The cosmopolitan and eclectic city of Buenos Aires doesn't stop to surprise you with its contrasts: A fondness for the barrio (neighborhood) and the melancholy of tango mix with the modernity of mirrored high-rises and cellular phones. The mixture of styles that characterize Buenos Aires is a product of its desire to look like great capitals of the world. It is also the secret ingredient that provides different facets to its defying and noisy personality - a lover of culture and entertainment, nightlife, soccer and endless café conversations.

The Spaniards founded the city twice: in 1536 by Pedro de Mendoza, and in 1580 by Juan de Garay. The city was born gazing at the harbor and at the brown river, but during the past century grew with dreams of being refined and European, with wide avenues, tree-lined promenades, mansions and public buildings designed by renowned architects.

Today, close to eleven million inhabitants live in Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area and the comings and goings subject the main arteries of every neighborhood to the frenzied rhythm of a great metropolis. Innumerable art galleries, museums, theaters and movie houses, elegant boutiques and modern shopping centers, thousands of restaurants, bars and discotheques, and let's not forget the asados (grills) and empanadas (meat pies), all make evident that with a tango melody, Buenos Aires has become the Silver Queen.