Are we in Buenos Aires or Naples?

Are we in Buenos Aires or Naples?

"An Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish, acts like a Frenchman, and secretly wishes he was British." Argentine Proverb

If you didn't know any Spanish, you would swear that the Argentines were speaking Italian. They are speaking Rioplatense Spanish which is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas around the Rio de la Plata basin of Argentina.

Fifty percent of Argentinians have some Italian ancestry. Research has shown that Rioplatense Spanish and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian dialects.  Buenos Aires residents speak with an intonation most closely resembling Neapolitan.

Orchestra del Tango de Buenos Aires

The Orquesta del Tango presented a homage to Astor Piazzolla, on March 13, 2015 at the Usina del Arte. Follow the link below to see a great video about Usina del Arte. This great cultural center was created from an old abandoned generating station. Notice in the video the use of the bandoneon which is a form of concertina which has now become associated with tango music.

The composer Astor Piazzolla was a notable performer on the instrument. His compositions, which include three concertos as well as orchestral, chamber and solo works, introduced the bandoneon to concert audiences.

http://youtu.be/KcVrWfrjgbs

Palermo, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires "The Paris of South America"