The Local Culture

In many respects, Buenos Aires is very similar to many other major cities: big, crowded, cosmopolitan… Nevertheless, there are some important differences to consider (and not just the architecture or the urban design).

Someone from BA is called “porteño”. Porteños may seem unfriendly. In fact, “porteño” is sometimes used derogatively to stress the porteños’ “arrogance”. But it is more accurate to say that they are friendly in a different way. The point is how to break the ice; then everything starts getting easier. The arrogant part may be actually true. But it is not so different to what happens with people from other major cities in the World when compared to smaller towns and peripheral areas.

Most of the population in BA is Caucasian. Nevertheless, altough you may not notice it at first, it is not completely homogeneous. There are people from other parts of Latin America for starters. BA also has one of the largest Jewish communities in the World. There is a China town, an Arab commune, an Armenian area, etc. On the other hand, many people from all over the World come to BA every year, so porteños are familiarized with people from abroad. This means that people in BA are quite usde to ethnic diversity despite the fact that Argentina is not as diverse as the US or other countries. And it may surprise you to know how many porteños have travelled to the US or Europe!