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Cordoba, Argentina
Cordoba, abbreviated as CBA, is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas mountains on the Suquia River, about 700 km west-northwest from Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Cordoba Province. It is the second industrial center of Argentina, but retains many of its historical buildings dating from the colonial era.
History
Cordoba was founded on July the 6th, 1573 by Jeronimo Luis de Cabrera, who named it after Cordoba, Spain. It was one of the first Spanish colonial capitals of the region that is now Argentina . The Universidad Nacional de Cordoba is the oldest university in Argentina. It was founded in 1613 by the Jesuit Order.
After the end of World War II, Cordoba became a major centre for the Argentine aircraft industry, and the site of The Instituto Aerotecnico later it became the Fabrica Militar de Aviones. It employed the Focke Wulf men until President Juan Peron was ousted by a coup in 1955. Lockheed Martin purchased FMA in the late 1990s.
Cordoba has many historical monuments preserved from the times of Spanish colonialism, especially buildings of the Roman Catholic Church. The most recognizable is perhaps the Jesuit Block , declared in 2000 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . It is a block of buildings dating from the 17th century, including the Montserrat School, the University (today the historical museum of the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba) and the church of the Society of Jesus.
Neigbourhoods
El Centro (Spanish for "downtown") is the most important commercial area, as well as the most important financial area. There are banks like Bank of Cordoba and other private banking institutions. There's also a variety of restaurants with varying food and prices. Sightseeing places include San Martin square, Jesuit Block (declared UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Genaro Perez Museum. Main avenues and streets are Velez Sarsfield, Colon Avenue, *General Paz, Dean Funes and 27 de Abril where most buses have a bus-stop.
Nueva Cordoba is home to shopping malls like Patio Olmos, big buildings, pubs, disco clubs, squares, restaurants, supermarkets and other entertainment and commercial centres. This district includes very important buildings from large companies like Motorola and Intel. An important cultural place is Palacio Ferreyra. It's a colonial mansion that is very well preserved, located at the corner of Hipolito Yrigoyen and Chacabuco. Nueva Cordoba has a number of important avenues like Yrigoyen and Velez Sarsfield. In this neighborhood live most of the university students of this growing city, several buildings are being built transforming this area in the fastest-growing areas of the city.
Ciudad Universitaria (Spanish for "University City") district is located in the south area of the city, next to the Parque Sarmiento park. The Universidad Nacional de Cordoba has most of its facilities in this area. It's the first university built in Argentina by Jesuits, an it's very well known in all the world because its prestige. Many important scientists that are required around the world studied there. Also, in March 1918, students at the National University of Cordoba (UNC) rebelled against the university system, accusing professors of being authoritarian, inefficient, clerically oriented, and obscurantist. The distinctive nature of the movement derived not only from its radical demands, but also from its extremist tactics, the level of sophistication of its organization, and its major continental impact. In fact, the Reform Movement rapidly spread from Cordoba to Lima (1919), Cuzco (1920), Santiago de Chile (1920), and Mexico (1921). Another important university, the UTN, dedicated to the teaching of engineering sciences, is located in this part of the city. There are also a gym and football stadium and tennis courts for the students. The Cordoba Zoo is located in the district.
Arguello is located about 6 kilometers (3.75 miles) from Cerro de Las Rosas. It is famous for its well-known high schools such as Colegio Aleman, La Salle and Colegio del Carmen, other very prestigious high school in Cordoba is San Jose from Sol de Mayo, that is located in Alto Alberdi. Over the last decade, this neighborhood has experienced steady growth. Especially in the area of Barrio La Carolina, where private country communities such as Las Delicias and *Lomas de La Carolina have hosted important celebrities and government officials such as former Argentinean President Carlos Menem and basketball legend Marcelo Milanesio from Asociacion Deportiva Atenas.
Economy
Since World War II, Cordoba has been developing a versatile industrial base. The biggest sectors are car manufacturing , railway construction (Materfer) and aircraft construction . Furthermore there are textile, heavy and chemical industry and some agrobusiness.
Cordoba has been considered the technological centre of Argentina. The Argentinian spaceport (Centro Espacial Teofilo Tabanera) in the suburb Falda del Carmen, where satellites are being constructed and operated is located in the area. The software and electronic industries are advancing and exporting more and more goods.
People
see
Sports
Football (soccer), like in the rest of Argentina, is the most popular sport. Several leagues and divisions compete in the local championship annually. Some important teams are Talleres, Instituto, Belgrano, Racing de Cordoba, and General Paz Juniors.
Basketball could arguably be the second most popular sport in Cordoba city. Asociacion Deportiva Atenas is the most popular club, and one of the most successful in Argentina, having won the National League (LNB) seven times, and being three times winner of the South American League.
Golf and tennis are very played too, there are player that started playing in Cordoba like Angel "Pato" Cabrera in golf and David Nalbandian in tennis.
