Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of
Argentina, in the foothills of the
Sierras Chicas mountains on the
Suquía River, about 700 km west-northwest from
Buenos Aires. It is the capital of
Córdoba Province. As of 2006 Córdoba has an estimated population of over 1,300,000 inhabitants, making it Argentina's
second-largest city. It is a major industrial center, but retains many of its historical buildings dating from the colonial era.
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Córdoba International Airport |
The
Centro (Spanish for "downtown") is the most important commercial area, with clothes, food, hardware, fishing equipment, shoes, computer shops, etc., as well as the most important banks like Bank of Córdoba and other private banking institutions. There's also a variety of restaurants with varying food and prices, from
McDonalds to Italian pasta or, in a typical Argentine restaurant,
asado barbecue. Sightseeing places include San Martín square,
Jesuit Block (declared
UNESCO World Heritage Site) and
Genaro Perez Museum. Main avenues and streets are
Humberto Primo,
Colón Avenue,
General Paz,
Dean Funes and
27 de Abril where most buses have a bus-stop.
Urca is the second most important district after Cerro de las Rosas. It is an upper class district. There is a supermarket called
Super Urca that has been there for a long time. Urca has many clothing stores and restaurants. The local church,
Maria Madre del Redentor is situated on the river bank of the Suquia River. Urca's main avenues are
Emilio Lamarca and
Menendez Pidal.
Cerro de las Rosas is a very large district. It is known for its famous restaurants like
El Bodegón de Argüello,
Rancho Grande,
Restorante Italiano and
Il Gatto. There are also various retail shops which sell clothing, food and sports equipment in the area. This is a traditional neighbourhood where the oldest houses in the area are located, as well as some schools like
Juan Zorrilla de San Martin,
Padre Claret,
Zubiría and
Fader. There are also pubs and disco clubs where young people go out at night. The most important avenue is
Rafael Nuñez.
Nueva Córdoba is the largest district in the area. It 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 a very important building, set in a corner of
Hipólito Yrigoyen street, called
Ecipsa Tower, where many major companies have their offices. An important cultural place is
Palacio Ferreyra, located at the corner of
Hipólito Yrigoyen and
Chacabuco. Nueva Cordoba has a number of important avenues like
Yrigoyen and
Velez Sarsfield.
The
Ciudad Universitaria (Spanish for "University Campus") district is located in the south area of the city, next to the
Parque Sarmiento park. The
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba has most of its faculties in this area. 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
Córdoba Zoo is located in the district.
Argüello 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,
Academia Argüello,
La Salle and
Colegio del Carmen. 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
Asociación Deportiva Atenas.
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Cabildo (colonial government house) |
Córdoba was founded in
1573 by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, who named it after
Córdoba, Spain. It was one the first
Spanish colonial capitals of the region that is now Argentina (older cities were Buenos Aires, founded in 1536; and Santiago del Estero, founded in
1553). The
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba is the oldest university in South America. It was founded in
1613 by the
Jesuit Order.
After the end of
World War II, Córdoba became a major centre for the Argentine aircraft industry, and the site of Argentina's military aeroplane factory,
Fábrica Militar de Aviones.
The Argentine government offered positions to
German technicians from the
Focke Wulf company at its aerotechnical institute, the
Instituto Aerotécnico in Córdoba. Many moved there in
1947.
The
Instituto Aerotécnico later became the
Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It employed the Focke Wulf men until President
Juan Perón was
ousted by a coup in 1955.
Lockheed Martin purchased FMA in the late 1990s.
Córdoba 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 (Spanish:
Manzana Jesuítica), declared in
2000 as a
World Heritage Site by
UNESCO [
1]. 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 Córdoba) and the church of the
Society of Jesus.
Since World War II, Córdoba has been developing a versatile industrial base. The biggest sectors are car manufacturing (
Renault,
Volkswagen,
Fiat), railway construction (Materfer) and aircraft construction (
Fábrica Militar de Aviones, currently shared between the government and
Lockheed Martin). Furthermore there are textile, heavy and chemical industry and some agrobusiness.
Córdoba has been considered the technological centre of Argentina. The Argentinian
spaceport (Centro Espacial Teófilo Tabanera) in the suburb Falda del Cañete, where
satellites are being constructed and operated is located in the area. The software (
Motorola, Vates,
Intel,
Electronic Data Systems) and electronic industries are advancing and exporting more and more goods.
Soccer, like in the rest of Argentina, is the most popular sport. Several leagues and divisions dispute in the local championship annually. Some important teams are
Instituto,
Talleres,
Belgrano,
Racing de Córdoba,
General Paz Juniors and
Huracán de Barrio La France.
Basketball could arguably be the second most popular sport in Córdoba city.
Asociación 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 Sudamerican League.
Rugby is also a very popular sport in the city of Córdoba, which has close to 20 teams with many divisions.
Tala Rugby Club,
Tablada,
Jockey Club,
Athletic,
Palermo Bajo and
Universitario are some of the most prestigious teams.
The
Argentine stage of the
World Rally Championship has been run not far from the city since
2004. Hockey, tennis, golf and karting are also important sports in Córdoba.
Literature
Córdoba 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. Córdoba was the city of
Leopoldo Lugones, Arturo Capdevila and Marcos Aginis, among other many prestigious writers.
Music
The typical music in Córdoba is the
cuarteto. It can be heard in many parties and pubs. The most popular cuarteto singers are:
Carlos Mona Jiménez, La Barra and Jean Carlos. The places they usually sing are named
bailes (dances). One of the first groups was
Cuarteto de Oro .
Monuments
Córdoba has many historical monuments left over from the colonial era. In the centre, at the
Plaza San Martín square, is the
Jesuit Cathedral, whose altar is made of stone and silver from
Potosí. 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 Córdoba.
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 Day is celebrated. Usually, most of the teenagers meet at
Parque de las Naciones or
Parque Sarmiento and 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 LibertadorTeatro ComediaTeatro San MartínTeatro ColónNight life
There are many discos and places to have fun in different areas of Córdoba.
*North zone: Factory, Hill Rose, Meet, Septimo, Infierno, Container, Nodo, Carreras, Lokitas, Sephia, Candem, etc.
*Nueva Cordoba: Alquimia, La Quema, La Morada, La barra, La Coqueta, La Osa Disco, Mitre, etc.
*Dark zone: Casa Babylon, Club del Vinilo (now is called Club V), El Ojo Bizarro, Hangar 18 (a gay club, now closed), Punta Alvear, El bebedero, Moscú, Vilaro, La Jungla, Gabana, Oxi.
*
Municipality of Córdoba - Official website.
*
Guide of Córdoba (especially for culture and nightlife)
*
La Voz del Interior - Córdoba's most important newspaper
*
University of Córdoba*
Universidad Tecnologica Nacional - Facultad Regional Cordoba
