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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardobrazil
We don't know how to keep old historycal buildings on their feet. Most of what was built by 16,17 and 18th Centuries disappeared away. You'll find just some moldy tent of that time. The rest is just unpleasant to look at.
Really? That's not what the photos seem to depict. Perhaps cities like Quito and Lima are exceptions? Mind you I didn't see much heritage left in Sao Paolo or even Rio for that matter. Buenos Aires seems to have alot of colonial architecture.
Really? That's not what the photos seem to depict. Perhaps cities like Quito and Lima are exceptions? Mind you I didn't see much heritage left in Sao Paolo or even Rio for that matter. Buenos Aires seems to have alot of colonial architecture.
Brazil has a ton as well. Most of the popular tourist attractions are of Brazil's colonial past. Places like Pelhourinho in Salvador, Olinda near Refice, cities like Ouro Preto. Some of the most beautiful places in Brazil, I love the colorful portuguese influences on buildings at that time.
They're all different. Even demographically....Argentina, Uruguay, Southern part of Brazil look more like Europe with a majority of white people. Central America is mostly Native American and mestizos etc.. They all have different customs and stuff.
ARGENTINA - Heavy Italian population and influence. Wide boulavards. Think of themselves as more European. Generally more caucasian across the board - few mestizo, black, etc..
While Argentina doesn't have alot of Blacks, it does have alot of Mestizos, and people of Indigenous ancestry (be it Argentines, immigrants, or otherwise). The country's NW - think Jujuy and Salta - is heavily Indigenous and Mestizo (i.e, they are the majority), and many parts of Buenos Aires are increasingly majority Bolivian and Peruvian. These people never seem to get mentioned in discussions about race in Argentina.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieJonez
Argentina. fantastic steaks, the most european country in South America, bar none. Portenos are generally Northern European looking along with a large Italian presence. Great nightlife, very fashion forward. Buenos Aires is the LA of South America..
Northern European-looking? Really? Most of the whites in BA - in upwards of 80% - are of Italian and Spanish ancestry. An estimated 60% of Argentines are thought to be of Italian ancestry, some 25,000,000 people. Compared to "whites" in the US here, Argentine whites have darker, tanned skin, black/brunette hair, and other, Mediterranean features. There are some exceptions, but most of the whites here don't fit the pale skin/freckles/blue eyes/blonde hair stereotype.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
Really? That's not what the photos seem to depict. Perhaps cities like Quito and Lima are exceptions? Mind you I didn't see much heritage left in Sao Paolo or even Rio for that matter. Buenos Aires seems to have alot of colonial architecture.
BA doesn't have much colonial architecture; it was a tiny, relatively un-prosperous pueblo during the Spanish days. The "old" architecture we have is mainly from 1870-1940 (50+ years after the end of colonial rule), when millions of Europeans poured into a then-rich Argentina. The result of this was thousands of buildings constructed in Art-Deco, Beaux-Arts, French, Modernist, Rationalist, and Tudor styles. Colonial architecture, aside from a few churches in the center, is rare - especially compared to places like Cartagena, Havana, Lima, or Quito.
Crossing the border from Argentina into Bolivia is like crossing from the USA into Mexico. Argentina is a highly industrialized country, with a mostly European population, and Bolivia is an undeveloped country with a mostly indigenous population of Indians or Mestizos. The contrast at the border is like going from a town in Texas to a town in Mexico. There is a similar contrast going from Arica. Chile, to Tacna, Peru.
There's an interesting town that straddles the Uruguay/Brazil border. The international border runs right down the center of Main Street in the town of Chuy.
There are about 10,000 people on each side, who are free to wander back and forth from one country to the other. But you cannot leave town in either direction, nor re-enter, without passing through the immigration checkpoint out on the highway.
Here's my 10 cents.
central America (including mexico) is most mestizo/native American with the exception of Panama which has a black and white presence, although majority mestizo.
south america is a little more complicated than that. peru and bolivia are both majority indigenous countries with large mestizo populations. ecuador mestizo+native. paraguay is majority mestizo (90%). colombia is majority mestizo (60%) but has large white and black (including mulattos and zambos) minority (20% each). venezuela is similar to colombia, however, venezuelan mestizos are more tri-racial (african, native, euro). colombia and venezuela can be compared to brazil in a sense that they all have pretty big black populations, african influence flourishes, it's present and visible, and overall they're countries that are a melting pot of races, cultures and ethnicities. far more racially and culturally diverse than the other countries in south america IMO! but colombia and venezuela lack a european majority and the european presence that brazil has, especially in southern brazil. brazil has the most whites in latin america. also, brazil lacks the mestizo (mestico in portuguese) population that is dominant in colombia and venezuela. not saying there aren't in mesticos in brazil, i'm sure there's many, but brazil's non-white population is composed mostly of mulattos, triracials, blacks, and mesticos falls somewhere in between. i want to look more into that. indigenous people in brazil and venezuela are very small. colombia has twice as many indigenous people + more. indigenous people are still a small minority in colombia but not as small as you think. argentina and uruguay are mostly white (obviously) but don't be fooled. there are more mestizos in argentina than some people are willing to admit. that's all im gonna say on that. chile is different. it's practically half white and half mestizo (or castizo). chilean mestizos mostly lean on towards their euro side more than native but it depends which region your in.
