A canal in a suburb of Buenos Aires turned a startling shade of bright red on Thursday, leaving residents alarmed as the unusual phenomenon spread into the nearby Rio de la Plata estuary.

Using credit and debit cards is common in almost all shops, with the added perk of tax discounts for foreign tourists.

The Argentinian and Uruguayan tradition of the Tango, now familiar around the world, was developed by the urban lower classes in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the Rio de la Plata basin. Among this ...