Page 28 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

26  INTRODUCING ARGENTINA

The Peoples of Argentina

Argentina is the most Europeanized of all Latin American
nations and the majority of its 40 million people are of
mainly Spanish or Italian descent. There are also small but
significant British, German, French, Armenian, and Levantine
communities, and Argentina has opened its doors to Jewish
refugees from Russia and Poland. Official statistics suggest
that only 404,000 Argentinians are indigenous, the majority
of whom are the Mapuche, although research by the A shop in Jujuy selling an array of
University of Buenos Aires suggests that up to half the indigenous handicrafts
population is mestizo.

Indigenous peoples
Few native tribes remain today, compared to the
dozens of sizable indigenous groups at the time of
the Spanish conquest. While most still live in rural
communities, the growing impoverishment of
their lands has forced many to migrate to cities.
The Mapuche,
estimated to number
250,000, form the
country’s largest indi ge­
nous commu nity. Most
of them live in the
province of Neuquén.

Mapuche traditional
clothing consists of
handwoven ponchos
and leather belts.
The Guaraní speak a language of
the same name and are mostly
concentrated in Misiones province
in the north of Argentina. There are
approximately 10,000 Guaranís in
the country.
The Colla community is the
main indigenous group in
Jujuy province, with an
estimated popu lation of
35,000. Their mother ton gue
is Quechua and they are
famous for their color ful
handmade clothes.

The Tehuelche were once an
important Patagonian tribe. They
suffered at the hands of both the The Wichí people number about
Mapuche and the Spanish 25,000, with communi ties in the
conquerors. Now, less than provinces of Chaco, Salta, and
200 people are classified as Formosa. Though Wichí land
Tehuelche, though many rights are recog nized by law,
thousands of mestizos have their terri tory is under constant
Tehuelche blood. threat from developers.

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