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According to linguists, the term Porteņo, as locals call themselves, is derived from the word Puerto ( Dock). As Buenos Aires has the most important dock in Argentina, for many many years has been the most productive industry in Bs As. For some reason, eventually the rest of the counrty start calling them porteņos with a negative connotation.
You don't have to be born in Buenos Aires to be a Porteņo. In fact, most of typical porteņos are from other parts of the country. All you have to do is to take the heart rate of the city and imitate the way the people live in the street and soon you will one of them. You must be careful in that adaptation because it could be difficult to re-adapt to your country rules when you turn back home. There are some basics you should learn first, though, if you want to make friends with locals.
The most important thing is to know that you will for a while, so things that could be irritatives in your country as impuntuality and unaccurancy of statments here are common and should not be taken seriously. Time is a subjetive concept for people in the city so it is common to think that 15 minutes late is on time. Unless you are talking business meetings or pick up times half an hour late means on time. If you don't understand this, you will live on the verge of a nervous breakdown while in the city, sure that everybody is trying to leave you behind.
Argentinians are Hispanic, so they share many Latin traces with their cousins. Porteņos have nothing against touching each other. Young people of both sexes use to kiss other cheeks, in a sign of camaraderie without any gay connotation.
No matter how urban and sophisticated your new Argentinians friends may seem, chances are they follow a TV novela. Turn your set to Telefe anytime between 6 and 9 p.m. to see what we are talking about. You will enjoy deliciously campy shows, in a language you do not understand. It is unbelievably fun.
Other common trait is an inherent love for soccer, that is the most popular game. At the every square somebody is practicing football, where you are not allowed to touch the ball with your hands.Dancing , the Cumbia beat, is still a favorite - even if under some alternative label as axe-music or pagode.
Due to the country's immigrant diversity, racial discrimination in Argentinia is kept to a minimum. Most everybody shares in common Italian, Spanish and other European roots, mixed with native people. Waves of immigrant from East Europe and Asia also contributed with different accents, meals and customs.
With the urban villas , working class communities, learning to share space with people with different cultural and social values is a survival skill. As porteņos are very proud of their appearance and dressing, in the street it is hard to tell if the beauty in dress or the glentlement intuxedo came from one of the expensive apartments in Alvear Avenue or from the poorer neibourhoods of the Gran Buenos Aires..