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Rosario

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pablo-flores (talk | contribs) at 17:29, 10 March 2006 (→Notable people from Rosario: added Gerardo Barbero, chess grandmaster). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
For other uses, see Rosario (disambiguation).

Template:Placebox-begin Template:City-header-ar Template:Placebox-begin-data Template:Placebox-image Template:City-poli-ar Template:Placebox-area Template:Placebox-coor Template:Placebox-elevation Template:Placebox-people Template:Placebox-density Template:Placebox-phone-ar Template:Placebox-postal-code-ar Template:City-authority Template:Placebox-image Template:Placebox-end-data Template:Placebox-end Rosario is the largest city of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and the third most populous in the country, after Córdoba and Buenos Aires. It is located 310 km northwest of Buenos Aires, on the Western shore of the Paraná River.

Rosario is the head town of the Rosario Department and forms the core of Argentina's "Industrial Corridor". Its suburbia and several neighboring towns form nearly an urban continuum, the Greater Rosario, with 1,121,441 inhabitants according to the 2001 census [INDEC], making it the third-largest conurbation in the country.

Along with Paraná, Rosario is one of the few Argentine cities that cannot point to a particular individual as its founder. The city's patron is the Virgen del Rosario (feast day October 7).

The city is a major railroad terminal and the shipping center for northeastern Argentina. Ocean steamers reach the city via the Paraná River, which allows the existence of a 32-feet deep port. The Port of Rosario is subject to silting and must be dredged periodically (the river is soon to be further dredged up to a depth of 34 feet). Exports include wheat, flour, hay, linseed and other vegetable oils, corn, sugar, lumber, meats, hides, and wool. Manufactures include flour, sugar, meat products, and other foodstuffs. A bridge running over the Paraná River to connect Rosario with the city of Victoria was opened in 2003.

File:Rosario desde el aire 1.jpg
Rosario viewed from a point above the Paraná River

History

Main article: History of Rosario

The permanent settlement of today's Rosario area began of the 17th century. There was no clear foundation date. The first landowner was Captain Luis Romero de Pineda, and the first formal colonial settlement was initiated by Santiago de Montenegro, who was appointed Mayor in 1751.

The Eternal Flame and the Tower of the National Flag Memorial

On 1812-02-27, General Manuel Belgrano raised the newly created Argentine flag on the shores of the Paraná, for the first time.

Until the 1850s Rosario was a small village of 3,000 inhabitants, with its port banned from foreign trade by a 1841 decree of Juan Manuel de Rosas. On 1852-08-05 Rosario was declared a city after a request by Justo José de Urquiza, who also opened up international trade. By 1880, Rosario had become the first export outlet of Argentina; in 1887 it had about 50,000 inhabitants. It was even declared the federal capital in three occasions, but each time it was vetoed by the Executive Branch.

In the last 15 years of the century, the city more than doubled in population, in part owing to immigration. Demographic growth took its toll of bad living conditions, epidemics and labour exploitation. By 1926 Rosario had 407,000 inhabitants, 47% of them foreign, many brought from Europe in the wake of World War I.

In 1946 Rosario massively supported Juan Perón's rise to power. The city received the benefits of the nationalization and subsidizing of many industries. Perón was deposed in 1955. In 1969 workers and students took the streets to protest against the dictatorship (Rosariazo). During the dictatorship started in 1976, hundreds of citizens were "disappeared" by the government. The city hosted some matches of the Football World Cup 1978.

A villa miseria beside a railway track, in north-eastern Rosario.

In 1983 Argentina returned to democratic rule. Hyperinflation caused an economic collapse of the country in 1989. In Rosario there were episodes of looting. Under the Menem administration the situation became worse as the industrial sector of the city was dismantled by foreign competition and the agricultural exports stagnated. In 1995 unemployment in the area reached 21.1%, and a large part of Rosario's population fell under the poverty line. Since then, villas miseria (shantytowns) have grown, usually augmented by internal migration from poorer areas of the country (particularly Chaco); the last survey (1996) indicated the presence of 91 "precarious urban settlements", with 115,000 inhabitants. [1]

Since the recovery of the national economy that followed the 2001 collapse, Rosario's economic situation has improved. The boom in agricultural exports has caused a large amount of consumer spending and investment. Mayor Miguel Lifschitz's administration is taking advantage of the economic boom to invest heavily in public works, as well as public health (which takes up about a quarter of the whole budget).

