La Plata

History and description

Rocha decided to erect a new city to host the provincial government institutions and a university which had already been planned. Urban planner Pedro Benoit designed a city layout based on a rationalist conception of urban centers. The city has the shape of a square with a central park and two main diagonal avenues, north to south and east to west. In addition, there are numerous other shorter diagonal streets. This design is copied in a self-similar manner in small blocks of six by six blocks in length. For every six blocks, there is a small park or square. Other than the diagonal streets, all streets are on a rectangular grid and are numbered consecutively. Thus, La Plata is nicknamed "la ciudad de las diagonales" (city of diagonals). It is also called "la ciudad de los tilos" (city of linden trees), because of the large number of linden trees lining the many streets and squares. The linden tree is one of a number of deciduous Northern Hemisphere tree species which dominate La Plata's parks and streets; ash, horsechestnut, plane, sweetgum and tulip tree are among the other examples. Palms and subtropical broadleaf evergreen trees thrive, but are comparatively infrequent.

The city design and its buildings are noted to possess a strong Freemason symbolism. This is said to be a consequence of both Rocha and Benoit being Freemasons.

The designs for the government buildings were chosen in an international architectural competition. Thus, the Governor Palace was designed by Italians, the City Hall by Germans, etc. Electric street lighting was installed in 1884, and was the first of its kind in Latin America.

The neo-Gothic cathedral of La Plata is the largest church in Argentina.

The Curutchet House is one of the two buildings by Le Corbusier built in the Americas.

The Teatro Argentino de La Plata is one of the most important opera houses in Argentina, second to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The theatre was built on the square block between 9th and 10th Street and 51st and 53rd Avenue. It was opened on November 19, 1890. It was designed by Leopoldo Rochi in Renaissance style. The work was funded by the first inhabitants of La Plata, but as maintenance was very expensive, it was later donated to the Province of Buenos Aires. In the foyer, entering through the majestic doors, there was a beautiful white Carrara marble staircase. In the concert hall, hangs a huge chandelier with trimmings suspended from the ceiling. The easy chairs were tapestried in blue velveteen and the Bordeaux curtain was embroidered in gold. It had marvelous acoustics. In those years, the students of the Verdi Conservatory of Music performed in the theatre, their annual show of classical Spanish and folklore dances with the teachers Carmen de Toledo, Mrs Schubert and Nelly Rossotti respectively. Surrounding the theatre was the "Peace Garden," containing flags and national flowers of several countries. People strolled and children played along its stony paths. However, fate decreed that it would not be saved from fire on October 18, 1977 at 2.30 p.m. This has been noted as one of the largest losses to La Plata's historical heritage. It was later replaced by a new building, which houses the theatre's orchestra, choir and ballet, boasting several halls.

The University of La Plata was founded in 1897 and nationalized in 1905. It is well known for its observatory and natural history museum. Ernesto Sabato graduated in Physics at this university; he went on to teach at the Sorbonne and the MIT before becoming a famed novelist. Doctor René Favaloro was another famous alumnus. During its early years, the university attracted a number of renowned intellectuals from the Spanish-speaking world, such as Dominican Pedro Henríquez Ureña.

San Ponciano church is situated on the corner of 48th and 5th Streets. It was the first chapel in La Plata, inaugurated on November 19, 1883, on the first anniversary of the foundation of the city. The project belongs to Pedro Benoit, who was also the designer of the city plan. Its neogothic style has been well kept and the inner paintings are now being restored. The founder of the city, Dardo Rocha, named it "San Ponciano" in memory of his son, Ponciano. St. Ponciano was born in Rome. In 230 he was elected as Bishop of Rome and Pope. Because of the Christian Persecution he was forced into exile to the unhealthy Sardinia Island. In 235 he resigned his position as pope because he did not want to leave the Church in a difficult situation during his absence. He died in 235 and was buried in the catacombs of Saint Callixtus among eight other Popes. Inside the church, you can see the authentic "Virgen de Luján" niche, which was moved here in 1904.-

La Plata in the 20th century

Under Alvear's administration (1922–1928), Enrique Mosconi, the president of the oil state company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, created the distillery of La Plata, which was the tenth largest in the world.

On 10 December 1945, in the Parish church of St. Francis of Assisi in this city, Juan Domingo Perón and Eva Duarte got married.

The city was renamed in 1952 as Eva Perón, though its original name was restored in 1955. Several daily newspapers are published there, the most prominent of which is El Día.

In October 1998, UNESCO approved the city's bid to gain recognition as a World Heritage site. The approval is still pending due to various objections to the criterion of maintaining architectural and landscape over recent decades, which in the opinion of other specialists, has produced severe damage to the original design and contextual aesthetics.

