Bahía Blanca
Encyclopedia
Bahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province
of Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido
. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the . It is the main city in the larger Greater Bahía Blanca
urban agglomeration
.
The city has an important sea port with a depth of 45 feet (15 mt), kept constant upstream almost all along the length of the bay, where the Naposta Stream
drains.
Bahía Blanca means "White Bay
". The name is due to the typical colour of the salt covering the soils surrounding the shores. The bay (which is actually an estuary
) was seen by Ferdinand Magellan
during the first circumnavigation around the world on the orders of Charles I of Spain, in 1520, looking for a canal connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean all along the coasts of South America.
, being named Fortaleza Protectora Argentina (Argentine Protective Fortress), intended to protect dwellers and their cattle from native rustling, and also to protect the coast from the Brazil
ian navy, which had landed in the area the previous year. It was visited by Charles Darwin
during his travels through South America in September 1833. The fortress was attacked by malones (incursions of nomadic aboriginals on horseback) several times, most notably in 1859 by 3,000 Calfucurá
warriors. It became commercially important after the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
linked the town to the city of Buenos Aires
in 1885. As a result, the transport of grain from the Pampa
s was much facilitated.
The fast growth of the local economy, the policy of encouragement of immigration from Europe and the abundance of natural resources of the country attracted many immigrants, mainly from Spain and Italy, and a remarkable number from France, who settled in Pigüé
, about 125 km to the north of the city. Another important foreign settlement close to the city was of Dutch settlers, in Tres Arroyos
, located about 250 km north east. Important groups of immigrants from Germany and Jews from Eastern Europe did also arrive in the city and in the area at the beginning of the 20th century, and also during and after World War II.
European immigrants brought their uses and customs that combined and fused with the already existing social conceptions. There were at least five opera houses in Bahía Blanca at the beginning of the 20th century and six cinemas by 1920.
Puerto Belgrano
, located 29 km to the south-east, is Argentina's largest naval base. Its construction started with a secret decree signed by Argentine President José Evaristo Uriburu
. It was designed and built by the turn of the 19th century (1898-05-12 to 1902-03-08) by Italian engineer Luigi Luiggi, and carried out by a Dutch company named Dirks, Dates & Van Hattem (detailed in the History of Puerto Belgrano).
encompasses The Mayor, in charge of the executive, The City Council, in charge of local legislation, approval and audit of the municipal budget, and a local Judiciary System, in charge of administering justice on behalf of the City regarding all the aspects concerned by municipal legislation. The Mayor and the members of the Council are elected by direct vote while the municipal judges are appointed. The Mayor appoints the members of his cabinet of Secretaries who can be summoned by the Council to whom they are mainly accountable.
Alocal political crisis in March 2006 resulted in the Mayor's request for leave, which was granted by the City Council on March 27, 2006. The Mayor was indicted and the case continues in the local Judiciary. The President of the City Council then took over as Interim Mayor. However, on August 24, 2006 the City Council decided, for the first time in the institutional history of the city, that the former elected Mayor be dismissed. With the apporoval of The Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires, the interim Mayor and former President of the City Council was appointed to complete his predecessor's term.
Bahía Blanca is an important trans-shipping and commercial center, handling the large export trade of grains and wool
from the southern area of Buenos Aires Province, oil
from Neuquén Province
, and fruit from the Río Negro Valley. Its group of sea ports is one of the most important in the country as the only ones that are naturally 33 feet (10 metres) deep, although the depth of the main channel is kept at 40 feet (12.19 metres) by regular maintenance. Along the northeastern shore of the bay, these ports are Puerto Ingeniero White for grains and containers, and Puerto Galván, a smaller one specialising in sunflower and soy oil, and chemicals such as urea. One of the largest urea
industrial producers in the world, Profertil, is located there. Between these two main ports, several industrial and chemical plants operate their own piers. The petrochemical
pole of the region made the port a very convenient one. Competence between Puerto de Bahía Blanca and those located in the shores of Patagonia (subsidized by provincial governments through the National Treasury) made it stronger and very well organized having received investments from the private sector like Cargill that upgraded facilities in the 1980s. The combination of a railroad network for grains linking Rosario (Santa Fe Province), by the shore of Paraná River
) to Bahía Blanca, its trade potential, linking also Bahía Blanca to Zapala
, very close to the border to Chile
and then to the Pacific Ocean shores avoiding days of navigation through Ferrocarril Transandino del Sur, the availability of energy (natural gas and electricity) and human resources make the area quite an interesting one from the industrial and commercial perspectives.
There are several renowned local societies representing the myriad of related economic activities taking place in the region such as Sociedad Rural, Corporación del Comercio y de la Industria, and Sociedad Industrial, all of whom organize conferences and exhibits linked to the branch of trade, commerce or industry their associates carry out. Some of the exhibits are quite traditional and have taken place for many years, such as "Exposición Nacional de Ganadería e Industria de la Sociedad Rural de Bahía Blanca", mainly grouping those devoted to cattle husbandry and sheep breeding, who up to 2006 account for 122 annual displays when there is a contest awarding prizes to the best presented animals.
(BHI/SAZB). There are two daily short-haul flights from Bahía Blanca (BHI) to the domestic flights airport at Buenos Aires (AEP) named "Aeroparque" during weekdays and once a day on Saturday and Sunday, whose carrier is just one: Aerolíneas Argentinas. The Navy operates also a weekly flight to and from Buenos Aires, for servicepeople who commute between the two cities. The local airport's runways belong to the Navy Aviation (BACE, standing for Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora). There is a civilian terminal supported by the City Council apart from the military one. The civilian terminal is undergoing important renovation.
The bus terminal of the city, recently remodelled and redesigned, services the whole country. The bus transportation system has a wider range of short, medium and long distance connections and destinations offering lots of overnight trips from Bahía Blanca to Buenos Aires
, to hundreds of cities and towns throughout the country and also to neighbouring countries such as Chile
.
