Buenos Aires

   
Origin of the Name Argentina

The word Argentina comes from the Latin Argentum, that means silver. 

The concept had been coined in a Venetian atlas of 1536 and afterwards Martên del Barco Centenera, member of the expedition by Ortêz de Zörate, published in 1602 a long poem about these lands under the title La Argentina.

Such name was kept in the literature environment, but not at the beginnings of the Nation.The most frequent name given at that time was Rio de la Plata (Silver River), of an undoubtedly semantic association, established in the previous century with the creation of the Virreinato (Viceroyalty) in 1776 and linked to the obligatory route of Potosí cargos towards Spain.

After several decades of appearing, silences and alternations with other names, on October 8, 1860 in the city of Paraná, the then President Santiago Derqui ruled the denomination of Republica Argentina (Argentine Republic), by means of a decree, and afterwards Leiutenant Mitre used the name of President of the Argentine Republic , being established since that time. 

The Name Argentina in the National Constitution 



The National Constitution sanctioned in 1853 included the denomination of Republica Argentina in the official names used to designate the government and the territory of the Nation: 

Article 35: The denominations adopted successively since 1810 up to date, namely: Provincias Unidas del Rìo de la Plata (United Provinces of the Río de la Plata); Republica Argentina (Argentine Republic); Confederación Argentina (Argentine Confederation), from now on will be the official names to designate the government and the territory of the provinces, and the words "Nación Argentina" (Argentine Nation) will be used in the redaction and sanctioning of laws. 



Climate 
Argentina is located in the southern hemisphere, where seasons are the opposite of the northern hemisphere. March, the beginning of autumn, is an ideal time to visit anywhere in the country. At this time the weather in the city of Buenos Aires is warm, humid and a bit rainy, and the temperature starts to drop, generally it varies between 11 C (52 F) and 25 C (77 F). Summer, with mild temperatures and long days, is the most favourable season to travel around Patagonia and the meridional Andes.

Winter is the recommended season to travel through the north, northeast and northwest areas because the rains are less frequent and subtropical temperatures drop only a few degrees. Autumn and spring are very favourable in Cuyo, La Rioja and Catamarca pre¨cordilleran areas and in Buenos Aires.



Electricity 
In our country the electric system is 220 Volts and frequency 50 Hertz, therefore if you have electrical appliances with 110 volts, you will need to bring or purchase adaptors in specialised stores. 



Money 
In Argentina

the currency is the PESO ($).
There are bills of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos and coins of 1 peso and 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents.



Tips 
As in many other countries, in Argentina it is customary to leave a tip of 10% of the bill in bars, cafes and restaurants, to tip doormen, porters, concierges and hotel attendants and also attendants in cinemas, theatres and shows. 

Telephone Booths 
Everywhere in the country there are telephone booths from where you can make domestic or international calls; these calls have to be paid in cash.

Opening Times 

Banks and Exchange Houses


Mondays - Fridays 10 am to 3 pm. 

Commercial/Trade Offices 
Generally 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 7 pm. 

Shops and stores 
In the big cities, 9 am to 8 pm, while in the provinces they are used to closing at noon, for lunch. On Saturdays, opening time is 9 am to 1 pm. Shopping malls and big stores are open the 7 days of the week from 10 am to 10 pm.

Cafes, bars and pizza parlours.They are almost always open except between 2 am and 6 am. 

Restaurants.
Lunch is served from 12 pm and dinner from 8 pm. Nevertheless, there are many places where you can get fast food served at any time. It has to be taken into account that these are guidelines and opening times differ depending on the province.



Airports


International Ezeiza Airport "Ministro Pistarini"


Inaugurated in 1949, it is the international terminal of excellence in the Argentine Republic, as it handles 80% of the country's international air traffic.


Address: Autopista Ricchieri, Km. 33,500. Ezeiza, Province of Buenos Aires.
Telephone ¨ information:(54 11) 5480¨6111.

Jorge Newbery Airport 
It is located in the north-western area of the City of Buenos Aires. It handles mainly domestic flights, and in a lesser degree, international flights to the Republica Oriental del Uruguay. It is an airport where most passengers are in-transit. 
Address: Av. Rafael Obligado S/N. (1425) Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. 
Telephone ¨ information: (54¨11) 5480¨6111