Institutions

Faculty of Engineering of the UNR, on Pellegrini Avenue.

Rosario is an important educational center on the national and international level. It is the home of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) since 1968, and of a regional faculty of the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN), which are both public and free; also the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), the Universidad Austral, the Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano (UCEL) and the Universidad Abierta Interamericana (UAI), which are private institutions.

Rosario is also seat of the soccer teams Rosario Central (founded 1889) and Newell's Old Boys (founded 1903).

The city has three notable newspapers: La Capital (Argentina's oldest still-published newspaper, founded 1867), Rosario/12 (founded 1991), and El Ciudadano & la Región (founded 1999).

The city has several museums, among which are to be noted: the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes "Juan B. Castagnino", the Museo Municipal de Arte Decorativo "Firma y Odilio Estévez", the Museo Histórico Provincial "Dr. Julio Marc", the Museo de la Ciudad, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRo). The Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales "Dr. Ángel Gallardo" is being reconstructed after a fire in 2003, and there are projects to move the Museo Nacional de Arte Oriental, which currently shares a building with the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo in Buenos Aires, to Rosario.

Rosario City Planetarium.

Rosario has a public astronomical complex consisting on an observatory (inaugurated in 1970) and a planetarium (1984). It is located within Urquiza Park.

There are four AM radio stations: three private ones, Radio 2 (LT2), LT3 and LT8, and one public, Radio Nacional Rosario, property of the national state. Among the multitude of FM stations some notable ones are FM Vida, Estación del Siglo, Radiofónica, Clásica Rosario, etc.

As for television, Rosario has two private local channels, Canal 3 and Canal 5 (the latter is part of the national network Telefé), and a relay station for the public national station, Canal 7 Argentina. Besides, there are three cable TV networks (the national ones Cablevisión and Multicanal, and a local net, Cablehogar), which support two local channels, Canal 4 Noticias and Canal 6.

Government

Main article: Government of Rosario
Palacio de los Leones

Rosario is ruled by an Executive Branch represented by a Mayor (seat: Palacio de los Leones), and a Legislative Branch, consisting of a Deliberative Council (seat: Palacio Vassallo). The Mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Council renews half of its 21 members every two years.

The city is divided into six large administrative districts (Center, North, Northwest, West, Southwest, and South), with Municipal District Centers that provide services to the citizens.

Local people and institutions are pushing the provincial government to grant Rosario the status of Autonomous City. Some, with the sponsorship of the governors of Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba as well as other important politicians, have put forward a legislative project to move the National Congress to Rosario, to decentralise the national government.

Since the return to democracy in 1983, the Mayors of Rosario were Horacio Usandizaga, Héctor Cavallero, Hermes Binner, and the current one, Miguel Lifschitz (of the Socialist Party, elected in 2003, until 2007).

The city does not have a police force of its own (it is served by the provincial police), but in 2004 it pioneered the creation of a special patrol force of unarmed officers called Guardia Urbana Municipal ("Municipal Urban Guard").

Geography and urban structure

Main article: Geography of Rosario
The Paraná River from the north-east of Rosario.

Rosario lies on the ravine of the right-hand shore of the Paraná, about 24 m above mean sea level, in a place with a natural slope to the low shore. The point of origin of the city is Plaza 25 de Mayo ("May 25 Square"), now surrounded by the Municipality (Palacio de los Leones), the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Central Post Office, the Decorative Art Museum and a building called La Bola de Nieve ("The Snowball"). Between the Cathedral and the municipal building is Pasaje Juramento ("Oath Passage"), leading to the Flag Memorial. The streets mostly follow a regular checkerboard pattern.