A network of motorways merge in the city linking it to the region and the rest of the country. In recent years different administrations have tried to create and improve an outer ring road by which traffic is facilitated avoiding unnecessary congestion allowing lorries or trucks, as well as automobiles, to directly enter and exit the port area. Vehicles passing by can also avoid entering the city via this ring road. There are also projects to improve the road link between the city and the airport. Multiple local bus lines form the city transportation system. The main route, Ruta Nacional 3, is divided there into 3 North, leading to Olavarría
and Buenos Aires
, and 3 South leading to Viedma, Trelew
, Comodoro Rivadavia
, Río Gallegos, Río Grande
and Ushuaia
. Another routes are National Routes 35, leading to Santa Rosa and Río Cuarto
, 33, leading to Trenque Lauquen
and Rosario
, and 22
, which leads to Neuquén Province
.
city served by Ferrobaires
, and another every weekend to Carmen de Patagones
. Prices are around $35 (US$11) Bahía Blanca-Buenos Aires and 10$ (3U$S) Bahía Blanca-Carmen de Patagones. Train to Buenos Aires leaves daily at 21:30 arriving in BUE at 07:15. To Patagones, Fridays at 17:00.
The city has the common features of all those founded by the Spanish and their descendants: a main square at the centre surrounded by main buildings. The City Hall and the Church are on opposite although facing sides. Buildings of administrative importance also surround the main square or are located nearby. The planning which took place before its foundation and during its early beginning conceived streets parallel to the sides of the main square. Almost all the blocks are then rectangular in shape. As the city developed the streets were extended and more rectangular blocks were added at the edges. The Administration of the City decided then to observe a plan of development probably about 1960s, when it might have been ruled that further developments would follow established criteria according to their purpose: permanent dwellers, public places, industries.
Most of the city has terraced houses although detached houses surrounded by extensive gardens are well developed in some areas such as barrio Palihue, with an adjacent golf course at Club de Golf Palihue. Barrio Patagonia and country clubs for permanent and also for week-end dwellers were designed and developed at the outskirts of the city.
The architecture of Bahía Blanca is notable as well. Public buildings such as the seat of the Banco de la Nación, Bolsa de Comercio de Bahía Blanca
(Chamber of Commerce
, the stock exchange
), the main Post Office, the former building of the local newspaper La Nueva Provincia, the City Hall, the Rectorate and academic departments of Universidad del Sur, its 'Casa de la Cultura', Teatro Municipal (Opera House of the city), Biblioteca Rivadavia and Club Argentino, amongst others, are well-considered pieces of architecture, most of them extremely well preserved. Some of them are of French neoclassical influence (L'École des Beaux Arts, Paris).
There are excellent monuments and pieces of sculpture scattered all along the city: in the streets, main buildings and green spaces such as Caronti's bust, facing the City Hall, the Memorial to Bernardino Rivadavia
, at the centre of the main square, Fuente de los Ingleses and Memorial of the Israeli community, in the same square. The statue of José de San Martín
, in Parque de Mayo, the sculpture group of Lola Mora
in the fountain at the front of Universidad del Sur, the memorial to Giuseppe Garibaldi
, the statue of Isabel I of Castile in front of the bus station, donated by the Government of Spain (no such pieces are donated to non capital cities as it has been this case, enhancing the importance of the local Spanish descendants), the pieces which decorate the frontispieces of Banco de la Nación, Edificio Banco Provincia, to the side of the City Hall, Saint George
and the Dragon of the former electrical power plant of Ingeniero White in the Port, the ones of the former building of La Nueva Provincia
and those of the Cathedral are unique, as well as the modern art ones which form the group of Paseo de las Esculturas, indeed remarkable. Although not a sculpture, the mural mosaic of Colegio Don Bosco, on the corner of Vieytes and Moreno streets, by Aurelio Friedrich -a local plastic artist- is to be mentioned. All of them do enrich the architectural, artistic and cultural patrimony and heritage of the City.
Multiple green spaces have been created in the city: Plaza Rivadavia (its main square), Parque de Mayo, Paseo de las Esculturas, Parque Independencia, Plaza 9 de Julio, and Plaza Villa Mitre, are the most familiar ones.
Besides the usual areas included when the city is to be shown to somebody who is unfamiliar with it, other areas of interest include the Barrio Inglés ('English Quarter') where the British foremen and technicians who built the railways and ports lived, and Villa Harding Green, a suburb where the railway and port managers dwelled.
The city is a developed one including cultural and educational aspects. It has a permanent Symphony Orchestra
and a Company of Classical Ballet
(Ballet del Sur) with an associate School of Classic Dances.
For further education there are two tertiary institutes and two national universities. The first ones are Instituto Superior Juan XXIII, (probably linked to the future UNISAL (standing for Universidad Salesiana) of the Salesians) and Instituto Avanza (tertiary institute of humanities). National Universities are Facultad Regional Bahía Blanca Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, devoted mainly to exact sciences and intended for students who do have a job for making a living, with formal activities in the evening; and Universidad Nacional del Sur (National University of the South), founded in January 1956. This last one has associated internationally-known institutes of research in biological, biochemical and technological sciences such as INIBIB and Instituto de Oceanografia, among others. One of its Directors, Dr Francisco Barrantes, has been recently appointed as a member of the Executive Council of the Academy of Sciences of Latin America for the term 2006-2012. He is a reputed and well known scientist whose research on proteins of the Central Nervous System is considered as a reference for many of his international and national colleagues. Both national universities are free of tuition fees for all students.
Nobel
laureate César Milstein
was born and raised in Bahía Blanca. He studied at the Colegio Nacional and graduated as "Bachiller" in 1944. Then he moved to Buenos Aires where he completed his education and university degree, starting his research in Biochemistry at Instituto Malbrán, after which he moved to the United Kingdom, becoming Professor at Cambridge University, where he was awarded Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies
for which he did not register any patent, which may otherwise have made him very rich. He thought his discovery was intellectual property of mankind and as such he left his intellectual legacy: of no financial but only scientific interest.
