Grownkoski Blog: buenos aires city

Saturday, October 15, 2011

buenos aires city

##title##

The city of Buenos Aires is not a part of Buenos Aires Province, nor is it the Province's capital, but an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalised and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores (both are currently neighborhoods of the city). The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a Chief of Government (i.e. Mayor) in 1996; before, the Mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic.

Buenos Aires is considered an Alpha World City as listed by the Loughborough University group's (GaWC) 2008 inventory. People from Buenos Aires are referred to as porteños (people of the port). Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its European style architecture and rich cultural life.

For many years, the name was attributed to Sancho del Campo, who is said to have exclaimed: How fair are the winds of this land!, as he arrived. But Eduardo Madero, in 1882, after conducting extensive research in Spanish archives would ultimately conclude that the name was closely linked with the devotion of the sailors to Our Lady of Buen Ayre.

The city of Buenos Aires was first established as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre (literally "City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") after Our Lady of Bonaria (Patron Saint of the capital of Sardinia, Cagliari) on 2 February 1536 by a Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza . The settlement founded by Mendoza was located in what is today the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires, south of the city center.