Azul, Buenos Aires Explained

Official Name:Azul
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize1:200
Coordinates:-36.7833°N -110°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:Partido
Subdivision Name2:Azul
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:December 16, 1832
Elevation M:137
Population Total:55,728
Population As Of:2010 census
Population Density Km2:auto
Postal Code Type:CPA Base
Postal Code:B 7330
Area Code:+54 2281
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Cfa

Azul (pronounced as /es/, English: "blue", for the stream Azul, which flows through the area) is the head city of the Azul Partido, located at the center of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, 300 km south of Buenos Aires. It has 63,000 inhabitants as per the .Its principal, goods-producing economic activities are agriculture and the raising of cattle for meat and leather exports. Home to a dynamic services sector, over 2,000 commercial businesses are registered in the city.[1] The town was founded on December 16, 1832, following Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas' orders for the construction of a fort, San Serapio Mártir del Arroyo Azul, to guard against indigenous raids. Subsequent land grants led to the development of a stable community, and in 1895, Azul was formally declared a town by provincial authorities. The local cathedral, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, was consecrated in 1906. The town's cemetery portal and main slaughterhouse were both designed by architect Francisco Salamone, and contain elements of Art Deco style. Built in the late 1930s, these buildings were some of the first examples of modern architecture in rural Argentina. The town was the scene of an attack on outlying Army barracks by far-left ERP militants on January 19, 1974, the most violent assault of its kind in the country up to that point.

Azul is home to the schools of Agronomy and Law of the National University of Central Buenos Aires. The Teatro Español, founded in the city in 1897, is among the most important of the central pampas area, and in 1992, hosted the Bolshoi Ballet.[2]

The Miguel de Cervantes Festival is held there every spring since 2007, and Casa Ronco, an antiquarian library and museum, maintains the country's best collections relating to the noted Spanish writer. Casa Ronco is named after the collector Bartolomé Ronco. Azul was declared Argentina's "City of Cervantes" by UNESCO in 2007.[3]

Notable people

References

-36.7833°N -110°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.azulesturismo.com.ar/historia/ Subcomisión de Turismo: Azul es Historia
  2. http://www.teatroespanol.azul.com.ar/ Teatro Español de Azul
  3. http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/01/26/conexiones/t-01351560.htm Clarín (26 January 2007)