ARGENTINA-History

While the Spanish were the first to Conquer Argentina, which got its name from the Latin word for Silver, Argentum, it is actually comprised of many different cultures. Argentina is often referred to as the "Melting Pot" of Latin America. During the 18th and 19th centuries especially, Argentina was the country with the second biggest immigration wave in the world, with 6.6 million, second only to the USA  in the numbers of immigrants received. The majority of these immigrants arrived from Italy and Spain. Others from Syria and Lebanon arrived, and shortly thereafter Chinese, Korean, and Japanese communities were established. Argentina also has the largest Jewish Community of any country in Latin America. As my dear father always says, with every wave of immigrants comes wonderful food! This could not be any more evident than in the diverse and interesting cuisine of Argentina.
You can't talk about Argentina without including the gaucho! The Gaucho were the nomadic  horseman and cowhand of the Argentine and Uruguayan  grasslands, who flourished from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century and has remained a folk hero similar to the American Cowboy.