Initial and basic education depend on the Province of Buenos Aires although there is a locally elected Municipal Educational Counselor holding some degree of influence and supervision on both. The system was transformed about ten years ago through the Secretary of Education. What used to be a system with primary (mandatory) and secondary (non-mandatory) education before continuing university studies (the 'French model') became Basic General Education (mandatory) and Polimodal Education (the 'Spanish-Catalan model') although nowadays it is being reviewed and likely to be modified again. Free education is granted by the state although there are semi-private and private schools.
There are reputed provincial Schools of Plastic Arts and Music, free of tuition fees. Foreign languages are taught at public schools at a rather basic level. However, there are local foreign language schools such as the Asociación Bahiense de Cultura Inglesa (English, also taught by many other institutions), the Alliance Française
(French), the Dante Alighieri Society
(Italian) and Goethe-Institut
(German), all of them private although with a good number of students. Portuguese is also taught. There used to be a school of Basque language
at "Unión Vasca" also named "Euzkadi
" with a much smaller group of students.
There are several Non-governmental organization
s such as The International Red Cross, Rotary
Clubs, Lions Clubs and multiple cultural and community associations, some of them intended to group descendants of immigrants promoting their respective culture, strengthening links between them and those already established with the Argentine society.
, one there -at the Museum- and the other in the Mayor's Office. Other exhibits do regularly take place at Biblioteca Rivadavia, Chamber of Commerce, Casa de la Cultura and Alliance Française, where frequent vernissages are organized on the responsibility of different curators. There are at least two excellent associations of local and regional plastic artists, Asociación de Bahiense de Artistas Plásticos and Asociacion de Artistas del Sur, both of them quite active promoting workshops and exhibits throughout the year, also in charge of the organization of multiple cultural activities.
A very peculiar and quite interesting museum is the one organized by the Army at its local "Comando del V Cuerpo de Ejército" at which a miniaturized recreation of the original Fortress is on display, made by César Puliafito, as well as a quite interesting collection of ancient maps, documents and pieces alongside one of the most important -and rather unknown- libraries of history in the region: this one and the one of the Salesians, at Inspectoría San Francisco Javier (Head of the Salesians of Don Bosco
for the whole Patagonia
) have fantastic collections with many priceless documents related to the conquest and civilization of Patagonia, almost completely carried out by the Army and the Salesians. The Army Museum of History of Bahía Blanca is open to the public with guided tours being available on appointment. All museums in the city have free admission.
, as well as regularly published index
ed scientific journal
s such as Revista Científica de la Asociación Médica de Bahía Blanca (Bahía Blanca Medical Association Scientific Journal) in Spanish with abstracts in both Spanish and English. EDIUNS, the publisher of Universidad Nacional del Sur, produces what Scientists, Professors and Lecturers edit facilitating them all the processes related to publishing including copyright procedures which is beneficial for both editors and readers. CREEBBA
(the Regional Center for Economic Studies of Bahía Blanca, Argentina) publishes respected, independent reports regarding financial and economical aspects of the city and its area of influence. Written in Spanish, they also comment on national macroeconomic issues.
Two shopping centres are located at the outskirts of the city and many shops in the centre itself are quite active and offer a variety of first line goods and products. On week-ends, mainly on Saturday there is a craftmanship fair in the street at Plaza Rivadavia, the main square, where all kind of hand made goods are available. There is also a variety of megastores, some of them locally and regionally developed competing with branches of international companies. Most of them are open even on Sundays, although this is now under review and local unions have lobbied for businesses and shops to close on Sundays. The interim City Mayor also seems to favour this initiative.
Cinemas, discos, a variety of restaurants and pubs are available, many of them overnight. Frequent pieces of theatre, ballet and concerts are offered.
Bahía Blanca has also two zoos: a municipal one, with a variety of species and permanent veterinarians and personnel looking after the animals, and a private one in the outskirts of the town.
At the shores close to the city there are recreational places such as "Balneario Maldonado" and "Colón" . The Estuary has been graded and listed as The Natural Reserve of Bahía Blanca, Bahía Falsa and Bahía Verde, including the Islands Zuraitas, Bermejo, Trinidad, Embudo, Wood and smaller ones accounting for an area of 300 square kilometres, by Provincial Law 12101 effective since 1998. Fishing shark
s is becoming an attraction for an increasing number of people, some of whom travel from all along the country to do it, in determined areas of the Estuary where it is permitted whether it be on boat or from small piers in the islands of the bay.
Those who are keen of pleasant beaches with sand and given the characteristics of the estuary -the soil is bay mud
instead of sand
or pebbles- must reach its south east limits located about 100 km (62 mi) away by road, where Pehuén-Có and Monte Hermoso
are located. Both are popular beaches with warm water and available facilities for tourism, restaurants, hotels and properties to let during the summer.
People who prefer the mountains can easily travel to Sierra de La Ventana
about 100 km (62 mi) to the North by road. The most popular peak of this mountain range
is Cerro Ventana of 1,134 metres (3720 ft) above the sea level. Parque Provincial Ernesto Tornquist, a natural reserve encompasses it. The area offers an interesting variety of touristic activities as well as restaurants, hotels and alpine-style cottages to let.
Facilities for playing football
, tennis
, rugby
, golf
, indoor swimming
, indoor and outdoor basketball
and some other sports are easily available throughout the area.
There are two large indoors basketball stadiums with about 3000 to 3500 seats each and three important football stadiums close to the city centre, the largest one with facilities for hosting about 15,000 people. There is one golf club with three courts of 9 holes each, driving range and putting green where courtesy for visitant players is observed. Two more golf courses are available in the area, one in a country club and the other in Puerto Belgrano. There is a variety of very good tennis courts and at least four rugby leagues. Swimmers can count on both ourdoors and indoors swimming pools, some of which have olympic dimensions being available the whole year. A variety of facilities for gymnastics, fitness, aerobics and other sports can be easily found.