Rugby union is also a very popular sport in the city of Cordoba, which has close to 20 teams with many divisions. Tala Rugby Club, La Tablada,Palermo Bajo, and the Cordoba Athletic Club(one of the most ancients clubs of the Argentine and found by Britishmen (that worked in the built of the Argentine Railroads) in the year 1882, are some of the most prestigious teams. Cordoba is one of the more strongs rugby places in the Argentine, and many international players, that plays for the Argentine and Italy -between other countries-began their sport activity in clubs of Cordoba.
The Argentine stage of the World Rally Championship has been run not far from the city since 2004. Hockeyand tennis are also important sports in Cordoba.
Culture and contemporary life
Literature
Cordoba has long been considered one of the most cultural cities of Argentina. Literary activity flourished in the city at the beginning of the last century. Cordoba was the city of Leopoldo Lugones, Arturo Capdevila and Marcos Aginis, among other many prestigious writers.
Music
The typical music in Cordoba is the cuarteto. It can be heard in many parties and pubs. The most popular cuarteto singers are: Carlos MonaJimenez, Rodrigo,La Barra and Jean Carlos among others. The places they usually sing are named bailes(dances). One of the first groups was Cuarteto de Oro.
Cordoba also enjoys a rich musical culture that includes classical, jazz, rock, pop and electronic in a variety of bars, pubs and dancing clubs. Cordoba is house of the Teatro San Martin, that regularly features classical music, folk music, theater plays, etc.
Monuments
Cordoba has many historical monuments left over from the colonial era. In the centre, near the Plaza San Martinsquare, is the Jesuit Cathedral, whose altar is made of stone and silver from Potosi. Every ornament inside is made of gold and the roof is all painted with different images from the Bible. Another important building is the Cabildo(colonial government house), located next to the church. The Jesuit Block, the Monserrat School, the University and the church of the Society of Jesus are located in Cordoba.
Festivals
Different festivals occur year-round. The first is in February, the Carnaval, where children enjoy throwing water balloons at people on the street.
Then in the middle of the year, on July 20, Friend Dayis celebrated. Usually, most of the teenagers meet at Parque de las Nacionesor Parque Sarmientoand spend the afternoon there. At night, they go dancing to different places, and enjoy a drink.
The last festival is Spring Day'', held on September 21. Many go to the park or spend the day in the nearby city of Villa Carlos Paz. There they can enjoy lots of activities like concerts, dancing, going down town or visiting the river bank.
Theatres
Teatro el Libertador, formerly known as Rivera Indarte
Teatro Comedia
Teatro San Martin
Teatro Colon
Entertainment
The city's nightlife is very active and has attracted residents and tourists alike, the following nightclubs and pubs, also known as boliches, are hot spots among the young locals:
North zone: Club F, Hill Rose, Contender, Meet, Septimo, Infierno, Container, Nodo, Carreras, Lokitas, Sephia, Candem.
Nueva Cordoba: Alquimia, La Quema, La Morada, La barra, La Coqueta, La Osa Disco, Mitre.
Abasto zone: Next to the Suquia river, it is the most diverse entertainment zone in the city. Here you can find cuarteto (Punta Alvear), karaoke rock pubs (El bebedero), live rock acts , electronic music discos , pop discos (Vilaro), and many other interesting places, such as El Ojo Bizarro, Moscu, , La Jungla, Gabana, Oxi
Bailes (Cuarteto): Vieja Usina, Club Deportivo, Estadio del Centro, Palm Beach, Sala del Rey, Loft Disco, Maracana, Complejo Forja, Sargento Cabral, Estadio Juniors.
Cordoba also has a long list of upscale dining establishments serving a wide array of cuisine, some notable destinations include Supperclub, Sushiclub, and Johnny B. Good in the Barrio Cerro de las Rosas.
Transportation
The Cordoba public transport system includes buses, trolleybuses and taxi-cabs. Long-distance buses cover most cities and towns throughout the country.
There is a long-distance railway passenger services twice weekly overnight service to Buenos Aires and a once weekly overnight service northwest to Tucuman and stations in-between provided by Ferrocentral.
An ongoing project to build a high-speed train between Buenos Aires-Rosario-Cordoba, scheduled to be started in 2008, with a inauguration in 2010, it will join Cordoba and Buenos Aires with an intermediate stop in Rosario in about 3 hours at speeds of up to 300 km/h.
The city is served by the nation's third largest airport Ingeniero Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport.
Twin cities
Cordoba has 17 twin cities:
External links
Municipality of Cordoba - Official website.
Guide of Cordoba (especially for culture and nightlife)
La Voz del Interior - Cordoba's most important newspaper
Universidad Tecnologica Nacional - Facultad Regional Cordoba
Capillas y Templos de la Provincia de Cordoba - Argentina
Cordoba Debate - The Vestibule of the City
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cordoba, Argentina
