San Juan, Argentina

Infobox Settlement
official_name = San Juan
settlement_type = City
nickname = Residencia del sol


pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
pushpin_map_caption = Location in Argentina
pushpin_mapsize = 200
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Argentina
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = San Juan
subdivision_type2 = Department
subdivision_name2 = Capital Department
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1562
founder = Juan Jufré
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Limá, Marcelo
area_magnitude =
unit_pref = Metric
area_total_km2 = 30
elevation_m = 250
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 112778
population_urban = 500000
population_footnotes = [cite web |url=http://www.indec.gov.ar/censo2001s2_2/Datos/50000C22.xls |title=Annual Estimates of the Censo 2008 - Resultados provinciales San Juan |publisher=INDEC |year=2008 |accessdate=2008-03-11]
population_density_km2 = 3759.3
population_blank1_title = Demonym
population_blank1 = sanjuanino
time_zone = ART
utc_offset = -3
time_zone_DST = ART
utc_offset_DST = -2
postal_code_type = CPA Base
postal_code = 5400
area_code = +54 264
latd=31 |latm=32 |lats=03 |latNS=S
longd=68 |longm=31 |longs=34 |longEW=W
website = [http://www.municipiosanjuan.gov.ar www.municipiosanjuan.gov.ar]

San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at convert|46|m|ft|0|lk=on|abbr=on above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the census-ar|2001 (over 450,000 in the metropolitan area).

It is a modern city with wide streets and well drawn avenues with wide sidewalks and vegetation of different species of trees irrigated by canals, (therefore its nickname "oasis town").

It has an important accommodation infrastructure and transportation. It highlights modern buildings and the surroundings, the reservoir and Ullum dam, spas, museums, large plantations of vines, and various types of agriculture, with wine being the most important.

History and architecture

Before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, the Huarpe Indians inhabited this area.

San Juan de la Frontera was founded on June 13 1562 by Juan Jufré at the shore of the San Juan River. In 1593 flooding damaged the town, for which reason its setting was moved 2.5 km South to its current location.San Juán was a sleepy, provincial town during colonial times (1562-1810) and took practically no part in the internal wars that devastated Argentina in its so-called "Organizational Period" (1820-1860.) Two of the most prominent members of the 1816 Congress of Tucumán which declared Argentina's independence from Spain, however, came from San Juán: Narciso Fernández de Laprida, who was president of the congress, and San Juan's bishop Friar Justo Santa María de Oro, a Dominican friar and an eloquent speaker whose persuasive oratory was largely responsible for Argentina becoming a republic and not a monarchy like Brazil.

Probably the most important and famous city son was Fray Justo's nephew Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, whose birthplace was turned into a National Historical Monument in 1910, during the administration of president Roque Sáenz Peña.

On January 15, 1944, a powerful earthquake devastated the city, killing around 10,000 people and leaving half of the provincial population homeless. Another quake, 7.4 in the Richter magnitude scale, struck 80 km northeast of the city on November 23, 1977, causing considerable damage and killing 65 people around the province.

After the disaster of 1944, the city was reconstructed on concentric boulevards, with straight, well lit, tree-lined avenues and modern housing. It has mostly lost its colonial aspect, but retains an open, sunny Mediterranean look. San Juan possesses one of the most modern and active concert halls in Argentina, as well as many leafy parks and squares, including Parque de Mayo with its vast artificial lake.

The old cathedral, an 18th century Jesuit style building, was destroyed in the 1944 earthquake, but has been replaced by a modern-Tuscan-romanesque building with a campanile. San Juan is the seat of a Roman Catholic metropolitan Archbishop and a Catholic University.

Geography and climate

The city of San Juan is located in a fertile valley within a rocky mountainous area. Winter temperatures are generally mild, between 1 °C and 18 °C, while summers are hot and very dry, with temperatures between 19 °C and 35 °C.

Since very little rain falls in the region, the San Juan River has been dammed to provide a regular source of water to the city. The resulting reservoir is located in Ullum, and is known as the Quebrada de Ullum Dam. The dam also provides electrical power to the region.

Sixty-five percent of agricultural production is related to wine production.