Since the 1950s, Bahía has been considered the lead city of Argentine basketball
. Well internationally known players are Emanuel Ginóbili
(NBA
, San Antonio Spurs
, Texas
) and Juan Ignacio "Pepe" Sánchez
(who obtained a degree in History from Temple University
, US, nowadays settled in Spain to play). Both of them are gold medal winners in the Olympic Games
Athens
2004, and members of the Argentine Team who played the FIBA World Championship
in Japan 2006 where they obtained the 4th position. Their coach -this last time- has been Sergio Hernández, also from Bahía Blanca. Former players Alberto Cabrera (deceased) and Atilio Fruet (retired) are also well remembered at national and local levels.
The city's main football (soccer)
teams are Olimpo
and Villa Mitre. Olimpo played in the Argentine first division
until relegation in 2006, and was reinstated in 2010. Ex-Argentina national football team
coach Alfio Basile
was born in Bahía Blanca.
s although there are Protestant
churches and a synagogue
. There are also Muslim
s in the city, but no mosque
. There is religious tolerance in the city, a common nationwide Argentine feature, guaranteed by the Argentine Constitution.
The city is the seat of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca
. Its motherchurch is a neoclassical
cathedral
(the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy). The Archbishop since 2003 is Guillermo José Garlatti
. The Archbishop presides the local branch of the relief and social assistance organization Caritas
, which supports itself through the help of Catholic and non-Catholic individuals as well as non-governmental organization
s.
.png)
Bahía Blanca's climate is humid subtropical
under the Köppen climate classification
. The climate is influenced by the location of the city by the ocean with warm superficial streams by the shores. Since the city is located in the limit between Pampas and Patagonia
, it is warm and more humid to the north and varies rapidly to the south, becoming drier. Temperature extremes are notably frequent when compared to other cities in the Pampa region: daytime temperatures tend to reach very high values in the summer, and nighttime lows can be very cold in the winter. Summer brings thunderstorms and temperatures usually in the 30°C (86F) to 35°C (95F) range, although 45°C (113F) have been recorded, with nights between 14°C (57F) and 18°C (64F). Southerly winds often bring much cooler weather for short periods. Fall begins in March, and by late April the first frosty mornings may occur. During the winter, the weather is often dryer, high temperatures average 10°C (50F) to 16°C (61F) and nights from 0°C (32F) to 6°C (43F). Temperatures often drop below freezing: values of -6°C (23F) are recorded often, and during stronger cold waves temperatures have plummeted to under -10°C (14F). Average rainfall is on the threshold of 550 mm/year. Snow is not very common in the city (the last significant snowfall took place recently in July 2009. The one before was on May 2007), although it sometimes does snow in Sierra de la Ventana. Summers are hot. March, September, October and November are months when most of rainfall is expected. Autumn and winter tend to be windy. It should be kept in mind that the city is located in the southern (austral) hemisphere: summer starts on 21 December ending 21 March. Winter starts on 21 June ending on 21 September.
, who has a Delegate in Bahía Blanca (Zona Sanitaria I), and the City Administration under the supervision of the local Secretary of Health appointed directly by the city Mayor.
Aspects of interest about the City and Council Administration can be found on its website in both Spanish and English.
an. There are also Honorary Consulates of France, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.
Cienfuegos
, Cuba Dalian
, China Fermo
, Italy Jacksonville, Florida
, United States Reus
, Spain Talcahuano
, Chile
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido
Bahia Blanca Partido
The Partido de Bahía Blanca is a partido of the Buenos Aires Province is located at the south-west of the province in central Argentina at coordinates...
. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the . It is the main city in the larger Greater Bahía Blanca
Greater Bahía Blanca
Gran Bahía Blanca is the name given to the large urban conurbation around the city of Bahía Blanca in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The 2001 Census estimated the population of Gran Bahía Blanca as 274,509 making it the 17th largest urban conurbation in Argentina....
urban agglomeration
Agglomeration
In the study of human settlements, an urban agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous...
.
The city has an important sea port with a depth of 45 feet (15 mt), kept constant upstream almost all along the length of the bay, where the Naposta Stream
Naposta Stream
Arroyo Napostá is located in the region of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, ArgentinaIt is a stream whose watershed is located in Sierra de la Ventana, about 120 km north east to Bahía Blanca. It was essential during the early history of the city of Bahia Blanca as a source of water and also as...
drains.
Bahía Blanca means "White Bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
". The name is due to the typical colour of the salt covering the soils surrounding the shores. The bay (which is actually an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
) was seen by Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
during the first circumnavigation around the world on the orders of Charles I of Spain, in 1520, looking for a canal connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean all along the coasts of South America.
Foundation
The city was founded as a fortress on 11 April 1828 by Colonel Ramón Estomba under the orders of Brigadier-General and subsequent Governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de RosasJuan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, being named Fortaleza Protectora Argentina (Argentine Protective Fortress), intended to protect dwellers and their cattle from native rustling, and also to protect the coast from the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian navy, which had landed in the area the previous year. It was visited by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
during his travels through South America in September 1833. The fortress was attacked by malones (incursions of nomadic aboriginals on horseback) several times, most notably in 1859 by 3,000 Calfucurá
Calfucurá
Calfucurá also known as Juan Calfucurá or Cufulcurá , was a leading Mapuche lonco and military figure in Patagonia in the 19th century. He crossed the Andes from Chile to the Pampas around 1830 after a call from the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, to fight the Boroanos tribe...
warriors. It became commercially important after the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...
linked the town to the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1885. As a result, the transport of grain from the Pampa
Pampa
The Pampas are the fertile South American lowlands, covering more than , that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba, most of Uruguay, and the southernmost Brazilian State, Rio Grande do Sul...
s was much facilitated.
The fast growth of the local economy, the policy of encouragement of immigration from Europe and the abundance of natural resources of the country attracted many immigrants, mainly from Spain and Italy, and a remarkable number from France, who settled in Pigüé
Pigüé
Pigüé is a town in Argentina located in the Pampas, south-west of Buenos Aires. It was founded by 165 Occitan-speaking French immigrants from Aveyron and one Argentine of direct Irish descent on December 4, 1884. The urban population is now 13,822 and has increased by 9.5% since the 1991 census...
