Mi Buenos Aires Querido Trivia Quiz

Answer: Juan de Garay

Juan de Garay was a Conquistador who originally came to Peru and fought in the civil war against Gonzalo Pizarro. He moved to Buenos Aires and formed a permanent settlement there in 1580 at the age of 55 after having been the governor of Rio de la Plata for 6 years.

Fulano de Tal is the Argentine equivalent of John Doe.

Hernando Cortez was the conquistador who conquered Mexico.

And of course Diego Maradona was one of the world's best soccer players.

Answer: Casa Rosada

The Casa Rosada is definitely pink in color and its balcony has featured in fact and fiction as the place where Juan Peron and his wife Eva (Evita) made impassioned speeches to the masses.

Answer: Lunfardo

Lunfardo is believed to have many roots but the most common thinking on its providence is that it came from the city's prison population and was a corruption of the word Lombardo meaning outlaw in some Italian dialects.

Answer: Portenos

Buenos Aires is one of the most important ports in South America and the locals of the city are proud to be known as "people of the port" or Portenos.

Answer: Men dancing together in bordellos

Tango as a form of music has roots in Milonga, a music from the rural regions of Argentina. The word tango probably comes from the name given to places where black slaves gathered to celebrate and hold their festivities.

As time went by Tango moved out of the brothels to theaters but remained the music of the poorer Porteno. This did not stop the rich kids flocking to the slums to enjoy this very sensual dance.

Tango has now spread to many countries in the world including non-Latin countries with Japan having a large number of Tango clubs and even their own performers.

Answer: Carlos Gardel

Gardel is still a revered figure in Buenos Aires history. His body was viewed by many as it returned from Colombia to be buried in the Chacarita cemetery. A life-size statue of the singer stands at his tomb and each morning a lit cigarette is placed in its hand.

His house, in the street Jean Jaures, was opened as a museum in 2003.

Answer: La Recoleta

Evita's body was embalmed after her death from uterine cancer in 1952. Her husband's original plan was to keep her body on view in a mausoleum but he was removed from office by a revolution and the new government realizing that her body, or the place it was laid to rest would be a rallying point for the Peronist supporters, had the body shipped to Milan, Italy where it was buried under a false name.

It was not until 20 years later that the body was returned to Buenos Aries and now lays at rest in the Duarte family tomb in La Recoleta.

Answer: Gnocchi

The 29th of the month is and was normally the day before pay-day in Argentina and as the ordinary people were often at their poorest at this time, they ate the cheapest food, gnocchi (ñoquis in Spanish) with butter and maybe a little parmesan cheese. It has come to be a tradition to eat this dish in restaurants and leave a banknote as a tip under the plate to bring the diner prosperity in the coming month. Naturally as February 29th only happens once every 4 years, eating ñoquis on this day is considered to be extra special.

Answer: Parrillas

The Parrilla is an integral part of Porteno life. You can eat nearly every part of a cow there but they are also famed for chicken, kid and salads. The meat is grilled over an open fire which is, usually, fueled by wood. A common dish is Asado which is a combination of various grilled meats including steak, kidneys, chicken, chorizo (a spicy sausage) and morcilla (black pudding).

Barbeque is not a word used in Argentina, Cocina means kitchen and Piedras Calientes means hot stones.

Answer: Madres de la Plaza de Mayo

The Madres parade in silence around the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada carrying photographs of their missing family members. Their protests have brought some hope with the exhumation of bodies from mass graves and the identification of these remains using advanced DNA techniques being carried out by recent governments.

They are now also involved in other charitable causes and although their last march for the "disappeared" was in January of 2006, they still continue to march to highlight these issues.