Belgrano Avenue, near the Flag Memorial, with floss silk trees along its central reservation

Córdoba Street begins in the Flag Memorial Park, climbs toward the center, and becomes a pedestrian walk for seven blocks, between Plaza 25 de Mayo and Plaza Pringles. Along Córdoba to the west there is the Paseo del Siglo ("Walk of the Century"), with former houses of wealthy families. There is also Plaza San Martín, and elsewhere, Plaza Montenegro (on Peatonal San Martín, the pedestrian-only four blocks of San Martín Street) and Plaza Sarmiento.

Oroño Boulevard (going north–south) and Pellegrini Avenue (east–west) mark the boundaries of the town center together with the river. At their confluence starts the Parque Independencia (Independence Park), that houses the J. B. Castagnino Museum of Fine Arts, the Newell's Old Boys football club, and the sports clubs Provincial and Gimnasia y Esgrima, as well as the horse racetrack and the former Sociedad Rural (Rural Society).

Parroquia del Perpetuo Socorro, a church in the Lisandro de la Torre neighbourhood.

Towards the south, beyond Pellegrini Avenue, there are two more boulevards, 27 de Febrero and Seguí, and avenues Uriburu, Arijón and Battle y Ordóñez.

To the west, after Oroño, there are the avenues Ovidio Lagos and Francia, Avellaneda Boulevard and Provincias Unidas Avenue. The main barrios in the south are La Tablada, Parque Casado, Las Heras, Las Delicias and Las Flores. The city ends in the Saladillo Stream.

Among the barrios in the west are Echesortu, Belgrano, Triángulo, Moderno, Godoy and Fisherton. To the north-east there lie Pichincha, Ludueña, Lisandro de la Torre (home of Rosario Central's stadium) and Empalme Graneros.

Next to the stadium there is the Leandro N. Alem Park, and nearby the Sorrento thermal power plant. To the north lie the barrios of Alberdi, La Florida (with a popular beach resort of the same name) and Rucci. The main streets are Alberdi Avenue and its continuation, Rondeau Boulevard (which leads to the Rosario-Victoria Bridge and the city of Granadero Baigorria). These are crossed by several avenues: Las Tres Vías, Génova, Sorrento and Puccio.

An important part of Rosario's urban character is its coastline. The city recovered the shore of the Paraná not long ago, thanks to a reorganization of terrains formerly owned by the port and the national railroad system. Going from the center immediately north of the port, the coastline is occupied by parks: Parque Nacional a la Bandera, Parque de España, Parque de las Colectividades and Parque Sunchales.

Climate and natural hazards

The Rosario area has a Pampean temperate climate, with average temperatures of 23.4 ºC (maximum) and 11.6 ºC (minimum), and an annual rainfall of 1,038 mm. Snow is almost unheard of (the last instance was in 1973); serious earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions are virtually impossible.

Transportation

See also the main articles: Rosario International Airport, Port of Rosario

The city has about 40 urban bus lines, and several short-distance lines that serve the whole metropolitan area. The urban buses charge a relatively small fee (owing to the national government's heavy subsidies on fuel for public transportation), pre-paid by means of a disposable paper card with a magnetic stripe which can be bought from post offices, automatic vending machines, and private businesses. For emergencies, a larger fee can be deposited in cash, using a coin machine in the bus unit. The interurban lines have differential fees and some allow payment in cash only.

The front door and clock tower of the Mariano Moreno Bus Terminal, on Cafferatta St., Rosario

The urban bus fleet was partially renewed during the recovery of the national economy, since 2003; as of 2005 the average age of the buses is 5 years and 11 months. The better economic context has also induced an increased use of public transportation, and comparatively less use of bicycles. According to the Rosario Transportation Office, in 2005 there were about 11 million bus trips per month. [2]

The Bus Terminal (Terminal de Ómnibus Mariano Moreno), from which long-distance buses depart, is placed in a central geographic location, some 25 blocks from the "town center", in front of the Patio de la Madera complex. A secondary node is located in the center, on Plaza Sarmiento. A bus trip from Rosario to Buenos Aires takes about four hours. In January 2006 the Terminal saw a daily average of 900 bus arrivals and departures (about 36,000 passengers).