, about 125 km to the north of the city. Another important foreign settlement close to the city was of Dutch settlers, in Tres Arroyos
Tres Arroyos
Tres Arroyos is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the capital of the Tres Arroyos Partido.The city has a sizable population of Dutch and Danish descent.- Archaeological site :...
, located about 250 km north east. Important groups of immigrants from Germany and Jews from Eastern Europe did also arrive in the city and in the area at the beginning of the 20th century, and also during and after World War II.
Puerto Belgrano
Puerto Belgrano
Base Naval Puerto Belgrano is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires...
, located 29 km to the south-east, is Argentina's largest naval base. Its construction started with a secret decree signed by Argentine President José Evaristo Uriburu
José Evaristo Uriburu
José Evaristo de Uriburu y Álvarez de Arenales was President of Argentina from 23 January 1895 to 12 October 1898....
. It was designed and built by the turn of the 19th century (1898-05-12 to 1902-03-08) by Italian engineer Luigi Luiggi, and carried out by a Dutch company named Dirks, Dates & Van Hattem (detailed in the History of Puerto Belgrano).
Administration
The municipal government of Bahia Blanca PartidoBahia Blanca Partido
The Partido de Bahía Blanca is a partido of the Buenos Aires Province is located at the south-west of the province in central Argentina at coordinates...
encompasses The Mayor, in charge of the executive, The City Council, in charge of local legislation, approval and audit of the municipal budget, and a local Judiciary System, in charge of administering justice on behalf of the City regarding all the aspects concerned by municipal legislation. The Mayor and the members of the Council are elected by direct vote while the municipal judges are appointed. The Mayor appoints the members of his cabinet of Secretaries who can be summoned by the Council to whom they are mainly accountable.
Alocal political crisis in March 2006 resulted in the Mayor's request for leave, which was granted by the City Council on March 27, 2006. The Mayor was indicted and the case continues in the local Judiciary. The President of the City Council then took over as Interim Mayor. However, on August 24, 2006 the City Council decided, for the first time in the institutional history of the city, that the former elected Mayor be dismissed. With the apporoval of The Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires, the interim Mayor and former President of the City Council was appointed to complete his predecessor's term.
Some present features
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
from the southern area of Buenos Aires Province, oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
from Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
, and fruit from the Río Negro Valley. Its group of sea ports is one of the most important in the country as the only ones that are naturally 33 feet (10 metres) deep, although the depth of the main channel is kept at 40 feet (12.19 metres) by regular maintenance. Along the northeastern shore of the bay, these ports are Puerto Ingeniero White for grains and containers, and Puerto Galván, a smaller one specialising in sunflower and soy oil, and chemicals such as urea. One of the largest urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
industrial producers in the world, Profertil, is located there. Between these two main ports, several industrial and chemical plants operate their own piers. The petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
pole of the region made the port a very convenient one. Competence between Puerto de Bahía Blanca and those located in the shores of Patagonia (subsidized by provincial governments through the National Treasury) made it stronger and very well organized having received investments from the private sector like Cargill that upgraded facilities in the 1980s. The combination of a railroad network for grains linking Rosario (Santa Fe Province), by the shore of Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
) to Bahía Blanca, its trade potential, linking also Bahía Blanca to Zapala
Zapala
Zapala is a city in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the .The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincial roads, on a route to the Andes and Chile...
, very close to the border to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and then to the Pacific Ocean shores avoiding days of navigation through Ferrocarril Transandino del Sur, the availability of energy (natural gas and electricity) and human resources make the area quite an interesting one from the industrial and commercial perspectives.
There are several renowned local societies representing the myriad of related economic activities taking place in the region such as Sociedad Rural, Corporación del Comercio y de la Industria, and Sociedad Industrial, all of whom organize conferences and exhibits linked to the branch of trade, commerce or industry their associates carry out. Some of the exhibits are quite traditional and have taken place for many years, such as "Exposición Nacional de Ganadería e Industria de la Sociedad Rural de Bahía Blanca", mainly grouping those devoted to cattle husbandry and sheep breeding, who up to 2006 account for 122 annual displays when there is a contest awarding prizes to the best presented animals.
Transportation
Bahía Blanca is served by Comandante Espora AirportComandante Espora Airport
Comandante Espora Airport , also known as Bahía Blanca Airport, is a domestic airport in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, which is served by Aerolíneas Argentinas, Líneas Aéreas del Estado and LAN Argentina....
(BHI/SAZB). There are two daily short-haul flights from Bahía Blanca (BHI) to the domestic flights airport at Buenos Aires (AEP) named "Aeroparque" during weekdays and once a day on Saturday and Sunday, whose carrier is just one: Aerolíneas Argentinas. The Navy operates also a weekly flight to and from Buenos Aires, for servicepeople who commute between the two cities. The local airport's runways belong to the Navy Aviation (BACE, standing for Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora). There is a civilian terminal supported by the City Council apart from the military one. The civilian terminal is undergoing important renovation.
The bus terminal of the city, recently remodelled and redesigned, services the whole country. The bus transportation system has a wider range of short, medium and long distance connections and destinations offering lots of overnight trips from Bahía Blanca to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, to hundreds of cities and towns throughout the country and also to neighbouring countries such as Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
A network of motorways merge in the city linking it to the region and the rest of the country. In recent years different administrations have tried to create and improve an outer ring road by which traffic is facilitated avoiding unnecessary congestion allowing lorries or trucks, as well as automobiles, to directly enter and exit the port area. Vehicles passing by can also avoid entering the city via this ring road. There are also projects to improve the road link between the city and the airport. Multiple local bus lines form the city transportation system. The main route, Ruta Nacional 3, is divided there into 3 North, leading to Olavarría
Olavarría
Olavarría is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located. It is the capital of the Olavarría Partido and has over 111,320 inhabitants, per the ....
and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, and 3 South leading to Viedma, Trelew
Trelew
-References:La Pasión según Trelew, Espejo de la Argentina, 1997, Editorial Planeta Argentina S.A.I.C.; Third Edition: April 2000, Buenos Aires, ISBN 950-742-859-3-External links:* * * *...
, Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin....
, Río Gallegos, Río Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
and Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
. Another routes are National Routes 35, leading to Santa Rosa and Río Cuarto
Río Cuarto, Córdoba
-References:* - Official website....
, 33, leading to Trenque Lauquen
Trenque Lauquen
Trenque Lauquen is a city in the west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from Buenos Aires City and from the border with the province of La Pampa, on the intersection of National Routes 5 and 33...
and Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, and 22
National Route 22 (Argentina)
National Route 22 is a highway located in Argentina, that connects the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Río Negro and Neuquén in . The route starts at the connection with...
, which leads to Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
.
Rail
There is a daily train from Bahía Blanca to Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
city served by Ferrobaires
Ferrobaires
Ferrobaires S.A. is the commercial name of a public railway company which operates extensive long-distance passenger trains throughout Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. Its official corporate name is Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial , or Executing Unit of the Provincial Railway...
, and another every weekend to Carmen de Patagones
Carmen de Patagones
- Geography :It is located 937 km from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro , near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of the province of Río Negro...
. Prices are around $35 (US$11) Bahía Blanca-Buenos Aires and 10$ (3U$S) Bahía Blanca-Carmen de Patagones. Train to Buenos Aires leaves daily at 21:30 arriving in BUE at 07:15. To Patagones, Fridays at 17:00.
Architecture
Most of the city has terraced houses although detached houses surrounded by extensive gardens are well developed in some areas such as barrio Palihue, with an adjacent golf course at Club de Golf Palihue. Barrio Patagonia and country clubs for permanent and also for week-end dwellers were designed and developed at the outskirts of the city.
The architecture of Bahía Blanca is notable as well. Public buildings such as the seat of the Banco de la Nación, Bolsa de Comercio de Bahía Blanca
Bolsa de Comercio de Bahía Blanca
Bolsa de Comercio de Bahía Blanca is the local stock exchange and chamber of commerce of the City of Bahía Blanca, Argentina.-Foundation and Purpose:...
(Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, the stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
), the main Post Office, the former building of the local newspaper La Nueva Provincia, the City Hall, the Rectorate and academic departments of Universidad del Sur, its 'Casa de la Cultura', Teatro Municipal (Opera House of the city), Biblioteca Rivadavia and Club Argentino, amongst others, are well-considered pieces of architecture, most of them extremely well preserved. Some of them are of French neoclassical influence (L'École des Beaux Arts, Paris).
There are excellent monuments and pieces of sculpture scattered all along the city: in the streets, main buildings and green spaces such as Caronti's bust, facing the City Hall, the Memorial to Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
, at the centre of the main square, Fuente de los Ingleses and Memorial of the Israeli community, in the same square. The statue of José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
, in Parque de Mayo, the sculpture group of Lola Mora
Lola Mora
Lola Mora was a sculptor, born in a barn in the , though generally considered native to Trancas, province of Tucumán, where she was recorded and baptized. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field...
in the fountain at the front of Universidad del Sur, the memorial to Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, the statue of Isabel I of Castile in front of the bus station, donated by the Government of Spain (no such pieces are donated to non capital cities as it has been this case, enhancing the importance of the local Spanish descendants), the pieces which decorate the frontispieces of Banco de la Nación, Edificio Banco Provincia, to the side of the City Hall, Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
and the Dragon of the former electrical power plant of Ingeniero White in the Port, the ones of the former building of La Nueva Provincia
La Nueva Provincia
La Nueva Provincia is a local newspaper published in Bahía Blanca, Argentina.The news daily was founded by Enrique Julio on August 1, 1898. Closely associated with the nation's agricultural interests, it was shuttered by President Juan Perón in 1950...
and those of the Cathedral are unique, as well as the modern art ones which form the group of Paseo de las Esculturas, indeed remarkable. Although not a sculpture, the mural mosaic of Colegio Don Bosco, on the corner of Vieytes and Moreno streets, by Aurelio Friedrich -a local plastic artist- is to be mentioned. All of them do enrich the architectural, artistic and cultural patrimony and heritage of the City.
Multiple green spaces have been created in the city: Plaza Rivadavia (its main square), Parque de Mayo, Paseo de las Esculturas, Parque Independencia, Plaza 9 de Julio, and Plaza Villa Mitre, are the most familiar ones.
Besides the usual areas included when the city is to be shown to somebody who is unfamiliar with it, other areas of interest include the Barrio Inglés ('English Quarter') where the British foremen and technicians who built the railways and ports lived, and Villa Harding Green, a suburb where the railway and port managers dwelled.
Culture and education
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and a Company of Classical Ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
(Ballet del Sur) with an associate School of Classic Dances.
For further education there are two tertiary institutes and two national universities. The first ones are Instituto Superior Juan XXIII, (probably linked to the future UNISAL (standing for Universidad Salesiana) of the Salesians) and Instituto Avanza (tertiary institute of humanities). National Universities are Facultad Regional Bahía Blanca Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, devoted mainly to exact sciences and intended for students who do have a job for making a living, with formal activities in the evening; and Universidad Nacional del Sur (National University of the South), founded in January 1956. This last one has associated internationally-known institutes of research in biological, biochemical and technological sciences such as INIBIB and Instituto de Oceanografia, among others. One of its Directors, Dr Francisco Barrantes, has been recently appointed as a member of the Executive Council of the Academy of Sciences of Latin America for the term 2006-2012. He is a reputed and well known scientist whose research on proteins of the Central Nervous System is considered as a reference for many of his international and national colleagues. Both national universities are free of tuition fees for all students.