Urban aspect

The city of San Juan completely changed its appearance from a colonial one to one of the most modern in the country after the earthquake of 1944, with well-drawn and wide paved streets, ample paths with mosaics, and forests of bananas, moreras and paradises irrigated by channels (small drains).

The city is located within the Capital District, the plot of the same one is developed in form of draws into squares checkerboard forming a boundary by the streets Las Heras (that runs from North to South), 25 de Mayo (runs from East to West), 9 de Julio (runs from east to west) and the Guillermo Rawson Avenue (runs from north to south). These four avenues form a perfect rectangle made up of 16 blocks wide (going from east to west and vice versa -horizontally-) by 10 blocks long (going up and down or North to South and vice versa). This rectangle, in its interior conforms a square of 7 blocks of length by 6 blocks of wide, that is "microcentro ", delimited by four avenues and are the Avenue Leandro N. Alem, Cordoba Avenue, Avenue Libertador San Martín and Avenida Rioja. This area is considered to be the most densely populated and possess a great amount of tall buildings; it concentrates most of the commercial, financial and institutional activities.

The most important perpendicular streets are the street Mitre, whose circulation it has been for the east, en this street is cinemas and to cyber cafe, the Central Avenue José Ignacio de la Roza, it was built after the ample earthquake,it has not boulevard. Santa Fe street, his circulation is for the west, pòr where hundreds of lines of groups circulate and the commercial activity is intense, Rivadavia street, its circulation has been for the east, the section of two blocks an intense commercial activity is transformed into peatonal creating and San Martín Avenue, is the main movement route are supermarkets and are the leapfrog all of groups of Great San Juan. The more important parallel arteries have been the Mendoza street, their circulation is for the south and thus it unites to Villa Krause with the city, General street Mariano Acha and main the Rioja Avenue main arteries are the s. The most important sites are:

*Cathedral Work of the prestigious architect Daniel Branches Strap, was inaugurated the 16 of December 1979. The bell tower is a needle of 51 meters of height from its foundations with a viewpoint to 33 meters of the ground. It has aBig-Ben clock and a German carillon whose sones, every 15 minutes, accompanies the daily life by the city. To the temple it is acceded by a bronze vestibule worked in Faenza (Italy) with bas-relief of Santa Rosa of Lima, San Luis king of France, the Santiago apostle, Santa Ana and several shields and emblems. In the basement of the church is the cripta, the pantheon of the bishops and the chapel of Right Fray Santa Maria of Gold.
*Seat 25 of May Is the main seat of the City and constitutes a green space of colorful characteristics, also are the statues of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Right Fray Santa Maria de Oro with more than 100 years. The central source, that dates from year 1871, was remodelada in several occasions. The toads extractors are work of the escultor Miguel Sugo Angel.

*Aberastain seatHe was lawyer and he was Governor of the province. This seat this taken care of very well and is characterized by its permanent hygiene and in the center is the statue of Aberastain.
*Peatonal Tucumán and RivadaviaAre the most important stroll of the city, is where the commercial activity of different headings is concentrated in majority. They are wide and with excellent forestación and is the step forced for the sanjuaninos and tourists.

*Park of May In Mayof 1910 when commemorating itself the centenary of the rebolución of May, is inagurado is green space, from comes its name there. Be lung of the city is in the intersection of the streets Reconciled Liberating General San Martín and the Heras, has infantile games, an artificial lake with an island, fish and aquatic birds, a velodrome, kartódromo and sentenares of statues between the outstanding are the one of General San Martín, the one of Federico Cantoni (governor of the province) and the one of the monument to the sport..

Transport

The city has a modern infrastructure such as highways Avenue Ringroad, the South Access among others. This avenue has been within the urban perimeter, which is why a project is the construction of another ring covering the entire city. This might be termed as the Orbital motorway or dual carriageway, and that his movement will take the form surrounding the Great San Juan, as an orbit, preventing access by large trucks carrying inside the city. It also calls for tenders for the project through another rapid called South Corridor connecting San Juan (center) with the southern suburbs ((Rawson)

The urban public transport passengers from the City of San Juan consists of bus lines marked with numbers and letters (19 or 26A), linking the city centre with the various neighbourhoods and the rest of the Great San Juan. In May 2008, the minimum cost of the ticket is $ 1.30. The city also has taxi service and remises.

