Corrientes (city)

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Corrientes
Corrientes, Argentina.jpg
Basic data
Full name: San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes
Surface: 500 km 2
location 27 ° 29 ′  S , 58 ° 49 ′  W Coordinates: 27 ° 29 ′  S , 58 ° 49 ′  W
Height above d. M .: 62  m
Population (2001): 321.902
Density: 644 inhabitants / km²
Agglomeration : Gran Corrientes
  - Population: 350,000
  (Argentina)
 
 
administration
Province : CorrientesCorrientes Corrientes
Department : Capital
Mayor: Carlos José Vignolo, UCR
Others
Postal code : W3400
map
Location of Corrientes

Corrientes or Taragui (in the Guaraní language ) is a city in northeastern Argentina . It is the capital of the province of Corrientes and is located in the northwest of the province on the banks of the Paraná River . With 321,902 inhabitants (2001, INDEC ) it is the second largest city in the Región Noreste Argentino . A third of the provincial population lives in it.

Via the Puente General Manuel Belgrano , Corrientes is connected to the town of Barranqueras in the province of Chaco , which is part of the Resistencia agglomeration . There are close economic ties between the two urban regions, so that one can speak of an enlarged metropolitan area with around 700,000 inhabitants, by far the most important in Northeast Argentina.

The name Corrientes (Spanish for rapids ) comes from the fact that the bank of the Paraná forms rapids on seven peninsulas at this point. Although the Paraná is navigable at this point, Corrientes is insignificant as a port today. There are no significant exports from the port of Corrientes, only minor imports of fish and sand.

geography

Corrientes is located in the subtropical zone, which is evident from the flora and fauna of the region. The area belongs geographically to the outskirts of the Gran Chaco .

The Yacyretá , operated by Argentina and Paraguay, is around 250 km upriver and is the fourth largest hydropower plant in the world with around 4,000 megawatts of power and has been in operation since 1998.

climate

Corrientes climate diagram

The climate is subtropical with hot summers and very mild winters. The annual average temperature is 20 ° C and the precipitation rate is 1200 millimeters.

history

In January 1516, the first expedition led by Juan Díaz de Solís reached the area around Corrientes. However, Indian attacks made a longer stay impossible. In 1527 Sebastián Caboto built the Fort Sancti Spiritus on the Río Paraná . In 1536 another expedition under Pedro de Mendoza explored the interior of the river.

Corrientes was founded by Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón on April 3, 1588 as a stopover between Buenos Aires and Asunción . The location was chosen because the Río Paraná bends there from east-west to north-south, creating a natural harbor. The start time was of continuous conflicts with the Guaraní marked -Indianern. The legend of the Cruz de los Milagros (Miraculous Cross), which is still venerated in Corrientes today, was born in this early period . Probably the origin of the legend lies in the fact that a cross, which the Spaniards had set up in the meadows around the newly founded city, attracted a lightning bolt, which however could not destroy the cross. This was seen as a sign of the superiority of the Christian gods of the Spaniards. From now on the settlers worshiped this cross, which gave the city its first boom.

In the early days, Guaraní was mainly spoken in the region, and it became a common language even among Spanish families. The extremely hostile attitude of the Spaniards towards the Guaranies led, despite these peculiarities, to the said conflicts until in 1609 the Jesuits settled with the permission of the Spanish king and founded reductions in the area, which relaxed the relationship between the two peoples.

In 1630 slaves were first imported from Africa. In 1763 there was the first rebellion of the locals against the Spanish central government when part of the population joined the Comunero movement from what is now Paraguay . In 1807, when the English tried to take Buenos Aires , the city of Corrientes sent a corps of hunters to defend the capital.

Between 1818 and 1820, during the last controversy over the independence of Argentina, Corrientes came under the rule of Andrés Guaykurarí , the leader of the Guaraní from the Jesuit reductions. After an uprising led by Lucio Mansilla , the city returned to Argentine territory. In 1821 the new province of Corrientes was given its own constitution.

Corrientes played a key role in the Argentine civil war between Unitarians and Federalists in the first half of the 19th century. On December 28, 1839, the governor Genaro Berón de Astrada declared war on the government of Buenos Aires under Juan Manuel de Rosas . Just three days later, the uprising was put down and Astrada was executed. Nevertheless, the clashes continued, with victories and defeats on both sides. It was not until 1852 that the Corrientes armed forces under Governor Miguel Virasoro , in league with General Justo José de Urquiza, prevailed against the Rosistas in the decisive battle of Monte Caseros .

In 1855 the political system (municipio) was established, and in the same year a new provincial constitution was passed. In 1865 the city was captured by Paraguay , the occupiers could not be driven out of Buenos Aires until 1870 with the help of troops.

Gervasio Ruiz came to power in 1889, the violence initially continued until the successor government of Valentín Virasoro entered a peaceful, democratic period during which the two main parties, the Partido Liberal and the Partido Autonomista Nacional, were in power took turns. Around the turn of the century, immigrants from Europe founded numerous new cities in the province.

tourism

In the city center, despite extensive modernization in the 20th century, there are still some buildings from the colonial era. The Iglesia de la Cruz de los Milagros , in which the supposedly indestructible wooden cross is kept, is particularly well known . Other well-known tourist destinations include the Juan de Vera Theater , the Provincial History Museum and the Museo de Bellas Artes art museum .

Culture

Corrientes is known for its carnival, which is one of the largest in Argentina. The Chamamé music typical of the region gives it its own character. The chamamé is a type of polka that blended with influences from the region's original music in the 19th century.

Town twinning

  • Curitiba , Brazil, letter of intent to establish a town twinning dated February 1, 2006

sons and daughters of the town

literature

  • Manuel V. Figuerero: Lecciones de historiografía de Corrientes. Krass, Buenos Aires 1929
  • José Florencio Mantilla: Crónica Histórica de la Provincia de Corrientes. Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1972 (3 volumes)

Web links

Commons : Corrientes  - collection of images, videos and audio files