Sports and stadiums

The Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, also known as the "Estadio Único", opened on June 7, 2003, as one of the most modern football stadiums in Latin America. Various other construction and renovation projects have continued, including the addition of a roof structure. Estudiantes has become a permanent tenant of the new stadium while their own stadium is being modernised; Gimnasia La Plata has only played occasional home games in this stadium. In 2011, the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata was one of the host sites for the 2011 Copa America including an opening round match between Argentina and Bolivia, a semifinal game, and the third-place final. Now, the stadium is additionally used for concerts and Puma matches.

During 2009, following a series of agreements between the city municipality, the governor of the province and the nation's presidency, progress was made in the final transfer of the land of the Paseo del Bosque to Estudiantes and Gimnasia La Plata clubs. On June 24, 2009, the Deliberative Council adopted the Convention and the ordinance for which Gimnasia and Estudiantes clubs received "grants" for the lands on which their home grounds are currently located within El Bosque (The Forest).

Elections and civic advances

On 28 October 2007,Pablo Bruera was elected mayor with 26% of the votes, replacing Julio Alak, who had been mayor since 1991.

On 25 February 2009, La Plata debuted a parking system that uses text messaging (sms), thus becoming the first city in Argentina to use technology applications to control parking.

Pasaje Rodrigo A traditional "galería" (the older version of shopping malls in Argentina), which had been opened in 1929 by Spanish immigrant Basilio Rodrigo and had been closed to the public for 10 years, reopened its doors in April 2009 as Pasaje Rodrigo shopping mall.

On 25 October 2015, Julio Garro was elected mayor with 41,35% of the votes, replacing Pablo Bruera, who had been mayor since 2007.

Location

Located in the north-eastern area of the province of Buenos Aires, La Plata is surrounded by Ensenada and Berisso to the northeast, Berazategui and Florencio Varela to the northwest, San Vicente and Coronel Brandsen to the southwest and south, and Magdalena, to the southeast, occupying an area of 893 km.

The metropolitan area of La Plata includes the neighborhoods of Tolosa, Ringuelet, Manuel B. Gonnet, City Bell, Villa Elisa, Melchor Romero, Abasto, Gorina, José Hernández, Ángel Etcheverry, Arturo Seguí, Los Hornos, Lisandro Olmos, Villa Elvira and Altos de San Lorenzo, all of which have community centers that operate as local delegations.

Climate

La Plata has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification). During winter, temperatures are cool during the day and cold during the evening, which can reach below freezing. The average temperature in the coldest month, July, is 8.9 °C (48.0 °F). Snowfall in the city is extremely rare. The last significant snowfall fell on 9 July 2007, while the previous one had taken place on 22 June 1918. Winters tend to be cloudier than summer, averaging around 10 overcast days from June to August, compared to 6 overcast days from December to February. Summers are warm to hot with a January high of 29 °C (84.2 °F) while nighttime temperatures are cooler, averaging 18 °C (64.4 °F). Spring and fall are transition seasons, featuring warm daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures, highly variable with some days reaching above32 °C (89.6 °F) and below 0 °C (32.0 °F). The city is fairly humid, owing to its coastal location, its average monthly humidity is higher than 75%. La Plata receives 1,092 millimetres (43 in) of precipitation annually, with winters being the drier months, and summer the wetter months. On average, La Plata receives 2,285 hours of sunshine a year, or 51% of possible sunshine, ranging from a low of 41% in June and July to 62% in February. The highest temperature recorded was 39.9 °C (104 °F) on December 18, 1995 while the lowest temperature recorded was −5.4 °C (22 °F) on July 17, 2010.

Snowfall is extremely rare in the city with only 5 major snowfall events: July 1912, June 22, 1981, 1928, July 9, 2007 during the July 2007 Argentine winter storm, and on June 6, 2012.

Earthquakes

The region lies on the Punta del Este fault, and its latest event occurred on 5 June 1888 (128 years), at 3:20 UTC−3 with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale.

Government

Given the federal system of government in Argentina there are 3 orders or ranks: the National, Provincial and Municipal.

The executive branch in La Plata is exercised by the municipal mayor, elected by popular vote every four years with the possibility of unlimited reelection. The town hall is known as the Palacio Municipal, and is located in the block surrounded by streets 51, 53, 11 and 12, in the city center; it is one of the important buildings that surround Plaza Moreno, and is opposite the Cathedral. The current mayor is Pablo Bruera, but in the past 2015 Elections, the new mayor selected was Julio Garro.