Wow, what a great discussion! I love reading it and learned a lot, too.
Sadly, i dont know much of southamerica . Only Argentina (where i live and where im from) and Brasil. Planning to visit Uruguay in september (really you take a ferry and get there in an hour from BA) and i DREAM of visiting the rest of southamerica, specially countries like Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.
But i do know a lot of southamericans. BA is FULL of tourist from there. And of course people that traveled. So heres my POV.
I think a big part of Argentina does not have the roots focused culture like many countries in southamerica have (such as bolivia or peru for example). I mean, where are the indians references? who were the inhabitants of this place before the spanish came and conquer it? You just DONT see that in Buenos Aires. All you see is the european buildings, the european antique churches, the european food (argentinian diet is like 98% italian, we are basically italians that speak in spanish and live in southamerica) the european oriented culture (the argentinian fundators were thinking in France when they build the buildings and houses in BA in the XIX century and were they built universities, etc). So, yeah, i dont see much about roots, and i think that sucks . I mean, you see a LOT of antique bulidings in BA, but they all look euorpean (particullary french).
Maybe this has to do with the fact that the indian culture wasnt as poweeful here as the, for example, the Incas were in Peru, so we forgot about them. But also that the argentinians foundatours were all like "we have to be like europe" and most indians were killed in the wars cause they puted them in the front line. Anyway, i notice this in most argentina except the Northeast.
If you go to the northeast of Argentina(Salta and Jujuy mostly) you see all the indians references, you see all about the people that lived here well before the europeans did, you also see much Incas influence cause the Incas came from Peru to northern argentina and also established there and mixed with the indians that were already there. I think that those northeast cultures of Arg resemblance more Bolivia and Peru and are more southamerican than places like BA, that does not have this huge southamerican feeling, but mostly european wannabe feeling.
Anyways, im writing too much. I think the european thing about argentina is a double edged sword if you know what i mean, sometimes i wish BA was more like Peru, Salta or Jujuy.
Anyways, i think culture-wise, Argentina can only be compared to Uruguay (Uruguayans are mostly like us, more slow paced, but they look-act-talk like us and even consume all argentinian culture), i dont think Argentina is similar to Chile, we dont look alike in the most part, we dont talk alike, and the cultures are waaay different, chileans are more conservative, organizated and serious and argentinian are more chaotic, less conservative, and extrovert (more like italians).
The rest of the countries (Colombia, venezuela, ecuador, etc) are really different from Argentina, too.
In my personal experience, the friendliest people in SA are Colombians, there are tons living here and they are ALL SO NICE AND FRIENDLY. Much nicer than argentinians.
oh, i want to clarify that everytime i said "indian" i meant "indigenous". i though "indian" was a good translation but it wasnt.
About the "race" issue, I agree with someone in this page that said that argentina, eventhough being mostly white, has mestizo people too. In the northeast, people look totally different than people from BA/Cordoba/Litoral/The Pampa region/The Patagonia. Granted the white people from those places i mentioned is the large majority, but go to JUjuy or Salta for example, people is dark-skinned, short in stature, with indigenous eyes, they look more similar to a peruvian for example and they look nothing like a person from Buenos Aires. In Tucuman/Formosa and Chaco people is darker as well. Sometimes people (and mostly us argentinians) forget the north also exist and think Porteños (as people from BA)represent all argentina and its not like that.
Also, people from the north is so different (culturally) than people from BA that is unvelievable we are from the same country. Culturally and physically we are totally different. Its interesting to know this and that the world does not start and end in BA like many argentinians like to think.
Interesting thoughts SophieLL. I'm from Brazil, and I didn't know that people from Salta and Jujuy, and the North of Argentina in general, are so different from the people of Buenos Aires. It's nice to know that there are areas in Argentina where the indigenous (Amerindian) culture has an important influence. I know that in Paraguay the indigenous cultural influence is strong, and many people speak the Guarani language, but I didn't know the indigenous influence was big in Northern Argentina.
Really? That's not what the photos seem to depict. Perhaps cities like Quito and Lima are exceptions? Mind you I didn't see much heritage left in Sao Paolo or even Rio for that matter. Buenos Aires seems to have alot of colonial architecture.
You don't have to rely on a few select pictures to get an accurate idea of what a place is like.
Now you have Google Street View, and guess what?
Sao Paulo is completely photographed!
Here, take a tour (to see more of the city, move the yellow guy on the lower-right-corner map): sao paulo - Google Maps
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. Only Argentina (where i live and where im from) and Brasil. Planning to visit Uruguay in september (really you take a ferry and get there in an hour from BA
) and i DREAM of visiting the rest of southamerica, specially countries like Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.
. Anyway, i notice this in most argentina except the Northeast.
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