Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the descendants of a Chinese
community who migrated to
Argentina in the mid-19th
century as contract laborers.
Pre-Columbian Beliefs
Although many indigenous
groups were wiped out by
war and disease during
Spanish rule, several groups
remain who still practice their
traditional beliefs. The Andean
Northwest was on the fringes
of the Incan empire, and even
today mestizo and native
communities in Salta and
Jujuy pay homage to
Pachamama (Earth Mother)
and perform pre-Columbian or
syncretistic rituals such as
Fiesta de Inti Raymi (winter sol-
stice). Some members
of the Mbya-Guaraní-
speaking tribes of
Misiones also follow
a belief system that
predates the Spanish
con quest, with
emphasis on the crea-
tion of the world by
the supreme god,
Tupã, dream narratives,
and a strong sense of
living in harmony with
nature's rhythms. Argentina's
Mapuche community conti-
nues to observe their ancient
traditions through storytelling
and through Ngillatún, a major
annual fiesta celebrated at
different times according to
the local sowing and har-
vesting calendar.
Gathering of native Mapuche women
for Ngillatún
Popular Cults
Argentinians venerate a
number of unorthodox holy
figures and even those who
profess to no religion often
adopt these as part of the
national or regional folklore.
The three best-known quasi-
saints are Difunta Correa (see
p220) , a woman who, though
deceased, is believed to have
continued to breastfeed and
nourish her infant son; Gauchito
Gil, a Robin Hood figure from
Corrientes; and, from the
province of Río Negro, Ceferino
Namuncurá, son of a Mapuche
chief. Ceferino is worshipped
across northern Patagonia. Bus
drivers often have the Virgin
of Luján dangling from their
rear-view mirrors alongside
the colorful pendants of their
soccer teams, and San
Cayetano, the saint who cares
for poor people, is a figure
whose importance ebbs and
flows in correlation to the
economic realities of the day.
Dome of Templo de la Congregación
Israelita, Buenos Aires
(Jewish cowboys). In Buenos
Aires, large numbers of Jewish
families arrived between 1880
and 1940 to escape the
pogroms in Russia
and, later, the
growing tide of anti-
Semitic feeling across
central and eastern
Europe. After many
decades of peaceful
coexis tence, the
bombings of the
Israeli Embassy in
1992, killing 29
people and
wounding 242, and
of the Argentinian-Israeli
Mutual Association (AIMA) in
1994, killing 85 people, sent
shock waves through the local
community. While these acts
of terrorism were largely
ignored by the international
community at the time, post-
9/11 they have been attributed
to Al-Qaeda.
Pan Altar exhibit,
Museo Xul Solar
World Religions
Argentina's constitution
guarantees freedom of wor-
ship for all. A Muslim minority
makes up about 1.5 percent
of its population and Buenos
Aires's King Fahd Mosque is
the biggest in Latin America.
The country is also home to
other groups, including
Mormons, Spiritualists,
Jehovah's Witnesses, and
Buddhists. A few Buddhist
temples in the capital serve
Largest mosque in South America, the King Fahd Mosque, Buenos Aires
 
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