Reconquista (Argentina)
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| Basic data | |||
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| location | 29 ° 8 ′ S , 59 ° 38 ′ W | ||
| Population (2001): | 66,143 | ||
| Agglomeration : | Reconquista, Avellaneda | ||
| - Population: | 89,220 | ||
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| administration | |||
| Province : |
 Santa Fe
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| Department : | General Obligado | ||
| Mayor: | Amadeo E. Vallejos ( FPV ) | ||
| Others | |||
| Postal code : | 3560 | ||
| Telephone code: | 03482 | ||
| Reconquista website | |||
| map | |||
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Reconquista is a city in northern Argentina . It lies in the north of the province of Santa Fe and is the fourth largest city in the province with 66,143 inhabitants (2001, INDEC ). Together with Avellaneda (23,077 inhabitants) north of the city, it forms a small agglomeration with 89,220 inhabitants.
location
Reconquista is located on a tributary of the Río Paraná , the Río San Jerónimo . The area is part of the dry forest landscape of the Gran Chaco . The climate is subtropical with very hot summers and moderately warm winters.
history
In 1748 a Jesuit mission was founded on the later Reconquista, which converted the local population to Christianity . However, this was given up again in 1818. In 1872 the strategic importance (military and economic) of the place was recognized by the Minister of War at the time because of its proximity to the border with Brazil and Paraguay, as well as because of the raw materials (mainly wood) and grazing land. In the same year, General Manuel Obligado was sent from Buenos Aires to develop the north-east of Argentina. In the same year he recaptured the place and founded a military base. This event ( Reconquista : Spanish for reconquest ) gave the city its name, which was founded next to it. The first inhabitants of the city were the soldiers with their families, who were deployed here to defend and conquer the northeast and were given a piece of land instead of pay. Traders also came with them. In addition to the military facilities, “houses made of mud and straw for the bosses and officials” were built. General Obligado was entrusted by the provincial government with the distribution of the land that had been conquered from the locals. The land given to the soldiers was then lost through gambling and drunkenness, mainly to the dealers who were also called in to pay their bills. So later whole districts were built on the land of a few merchants, whose families mostly still own it today. This also led to the fact that Reconquista soon had a very heterogeneous population, consisting of descendants of the Spaniards, mestizos, Indians and immigrants from other European countries.
In 1889 the port was built ten kilometers east of the center, and in 1921 Reconquista received city rights.
Reconquista played a central role in the struggle of the guerrillas in Argentina in the late 1960s and 1970s.
During the military dictatorship 1976-1983, the city of Reconquista experienced a sharp increase in population (42,700 inhabitants were counted in the 1980 census), as the growing industry and trade increased the demand for workers. In particular, however, seasonal workers were needed for the cotton harvest. Migration has meant an increase in families with little financial means and a large housing deficit.
To solve this problem, the then mayor signed the ordinance “Plan para Eradicación de Ranchos” (“Plan for the extermination of mud huts”) during the “de facto government” (military dictatorship) in April 1980 and set up two sites outside the city limits available for a pilot project. One became the barrio “La Cortada” and the other became the barrio “Virgen de Guadalupe”. The latter is about five kilometers from the center of Reconquista in the southwest. The families affected by the resettlement were relocated to the open field from the edges of the public roads, the national road and the access road to the industrial area in order to offer them “greater security”. These families and individuals signed a purchase agreement with the city of Reconquista that gave them building plots measuring 10 × 14.30 meters each. A traditional “rancho”, a mud hut, was to be built on top of this in the back as a temporary measure. In a further step, a stable stone house should then be built in the front part of the plot. In total, the Barrio “Virgen de Guadalupe” consists of 16 blocks of houses with 28 building plots each.
Attractions
In addition to the Inmaculada Concepción church (1872), the Mansión Frey from 1920 is worth seeing. Another attraction is the harbor from 1889, which is hardly used today, but rather as a local recreation area of the city.
economy
The main industries represented in Reconquista are: meat processing, oil and grain processing , as well as textile industry, which processes the cotton harvest from the surrounding fields.
With the company "Vincentin", South America's largest and most modern edible oil factory is now located in Reconquista / Avellaneda. The company "Electroluz" with supraregional importance is also based here. Both companies are involved in the social and cultural sector.
Town twinning
sons and daughters of the town
- Gabriel Batistuta (* 1969), football player
- Dante Gustavo Braida (* 1968), Catholic clergyman, Bishop of La Rioja
- Ángel Comizzo (* 1962), football coach
- Marcos Flores (* 1985), football player