Feature: Argentina crazy about tango, soccer, "mate"

Argentine people are most passionate about tango, soccer and "mate" (a herbal tea), online searches show.

"Tango" leads the list of most popular searches on Google in Argentina, with an average of 7.95 million hits, distantly followed by "soccer," with 1.5 million, and mate, with 729,000.

Tango is not just a favorite pastime, it is also a study subject. Since 1990, the National Academy of Tango, founded by poet Horacio Ferrer and headquartered at the legendary Cafe Tortoni, has existed alongside such equally weighty institutions as the National Academy of Law, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of History.

"Tango as a musical, dance, poetic and interpretive art form has undeniably been around for a century as an authentic and profound expression of the Argentine people," former Argentine President Carlos Menem (1989-1999) said when he decreed the creation of the national academy.

"Tango's creative force springs from no less than 50,000 (musical) pieces composed, edited and released since the end of the 19th century, and more than 50,000 recorded versions of these works in various phonographic, cinematic and other formats in Argentina and around the world," he said.

There are different types of tango, from classic to modern and even electronic. Modern tango dates to the second half of the 1960s, when composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla updated the musical genre, and electronic tango is spun at nightclubs by acclaimed DJs.

During a long weekend in mid-August, thousands gathered at two popular spots in southern Buenos Aires -- the Usina del Arte cultural center and the Milonga del Dique 0, a space dedicated to "Milonga" style tango -- to kick off the 2015 Buenos Aires Tango Festival and World Cup.

Both venues were packed with aficionados playing or dancing to the tango's unique beat.

Fans could also buy tango-related products, including clothing, dance shoes and "gomina," a pomade just like the one tango great Carlos Gardel used to slick his hair back.

Gardel was such a cultural icon in Argentina that in 1930 he was asked to boost the morale of the national football team by singing to them before their big match against Uruguay, in Montevideo, in the final of the first ever World Cup.

He died five years later at the age of 44 in a tragic plane crash in Colombia.

Both Argentina and Uruguay claim to have originated the tango, also to be the best soccer player in the Rio de la Plata region, and to have invented "mate."

At hearing the word "football," hearts light up across the country, especially among the fans of classic rival teams River Plate or Boca Juniors, Rosario Central or Newell's Old Boys, Independiente or Racing Club.

The sport arrived toward the end of the 19th century with the British laborers that arrived to work on the railroads, and it was soon adopted as the country's own.

The national team played its first game on July 20, 1902 against Uruguay, and its 6-0 victory marked the beginning of a long and illustrious history featuring such world-famous names as Maradona (Diego), Messi (Lionel), Passarella (Daniel), Kempes (Mario), Fillol (Ubaldo), Bertoni (Daniel), Valdano (Jorge), and Burruchaga (Jorge).

When the national team plays, Argentina comes to a standstill. The streets are empty, and offices are transformed into bleachers, with everyone arranged around a TV screen.

Here is where "mate" comes in. The herbal infusion, a legacy of Argentina's indigenous Guarani, helps sooth tensions among the working class like upper crust, as it is passed around from hand to hand, and shared.

According to data from the Argentine Institute of Yerba Mate, Argentineans consume an average of 100 liters of "mate," or 5.5 kilograms of the herb, per person in a year.

At his place of work, Juan Delgado is in charge of starting off the day's first round of mate.

Delgado's job is to boil the water, place the herb in its container, steep the infusion and, as the person in charge, take the first sip, and then pass it around in strict order.

"It's a ceremony. Each morning I'm in charge of preparing it, because I like it, not just the 'mate,' but also sharing it with my coworkers," he said. Endi