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate César Milstein
César Milstein
César Milstein FRS was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research. Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels K. Jerne and Georges Köhler.-Biography:...
was born and raised in Bahía Blanca. He studied at the Colegio Nacional and graduated as "Bachiller" in 1944. Then he moved to Buenos Aires where he completed his education and university degree, starting his research in Biochemistry at Instituto Malbrán, after which he moved to the United Kingdom, becoming Professor at Cambridge University, where he was awarded Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies are monospecific antibodies that are the same because they are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell....
for which he did not register any patent, which may otherwise have made him very rich. He thought his discovery was intellectual property of mankind and as such he left his intellectual legacy: of no financial but only scientific interest.
Initial and basic education depend on the Province of Buenos Aires although there is a locally elected Municipal Educational Counselor holding some degree of influence and supervision on both. The system was transformed about ten years ago through the Secretary of Education. What used to be a system with primary (mandatory) and secondary (non-mandatory) education before continuing university studies (the 'French model') became Basic General Education (mandatory) and Polimodal Education (the 'Spanish-Catalan model') although nowadays it is being reviewed and likely to be modified again. Free education is granted by the state although there are semi-private and private schools.
There are reputed provincial Schools of Plastic Arts and Music, free of tuition fees. Foreign languages are taught at public schools at a rather basic level. However, there are local foreign language schools such as the Asociación Bahiense de Cultura Inglesa (English, also taught by many other institutions), the Alliance Française
Alliance française
The Alliance française , or AF, is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. created in Paris on 21 July 1883, its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris -History:The Alliance was created in Paris...
(French), the Dante Alighieri Society
Dante Alighieri Society
The Dante Alighieri Society is a society that promotes the Italian culture and language around the world.It was formed in Italy in July 1889. The society was named after Dante Alighieri , a pre-Renaissance poet from Florence and the author of The Divine Comedy...
(Italian) and Goethe-Institut
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...
(German), all of them private although with a good number of students. Portuguese is also taught. There used to be a school of Basque language
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
at "Unión Vasca" also named "Euzkadi
Euzkadi
Euzkadi may refer to:*Basque Country *Euzkadi , a Basque nationalist newspaper published from 1913 to 1937*Euzkadi, a Mexican tire manufacturer...
" with a much smaller group of students.
There are several Non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s such as The International Red Cross, Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
Clubs, Lions Clubs and multiple cultural and community associations, some of them intended to group descendants of immigrants promoting their respective culture, strengthening links between them and those already established with the Argentine society.
Libraries
There is a main public one, whose building has been already named: Biblioteca Bernardino Rivadavia, one of the oldest of the area with a superb collection of about 160,000 books, some of them priceless, newspapers and magazines, the library of Universidad Nacional del Sur, also remarkable and open to the public, not only to the students, and smaller libraries in the different neighbourhoods, most of them assisted and supported by the City Council.Museums
There are several museums in the city which include the Port Museum, the History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum and the Contemporary Arts Museum, these last two ones headed by Betiana Gerardi, where permanent and temporary exhibits take place. Pieces of art from reputed local and Argentinian artists belonging to the City patrimony are shown. There are at least two known large oils on canvas by Benito Quinquela MartínBenito Quinquela Martín
Benito Quinquela Martín , 1890 – January 28, 1977) was an Argentine painter born in La Boca, Buenos Aires. Quinquela Martín is considered the port painter-par-excellence and one of the most popular Argentine painters...
, one there -at the Museum- and the other in the Mayor's Office. Other exhibits do regularly take place at Biblioteca Rivadavia, Chamber of Commerce, Casa de la Cultura and Alliance Française, where frequent vernissages are organized on the responsibility of different curators. There are at least two excellent associations of local and regional plastic artists, Asociación de Bahiense de Artistas Plásticos and Asociacion de Artistas del Sur, both of them quite active promoting workshops and exhibits throughout the year, also in charge of the organization of multiple cultural activities.
A very peculiar and quite interesting museum is the one organized by the Army at its local "Comando del V Cuerpo de Ejército" at which a miniaturized recreation of the original Fortress is on display, made by César Puliafito, as well as a quite interesting collection of ancient maps, documents and pieces alongside one of the most important -and rather unknown- libraries of history in the region: this one and the one of the Salesians, at Inspectoría San Francisco Javier (Head of the Salesians of Don Bosco
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
for the whole Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
) have fantastic collections with many priceless documents related to the conquest and civilization of Patagonia, almost completely carried out by the Army and the Salesians. The Army Museum of History of Bahía Blanca is open to the public with guided tours being available on appointment. All museums in the city have free admission.
Publications
There is one local and regional newspaper, La Nueva ProvinciaLa Nueva Provincia
La Nueva Provincia is a local newspaper published in Bahía Blanca, Argentina.The news daily was founded by Enrique Julio on August 1, 1898. Closely associated with the nation's agricultural interests, it was shuttered by President Juan Perón in 1950...
, as well as regularly published index
Bibliographic index
A bibliographic index is a bibliography, an aid to search the literature of, for example, an academic field or discipline , to works of a specific literary form or published in a specific format , or to the analyzed contents of a serial publication...
ed scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
s such as Revista Científica de la Asociación Médica de Bahía Blanca (Bahía Blanca Medical Association Scientific Journal) in Spanish with abstracts in both Spanish and English. EDIUNS, the publisher of Universidad Nacional del Sur, produces what Scientists, Professors and Lecturers edit facilitating them all the processes related to publishing including copyright procedures which is beneficial for both editors and readers. CREEBBA
CREEBBA
Centro Regional de Estudios Económicos de Bahía Blanca, Argentina is a non-governmental, non profit, independent organization grouping a team of reputed researchers on economical and financial aspects of the city, the region and the Nation....
(the Regional Center for Economic Studies of Bahía Blanca, Argentina) publishes respected, independent reports regarding financial and economical aspects of the city and its area of influence. Written in Spanish, they also comment on national macroeconomic issues.
Shopping
Entertainment, leisure and tourism in the region
Bahía Blanca has also two zoos: a municipal one, with a variety of species and permanent veterinarians and personnel looking after the animals, and a private one in the outskirts of the town.
