 different exchange rates for dollar and is one of the countries with the weakest economy in Latin America. Argentina exports mainly meat, grapes, honey, corn, and other agricultural products, and this activity is still the main engine of its economy.
Regarding language, Argentine Spanish is very different from the Spanish spoken in other countries, especially in terms of pronunciation. Due to the Italian colonization, the Argentines use their hands a lot when speaking and their accent transforms Yo into Sho, for example. Thus, especially in audio translations, translators need to know this and other singularities so that the content is not translated incorrectly.
Argentine cuisine stands out for its high-quality meat recognized worldwide. In Argentina, it is customary to consume meat cooked rare. This preparation method always leaves the meat in the asados (word used by the Argentines for barbecue) tender and juicy. Bife de chorizo is one of the most famous meat cuts in Argentina. It is taken from the internal part of the sirloin steak, it has a layer of fat on one side, and is either roasted or grilled. But for those who don’t eat or who don’t like meat, there are also the empanadas and the famous Argentine alfajor.
Soccer in Argentina is a huge national passion. Buenos Aires is the city with the largest number of soccer stadiums in the world, and the superclásico Boca Juniors x River Plate is among one of the most important rivalries in soccer worldwide. Besides, Argentines love soccer so much that there is a religion in tribute to the greatest player in Argentina’s history, Diego Armando Maradona. The Iglesia Maradoniana founded in Rosario has more than 500 thousand fans, its own commandments, prayers, and priests.
The main name of Argentina in the World Cup needs no introduction: Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d’Or 6 times, is the greatest top scorer in Barcelona’s history with 634 goals, captain and the greatest top scorer of Argentina’s national team with 88 official goals (excluding friendlies).
With Messi’s and its national team’s performance, Argentina ended its 28-year title drought, winning Copa América in 2021 against Brazil, at Maracanã, and later it also won the Finalíssima (tournament played between the champions of Copa América and UEFA European Championship) against Italy. Scaloneta, as the Argentina national team of the coach Lionel Scaloni is known, has completed 35 matches without defeat, the longest sequence of a national team prior to the World Cup. Let’s see if Argentina will be able to keep up this performance in Qatar.
This was Eko’s in the World Cup – Argentina. If you liked this, follow us on our social media (Instagram: @ekostraducoes / LinkedIn: ekostraducoes) and come back tomorrow, because we will be talking about Saudi Arabia.