Argentine Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Argentine Americans - Essay Example According to the census statistics conducted in the year 1991, the population of Argentina was approximately 32 million which equals to 12 percent of the total population of South America. This figure makes Argentina the third most populated country of the Continent, the first two being Columbia and Brazil. Out of the total population of Argentina, 90 percent populations are Roman Catholics. The remaining percentage comprises of Protestants Jews and they live in Buenos Aires. Argentina is both an ethnic and diverse country. Most of the population who stay in that country comprise of immigrants from Italy and Spain (Rodriguez). "In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, other ethnic groups, including Germans, Poles, Welsh, Irish, Lebanese, Hungarians, Czechs, Danish, French, Jews, Japanese, Koreans, and Swiss also chose Argentina for settlement (Rodriguez)." The country Argentina is divided into four geographical sections. The Andes Mountain is considered as the northwestern border of the country. To the east of the Andes Mountains, lies a high plateau region which is an area that is large and grassy. "This grassy area is drained by the Ro Paraguay and Ro Paran, which themselves drain into the bay like Ro de la Plata (River of Silver), the widest river on earth (Rodriguez)." During the sixteenth century, approximately 3 lakh Ameri... There are almost ten distinct groups who have got different lifestyles. For example, the fertile river valleys were farmed by a tribal group called Guaran. Another tribal group named Onas who lived in the southern part of the country used to hunt animals like ostriches and seals. To the north of the country lived the Araucanians and they were away from the wild animals that were in the area. "Other tribes populating the area included the Incas in the northwest, the Charras in the east, and the Quechuas, Tehuelches, and Huarpes in the central and western regions. The Pampas inhabited the plains of the same name (Rodriguez)." Immigration Waves: If the history of Argentina is observed carefully, it can be noticed that the country can be characterized as a country familiar for its immigration. But many environmental forces like economic factors, political imbalances and social unsteadiness have altered Argentina into not only a country of immigration but also as a country of travel and emigration (Jachimowicz). Before the period of 1970s, the government of United States classified the immigrants in Argentina into a category named "Other Hispanics". However, the immigrants were considered as a relatively new group. Ever since the late 1990s a number of factors such as dismal employment prospects, strong demand for foreign labor and finally favorable policies for getting visas have led a number of Argentineans to migrate to the United States of America. "An estimated 185,000 Argentines emigrated between 1960 and 1970, and the number climbed to an estimated 200,000 in the decade that followed. Primary destination for these immi grants was the United States (Jachimowicz)." Over 60 percent of these Argentine immigrants are believed to have