Argentina Argentina's name comes from the Latin word for silver, argentum. Oddly, there is no silver in Argentina, but rumors that silver was founded here brought in European explorers. The name Argentina was used regularly after 1600, if not earlier, although the name was not assigned to the country or political entity until 1826.
Prior to European arrival to what is now called Argentina, few people lived on these vast lands. While people did call the region home, the lands were sparsely populated, perhaps due to the mountains and long, cold winters throughout much of the country. When the Spanish arrived, they quickly dominated the few people that lived in the region and since this time the culture of Argentina has been Spanish-inspired; in fact Argentina may be the most "European" country of South America on cultural terms.
The Spanish settlers arrived slowly as both Buenos Aires and the ranching lifestyle expanded. The Spanish introduced their language, religion, and culture to Argentina through these settlers. However, the lifestyle in Argentina remained tied to the lifestyle of the ranchers in the vast expanses of land as well as the growing metropolis of Buenos Aires.
With an economy based on a stable income, unlike the limited natural resources many countries in the region relied on, the country grew in prosperity and wealth, but always remained tied to Europe ethnically and culturally. With the introduction of modern technologies via the Industrial Revolution, the economy solidified even more and the country rapidly expanded in wealth and stability, surpassing much of South America.
Over time Argentina has remained strongly tied to Europe ethnically, culturally, economically, and to some degree even politically. These similarities, in addition to the many differences the country has with many of its neighbors, have resulted in a culture that continues to look towards Europe and other leading technological countries for inspiration.
Argentina's differences make the country fairly unique in South America, but culturally linked abroad. However, from a lifestyle perspective Argentina is quite different from that of Europe as ranching is still at the core of their lifestyle and strongly influences their culture. While the cities may reflect Europe, particularly in terms of technology, even here the lifestyle and culture are tied to ranching to some degree, giving Argentina a unique culture.
The blue on the Argentine flag represents the skies, while the white symbolizes the snows in the Andes Mountains. The sun is the Incan sun god, Inti, but is also known as the "Sun of May;" it is shown to commemorate the appearance of the sun on May 25, 1810 during an independence demonstration.