The city government is divided into different areas. These are: Private Secretary, Secretary General, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Public Management, Social Development Secretariat, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Modernization and Economic Development, Ministry of Justice, Secretary of Health and Social Medicine, Chief of Staff, Regional Market La Plata, Management Consortium Puerto La Plata, Executive Unit Revenue Agency, Environment Agency Implementation Unit, Human Rights Department, Ministry of Government, Policy Planning Council, Regional Production and Employment, and the city council.

As it is the capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, La Plata is also home to the three provincial powers: the provincial executive (led at the moment by Governor Daniel Scioli, but also in the recent Elections, Pro candidate Maria Eugenia Vidal won the poll) along with its ministries, the judiciary and the provincial Legislature, have their seat in La Plata.

Economy

According to the National Economic Survey 2004–2005, a total of 23,844 local listings, 90% are dedicated to the production of goods and services, 4% belonged to the Civil Service, 2% for semi sideshows or removable; 1% for worship, political parties and unions, and the remaining 2% was in the process of classification.

Finance

La Plata has a Stock Market (Bolsa de Comercio) founded in 1960, member of the Argentine stock market system.

In the city there are branches of major banks operating in the country, including Banco Nación, Banco Provincia, Banco Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Banco Hipotecario, HSBC, Citigroup, Banco Itaú, Francés, Macro, Standard Bank, etc.

Population

The urban area, according to the National Census of Population and Housing 2001, has a population of 740,369 inhabitants.

Furthermore, the La Plata partido's population since 1960 was developed as follows:

In 1991–2001, the population growth slowed, as was the case in many cities in Argentina. Meanwhile, La Plata's population was 763,943 in 2001, which made the city the sixth largest agglomeration in Argentina by population. Following the population growth rate in 2009 it is estimated the city has 894,253 inhabitants.

The population is predominantly descended from Spaniards and Italians, but there are also groups of German, Arabic, Jewish and Polish descent.

Spanish community

As for the Spanish community, stands out in their contributions, for example with renowned Spanish Hospital. Spain has also acknowledged the community by installing a consulate in the city of La Plata.

Italian community

It highlights the Italian Federation of the consular district of La Plata which brings together many institutions involved in the community. This community also has a school. Italy has also set up a Consulate in La Plata. The city boasts the renowned Italian Hospital.

Arab community

The Arab community also has several institutions, including the Syriac Orthodox Welfare Assoc, Assoc Islamic Argentino de La Plata and the Lebanese Society of La Plata.

Jewish community

The Jewish community of La Plata has numerous institutions, including AMIA La Plata (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina), which has under its orbit Hebrew School Chaim Nachman Bialik and the Jewish cemetery of the city, the Beit Chabad La Plata, part of Chabad Lubavitch Argentina, and has a library and a Synagogue, the Central Sephardic Jewish Cultural Association and Max Nordau.

Education

La Plata hosts one of the most renowned universities in Argentina, the National University of La Plata (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP). It has over 75,000 regular students, 8,000 teaching staff, 16 faculties and 106 available degrees.

UNLP students and professors include:

Four high school institutes are under UNLP control, three of them are located in La Plata:

La Plata is also home of four other universities:

Students come to these four universities from every part of Argentina and other countries, giving the city a rich young multicultural lifestyle.

There is also an international school for translators, Traductorado.

Architecture and the composition of the city

La Plata is a planned city, urban planning paradigm of the late 19th century. It is also an example of "hygiene", which was becoming important in that time.

The trace of the city, designed by architect Pedro Benoit, characterized by a strict grid, and its many avenues and diagonals. The convergence of the two major diagonals, 73 and 74, which cross the city from east to west and from north to south, respectively, takes place in Plaza Moreno. This square, in whose center is the foundation stone, the heart of the city, is the main square of the city and it is between the City Hall and the cathedral located at 14 N ° 1943 between 51 and 53, High Gothic, with its towers 112 m high, could be completed only in 1999. Highlights of the city are the Museum of Natural Sciences, the building of the Interior, the Provincial Legislature, the new theater and the hippodrome. Many of these buildings were built at the time of the founding of the city, following an international call for proposals. They are often called "buildings erected" and most of them are on the shaft foundation, which blocks are located between 51st and 53rd streets.

Another work is the parent company of Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, located between the streets 6, 7, 46 and 47. This building was designed by architects Juan A. Buschiazzo and Luis Viglione. It opened on 19 April 1886, being amended in 1913 and in the 1970s.