The uncontrolled growth of the city means new means of transportation, so this study on the installation of trolley for ajilizar the current public transport which achieved unite the City of San Juan with the other major cities of the Gran San Juan. The routes would unite Chimbas-San Juan (Center)-Villa Krause and the other would Rivadavia-San Juan (Center)-Santa Lucia. Also on the proposed installation of trams by the City Council of San Juan, which would circulate the city centre.

Public transport long distance is addressed in the modern "Bus Terminal," with more than 6,000 sq metres over the area of platforms and platform of about 4,000 sq metres or so. Holds hall waiting for the local administration, ticketing, information office, police, first-aid room, telephone booths, shops, restaurant, kitchen and sanitary.

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport is located 15 kilometers from the city in the Department 9 de Julio, more precisely in the village of Las Chacritas carried that name until recently. It is located at coordinates [display in an interactive map] 31 ° 34'18 .70 "S, 68 ° 25'23 .00" O. IATA Code: UAQ. This airport serves the airlift from San Juan was the city of Buenos Aires The city lays on National Route 40 that connects it with Mendoza (168 km) to the south and La Rioja (449 km) to the north, and is connected to the National Route 20, that leads to San Luis (323 km). Distance to other cities: Córdoba (585 km), Catamarca (623 km) and Buenos Aires (1110 km).

Tourism

Tourism to San Juan is centered around wine production and dégustation as well as the extraordinary rock formations in places like the Ischigualasto National Park, 330 kilometres form the city, also called the Valle de la Luna and the Quebrada de Ullum Dam, at 18 km from the city.

An integral attraction to the province is its large Triassic period fossil record, believed to be one of the largest in the world.

Another curiosity of sorts is the Difunta Correa sanctuary, 64 km kilometres away from San Juan, on route 141.

There is also the celebrated Mariano Gambier Archeology museum at La Laja, Albardón county, some 25 km from the center of the city. It concerns itself with the many cultures that inhabited San Juan from Pre-History till the arrival of the Spaniards in 1560. It has a priceless collection of Indian artifacts, cave paintings and other elements of agriculture and life in the Tulum valley from the last 8500 years.

*Museums
*Casa Domingo Faustino Sarmiento is located in the intersection of Libertador General San Martín Avenue and Sarmiento street. It was the first historical monument declared in our country, 1910. In this house it was born the illustrious educator and president of the republic, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, the 15 of February 1811. At the present time it has 9 rooms, in which relics, furniture, commemorative photographies, medals, periodics and books written by Sarmiento in its original collections, can be admired. In the central patio of the house one can find a sprout of the famous fig tree and a replica of the historical loom of Doña Paula, his mother, whom Sarmiento mentions in his book "Recuerdos de Provincia "..

* Museum of Fine arts "Franklin Rawson" - Historical Provincial Museum "Agustín Gnecco" located in the intersection of General Paz street and G. Rawson Avenue. There one finds a valuable patrimony of paintings and sculptures, engravings and drawings of the greatest national masters. In the second one are outlined elements related to the fashion of the XVIIIth and XIXth century, Creole silverwork(silver), collection of numismatics and philately.

* Museum Amid Read - House of the Tango " Carlos Gardel . This museum is located on General Mariano Acha street between Brazil and Manuel Belgrano streets, with displays and videos about The tango and its evolution in the 20th century. Conferences, discussions, classes of Violin and Bandoneón are among the activities conducted here.

References

External links

* [http://www.municipiosanjuan.gov.ar/ Municipality of San Juan] - Official website.
*ar-mi-muni|SJU012
* [http://www.welcomeargentina.com/sanjuan/index_i.html City info]
* [http://www.eeri.org/lfe/argentina_san_juan.html Earthquakes in San Juan]
* [http://www.travelsanjuan.com.ar/ San Juan Tourist Guide] (English - Spanish - German)
* [http://sanjuan.agendaurbana.com/ San Juan Events Guide] (Spanish)