Argentina is a country that is rich in Immigrants from all angles of life. For five decades, it has been on the verge of receiving foreign settlements and had over 20% of immigrants in its total population. As a result, the nation looks at itself as an ethnically diverse nation, second to the United States. It is the ultimate melting pot of the Spanish world and showcases its national identity through citizenship, as opposed to ethnicity like other countries around it. The immigrants in the country are not referred to as ethnic groups, as in countries such as the USA, Brazil and Mexico. The immigrants are considered citizens, and the aspect of ethnicity is rarely considered. Unlike other melting pots, the country was not rich in many aspects such as metals and raw materials. It relied heavily on agriculture and crop planting for its economy. The other countries relied on industrialization and labour from immigrants. The immigrants did not settle in Argentina to provide unskilled labour services as was the case with many other countries rich in Gold. The immigrants provided skilled labour in the country, and were mostly concentrated in land improvement and positively impacting the education sector. Argentina encouraged European immigration because they needed teaching in arts and languages. Additionally, the Europeans were considered useful in helping to grow the land. In other countries, immigrants formed the backbone of the unskilled labour force and were mainly from Spanish countries such as Mexico. In Argentina, the immigration was mixed with Arabs, Europeans, Asians, Americans and Africans. Also, unlike the other countries, immigrants in Argentina were given a lot of priority in the constitution because of the contributions they made to the country. They were afforded citizenship and the same kind of opportunities that the other Argentines had. The immigration policies were very flexible. In most gold-rich countries, the immigration policies were rigid and prone to change to suit the economic forms of capitalism. In fact, the Argentine constitution barred the taxation of immigrants who came to contribute positively to the economy, which was unlike the situation in other countries.
Buenos Aires was the central place where the art of Tango music was born in Argentina. The music reflects the culture and history of how the country came to be a mixed ethnicity nation. The Europeans migrated into Argentina in search of a peaceful place of habitation because of the wars and unsettlement in the European world. Buena Aires was the main trading and economic center in the country, and most of them settled there. Because of the many cultures that surrounded the place, every group came with its music. The sadness of living their home countries was then filled with music and dance, where tango was born. Tango was more popular in the slums but moved to the urban parts and cities. With time, the music was refined by the special instruments brought by the immigrants and musicians formatted the roughness it possessed into a refined music. Places for its dance were introduced, and it became popular in the whole country. Tango was popular because it represented the mixed ethnicity in Argentina. It is a fuse of music from all over and showcases the history of the birth of Argentina as a melting pot. It is a music that expresses the different culture woven into something beautiful, just like the tango music.
For an outsider to understand the cultural depth of tango, they need to understand how the different cultures contributed to the music and dance. The dance is classified into the Pinta, salon style among others. Before then, the tango was a raw dance that was practiced in the slums of Argentina (Burgan, 1999). The individual needs to understand that the sleek part of the dance and modern choreography was introduced by European immigrants, who brought aspects of their classics. The Africans and other Spanish parts introduced the drums, and many other nations contributed to the rhythm through specialized instruments such as the harp. As a result, the music became woven into something that could provide cheer and comfort. For an outsider to understand the cultural representations, they need to understand that the different cultures in Buenos Aires at the time refined tango to what it is now. An individual can, therefore, use the different styles of the tango dance and music to understand that the argentine culture is represented through those differences. The reason is that the styles were all contributions of different groups that came together to form the argentine culture.
One of the most recent events in Argentina involves the country’s involvement in illicit trades such as drug transportation. The news is that people have found a way into the country. Perhaps it is because of the countries free policies in immigration. The policies, even though aimed at integrating cultures, leave its borders vulnerable to bandits and criminals who transport drugs in the country. The criminals are supposedly internationally organized gangs from all over the world. The situation is blamed on many things, including a lack of concentration on the borders of the country. Currently, Argentina is the second largest country that is involved in the transport and smuggling of cocaine in the Latin American region (Brewer, 2014). The news came in after the country was brought to the limelight on another case of drug transportation.
References
Brewer, J. (2014, November 3). Argentina: Major market and transit point in the world drug trade.
Burgan, M. (1999). Argentina. New York: Children's Press.