It is a very green city, with its largest so-called "Paseo del Bosque" (or simply 'the forest'), with its lake, amphitheater Martin Fierro, the Zoo and Botanical Garden Victorian astronomical observatory, and Natural History Museum, part of the UNLP, with its famous collections. Other attractions are the nearby Parque Pereyra Iraola and the so-called Children's Republic, which is said, may have inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland then, there are videos that prove that Disney, prior to building the park, visited the Children's Republic during his visit to Argentina.

Architecturally the neo-Gothic cathedral called La Colorada, the former central railway station, in 1977 the city lost due to a fire, one of its most valuable monuments: the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, predominantly neoclassic style. Instead they built a new brutalist style theater. The city also has the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata influenced by modern architecture High-tech architecture, through a national competition which was amended in a subsequent project to expand capacity and cover. Is anticipated that by mid-2010s concrete deck semitransaparente Kevlar and plastic resins (which is still in Customs).

La Plata has one commercial airport, Aeropuerto de La Plata, which is not served by any airlines.

Awards received by the city

The city was awarded at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, an event in which the new city was given the two gold medals awarded in the categories "City of the Future" and "Better performance built."

La Plata Cemetery

The municipal cemetery of La Plata was established in 1886 for the new capital of the province of Buenos Aires. It was designed by Pedro Benoit, who was also responsible for the design of the city. It lies on the intersection of Avenue 31, 72 and diagonal 74 in the southern tip. It has some remarkable architectural features, both in its main entrance as in many of the family vaults, which include neoclassical, Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau (in its variant of Catalan Art Nouveau), Art Deco and Egyptian revival styles. The main entrance is an impressive neo-classical portico with Doric columns. The Catholic chapel, in Romanesque revival style, was finished in 1950.

Its annex, the Jewish Cemetery, belongs to the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina in La Plata and is located on Avenue 72.

Sports

The most popular sport in the city, as in the whole country, is football. Among the many clubs that play football in the city, two of them stand out above the rest and these are the clubs Estudiantes de La Plata(known as "pinchas") and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata(known as "triperos"), who currently play in the Argentine Primera Division. Estudiantes is the only team who won a National or International Cup on the city. From these two teams came out great players like Martín Palermo, Francisco Varallo, Juan Sebastián Verón and his father, Gustavo and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Leandro Cufré, among others. The city also has the Liga Amateur Platense de fútbol that encompasses dozens of clubs in the region, such as: Club Atlético Estrella de Berisso, La Plata Fútbol Club, Asociación Nueva Alianza, Club Everton, among others.

Basketball has a place in the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso (National Tournament Ascent), through Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata . In addition, through the Asociación Platense de Basquetbol, the city has leagues and tournaments for all levels and categories (First, Second Ascent, U21, Junior (U19), Cadet (U17), Kids (U15), Pre-Kids (U13)), which involved Clubs: Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Estudiantes,Centro Fomento de Los Hornos Club Atenas, Unión Vecinal, Centro de Fomento Meridiano V, Club Cultural y Deportivo Juventud, among others.

Auto racing also has its importance in the city from the hands of the Turismo Carretera. For this competition is a racetrack called Autódromo Roberto José Mouras in honor of the historic Chevrolet driver died in Lobos in 1992. Other information relating to motorsport in the city has to do with the last Argentine Formula 1 pilot, who was the "platense" Gastón Mazzacane that after 21 races in Formula 1 came to compete in the Champ Car and Top Race V6.

Rugby, meanwhile, is a comprehensive discipline of fans in the city. The most representative clubs are: La Plata Rugby Club, Club San Luis, Los Tilos, Universitario and Albatros. From 2012 La Plata will host a round of the IRB Sevens World Series.

Of note is the traditional seat of turf in the city. La Plata has a race track, the third in order of competition and offer careers in the country.

Volleyball teams include Gimnasia y Esgrima and Universitario.

Hockey also claims two teams, Universitario and Santa Bárbara.

Culture

The culture has a major role in the city of La Plata. This is reflected in the large amount of cultural centers, theaters, museums, cinemas and libraries that are in the city, as well as the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and the observatory.

There were big personalities in the cultural sphere from the city: Paula Almerares (opera singer, soprano); Dante Anzolini (conductor); Efraín U. Bischoff (historian), José Walter Gavito (sculptor), Osvaldo Golijov (classical composer), Robert Noble (journalist and socialist politician, founder and first editor of the newspaper Clarín), Emilio Pettoruti (painter), Ernesto Tenenbaum (Reporter), María Dhialma Tiberti (writer), Iñaki Urlezaga (classical dancer), Álvaro Yunque (writer), Jorge and Federico D'Elia (actors); Adabel Guerrero (dancer, actress), Alejo García Pintos (film and television actor), Benjamín Rojas (actor), Freddy Villarreal (comedian, actor), Héctor Bidonde (actor), Juan Palomino (actor), Oscar Alberto "Lito" Cruz (actor), Maxi Ghione (actor), Pablo Andrés Martínez (actor), Carlos Mancinelli (musician), among others.