Rosario has a medium-sized taxi fleet, with units painted black and outlined in yellow. Some belong to radio-taxi companies and can be reserved by telephone; others only in the streets. As the economy of Argentina recovers, the capacity of the taxi fleet has been strained by higher usage. In September 2005, the Deliberative Council approved a moderate rise in taxi fees and the compulsory installation of radio-call systems in all taxi units.

Patio Parada, base of operations of the NCA railway company.

As a curiosity, Rosario has a large number of vehicles which run on natural gas, as it happens also in Argentina as a whole, and all gas stations provide it. Its price is quite low compared to the alternatives. The idea to transform all buses to this system did not prosper; most buses run on cheap (subsidized) diesel, and one line uses electricity from an aerial network.

The Rosario Airport is located far from the urbanized area, some 13 km away from the center, partly in the municipal jurisdiction of Funes. After decades of stagnation, in recent years it has expanded its technical capacities and can now service international flights.

The Port of Rosario, located on the shore of the southern part of the city, is dredged to a depth of 32 feet and can serve Panamax kind vessels. It is managed by an autonomous public entity that oversees a concession to a mixed Spanish-Argentine corporation. In 2003 its traffic amounted to 2.9 million tonnes.

The passenger train system was severely damaged by the privatization of most railway companies in the 1990s, but is slowly recovering. The lines of the Nuevo Central Argentino railway company service most of the cargo.

Communications

The base of operations of Telecom Argentina in Rosario

Rosario is located at the center of Argentina's optical fiber ring. The main data transport companies offer all their services in the city, from public phones to mobile networks and broadband Internet access through DSL, cable modem and Wi-Fi, and including public Internet navigation centers (cybercafes).

About 86% of homes have a domestic telephone line, giving a total of 272,170 lines; cell phone usage has also become pervasive, as happened in Argentina as a whole since the beginning of the 21st century, reaching over 36% of the residents (330,000 mobile lines in July 2004). This demand, exacerbated by low prices and sale promotions, and coupled with restrictions on the installation of antennas and alleged lack of investment by the providers, sometimes degrades the quality of the service. Most notably, the mobile network collapsed almost completely in the celebrations of Christmas, New Year's Day and Friend's Day in 2004 and 2005.

Culture

El Círculo Theater on Laprida & Mendoza St.

Rosario is characterized by an intense cultural activity in many art disciplines, with a national and international reach. The city has given Argentina important characters in the fields of music, painting, philosophical and political thought, poetry and prose, medicine, and law.

Notable people from Rosario

This list is of course not exhaustive.

Language

Rosario is one of the main urban centers of the Rioplatense Spanish dialect. The intra-dialectal differences with Buenos Aires and other cities in the same area are minimal, though rosarinos are commonly believed to aspirate and suppress their final -s more than porteños, and there are also minor lexical variants.

The city has a local language game, sometimes employed as slang, called Rosarigasino (related to jeringozo).

Holidays

  • June 20: Día de la Bandera Nacional (National Flag Day). Commemoration of General Manuel Belgrano's death. National holiday. Military and civic parade at the National Flag Memorial, including the world's longest flag (more than 10 km long as of 2005), which is carried by citizens along the National Flag Park.
  • July 20: Día del Amigo (Friend's Day). This celebration of friendship is common throughout Argentina, but especially popular as a mass phenomenon in Rosario.
  • 21 September: Spring Day and Students' Day. National informal holiday for students and all young people. Even though the precise time of the astronomical spring equinox is variable, seasons in Argentina are conventionally deemed to begin on the 21st day of the corresponding month. People from Rosario usually gather at the city's parks, travel to nearby towns (notably Funes) or cross the Paraná River to visit the island resorts.
  • October 7: Día de la Virgen del Rosario (Day of the Virgin of the Rosary, patron of the city). Catholic celebrations and procession. Local public holiday. This is a free day for schools and university students, municipal employees, and employees of the provincial state residing in Rosario.

See also: Public holidays in Argentina.

Events

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosario.
In Spanish unless otherwise noted.

Sources

  • Municipalidad de Rosario - Historia (in Spanish)
  • Municipalidad de Rosario - Información geográfica (in Spanish)
  • Municipal information: Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina. (in Spanish)
  • "Rosario". Santa Fe provincial government.


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