It is worth mentioning other important personalities, not being natives of La Plata, influenced the city's cultural life as Raúl Amaral (writer, poet and journalist. It was part of Ediciones del Bosque), Joaquin V. Gonzalez (historian, educator, writer and politician) and Rafael Hernández (politician and journalist), both founders of the UNLP, Pedro Bonifacio Palacios "Almafuerte" (Poet); Josefina Passadori (writer) Ernesto Sabato (writer and artist), Carlos "Indio" Solari (musician and band member platense Redonditos Patricio Rey and Ricotta), among others.

The city has a great attraction to music, whereas all festival concerts are organized. In addition, this is formed big band music and folklore of Argentina such as Los Redondos, Virus, Guasones, Opus Cuatro, Infonoise, among others.

Festivals, celebrations and events scheduled

The city of La Plata has the particularity of being the only place (with Berisso and Ensenada) in the country where the burning of Momos (Dolls similar to those cremated at the Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain) is held every New Year's Eve. Hundreds of dolls are burnt to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of a new year. Competitions for the best doll is awarded by the La Plata municipality and media.

Every 18 April is International Day For Monuments and Sites. That day, buses with tour guides leave from the Centro Cultural Pasaje Dardo Rocha to the various historical monuments of La Plata, Berisso and Ensenada, being the activity free.

In addition, every year on 19 November, the anniversary of the city is held with recitals and a fireworks show at the Plaza Moreno.

In La Plata, as well as in all of Argentina, the first day of spring is celebrated along with National Student's Day on 21 September. On this date, the municipality organizes concerts both in the Paseo del Bosque and Plaza Moreno.

Carnival

Carnival is one of the major popular celebrations in the history of mankind.This celebration has its origins in the pagan rituals of Bacchus, the God of wine. The first Carnival goes back more than five thousand years to one of the ancient civilizations and historical regions in southern Mesopotamia, modern-day southern Iraq, then it passed on to Egypt and finally to the Roman Empire. From there it was celebrated throughout Europe and it was brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese sailors.The term carnival comes from the Latin expression "meat Levarium", which means to remove the flesh, referring to the prohibition of eating meat during forty days after this celebration takes place.In recent times Carnival is one of the most popular celebrations, with shows, parades in costumes; however, the original sense it had at the beginning has changed nowadays.Among the most widely known carnival celebrations, we have the one in Gualeguaychu, province of Entre Rìos, Argentina. Up to now Carnival is celebrated most of all in the northern provinces in our country.

Patron saint

The patron saint of the city and the party of La Plata is Saint Ponciano, the 18th pope of the Catholic Church, who died in Sardinia on 19 November 235. On 19 November is the feast of the Catholic parish of St. Pontian, pope and martyr.

Tourism

The most important tourist sites are located in the heart of the city's founding, between Streets 51 and 53, being the center of the city's Plaza Moreno. The square separates two great works of the city: the Metropolitan Cathedral of La Plata "Immaculate Conception" and the Palacio Municipal.

The city of La Plata has many monuments and historical sites. Among them are: the Banco Provincia de Buenos Aires headquarters, the Curutchet House, Casa de Gobierno Provincial, Casa Mariani – Teruggi, Centro Cultural Islas Malvinas, Centro Cultural Meridiano V, Centro Cultural Pasaje Dardo Rocha, Iglesia San Benjamín, la Legislatura Provincial, Museo de Ciencias Naturales, the Quinta Oreste Santospago, the Rectorado de la UNLP, Museo Ferroviario of Tolosa, the Teatro Municipal Coliseo Podestá, the Anfiteatro Martín Fierro, the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, entre otros.

Moreover, staying at the city of La Plata the visitors can tour the monuments of the neighboring cities of Berisso and Ensenada (formerly part of La Plata), finding among these to the Street New York, the Swift Refrigerator, Ukrainian Catholic Parish "Our Lady of the Assumption, Old Station Cultural Centre, Fort Barragán and Historical Museum, the Ensenada Rotary Bridge, among others.

Quema de Muñecos is a traditional celebration every New Year. Young people create giant figures stuffed with fireworks. People vote for the best giant figure. After midnight all the figures are burnt in different parts of the city. The most voted get a prize.

Notable people