At the shores close to the city there are recreational places such as "Balneario Maldonado" and "Colón" . The Estuary has been graded and listed as The Natural Reserve of Bahía Blanca, Bahía Falsa and Bahía Verde, including the Islands Zuraitas, Bermejo, Trinidad, Embudo, Wood and smaller ones accounting for an area of 300 square kilometres, by Provincial Law 12101 effective since 1998. Fishing shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s is becoming an attraction for an increasing number of people, some of whom travel from all along the country to do it, in determined areas of the Estuary where it is permitted whether it be on boat or from small piers in the islands of the bay.
Those who are keen of pleasant beaches with sand and given the characteristics of the estuary -the soil is bay mud
Bay mud
Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles...
instead of sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
or pebbles- must reach its south east limits located about 100 km (62 mi) away by road, where Pehuén-Có and Monte Hermoso
Monte Hermoso
Monte Hermoso is a town located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, some east of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires...
are located. Both are popular beaches with warm water and available facilities for tourism, restaurants, hotels and properties to let during the summer.
People who prefer the mountains can easily travel to Sierra de La Ventana
Sierra de La Ventana
Sierra de La Ventana is a picturesque village in Tornquist Partido in the southeast of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. With a population of 1,819 inhabitants , it is one of the most attractive tourist centres in the Province and has numerous recreation areas and parks.The town, originally...
about 100 km (62 mi) to the North by road. The most popular peak of this mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
is Cerro Ventana of 1,134 metres (3720 ft) above the sea level. Parque Provincial Ernesto Tornquist, a natural reserve encompasses it. The area offers an interesting variety of touristic activities as well as restaurants, hotels and alpine-style cottages to let.
Sports
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, indoor swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, indoor and outdoor basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and some other sports are easily available throughout the area.
There are two large indoors basketball stadiums with about 3000 to 3500 seats each and three important football stadiums close to the city centre, the largest one with facilities for hosting about 15,000 people. There is one golf club with three courts of 9 holes each, driving range and putting green where courtesy for visitant players is observed. Two more golf courses are available in the area, one in a country club and the other in Puerto Belgrano. There is a variety of very good tennis courts and at least four rugby leagues. Swimmers can count on both ourdoors and indoors swimming pools, some of which have olympic dimensions being available the whole year. A variety of facilities for gymnastics, fitness, aerobics and other sports can be easily found.
Since the 1950s, Bahía has been considered the lead city of Argentine basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Well internationally known players are Emanuel Ginóbili
Manu Ginobili
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili is an Argentine professional basketball player. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association .Ginóbili spent the early part of...
(NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) and Juan Ignacio "Pepe" Sánchez
Juan Ignacio Sánchez
Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown, also known as Pepe Sánchez , is an Argentine professional basketball player. He is a point guard. He was part of Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal team. Pepe Sánchez was the first Argentine to play in the NBA...
(who obtained a degree in History from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, US, nowadays settled in Spain to play). Both of them are gold medal winners in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
2004, and members of the Argentine Team who played the FIBA World Championship
FIBA World Championship
The FIBA World Championship is an international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body...
in Japan 2006 where they obtained the 4th position. Their coach -this last time- has been Sergio Hernández, also from Bahía Blanca. Former players Alberto Cabrera (deceased) and Atilio Fruet (retired) are also well remembered at national and local levels.
The city's main football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
teams are Olimpo
Olimpo de Bahía Blanca
Club Olimpo, usually referred to as Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, is a sports club based in the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The club was founded on October 15, 1910, and their main activities are basketball and association football. The football team currently plays in the...
and Villa Mitre. Olimpo played in the Argentine first division
Primera División Argentina
The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...
until relegation in 2006, and was reinstated in 2010. Ex-Argentina national football team
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
coach Alfio Basile
Alfio Basile
Alfio Basile , known as Coco, is an Argentine football coach and former player.-Playing career:Basile started his playing career at the Bella Vista club in his home city. From 1964 to 1970 he played for Racing Club, and then for Huracán, where he was a mainstay of the 1973 Metropolitano champions...
was born in Bahía Blanca.
Overview of religions
The vast majority of the inhabitants of the city are Roman CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
s although there are Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
churches and a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. There are also Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
s in the city, but no mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
. There is religious tolerance in the city, a common nationwide Argentine feature, guaranteed by the Argentine Constitution.
The city is the seat of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca
Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the eastern region of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its motherchurch, located in the city of Bahía Blanca, is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy...
. Its motherchurch is a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
(the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy). The Archbishop since 2003 is Guillermo José Garlatti
Guillermo José Garlatti
----Guillermo José Garlatti ----Guillermo José Garlatti ----Guillermo José Garlatti (Style: His Very Reverend Excellency, Monsignor Guillermo José Garlatti is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca. He was born in Forgaria nel Fiurle, Udine, Northern Italy on July 12,...
. The Archbishop presides the local branch of the relief and social assistance organization Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
, which supports itself through the help of Catholic and non-Catholic individuals as well as non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s.
Climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
under the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
. The climate is influenced by the location of the city by the ocean with warm superficial streams by the shores. Since the city is located in the limit between Pampas and Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, it is warm and more humid to the north and varies rapidly to the south, becoming drier. Temperature extremes are notably frequent when compared to other cities in the Pampa region: daytime temperatures tend to reach very high values in the summer, and nighttime lows can be very cold in the winter. Summer brings thunderstorms and temperatures usually in the 30°C (86F) to 35°C (95F) range, although 45°C (113F) have been recorded, with nights between 14°C (57F) and 18°C (64F). Southerly winds often bring much cooler weather for short periods. Fall begins in March, and by late April the first frosty mornings may occur. During the winter, the weather is often dryer, high temperatures average 10°C (50F) to 16°C (61F) and nights from 0°C (32F) to 6°C (43F). Temperatures often drop below freezing: values of -6°C (23F) are recorded often, and during stronger cold waves temperatures have plummeted to under -10°C (14F). Average rainfall is on the threshold of 550 mm/year. Snow is not very common in the city (the last significant snowfall took place recently in July 2009. The one before was on May 2007), although it sometimes does snow in Sierra de la Ventana. Summers are hot. March, September, October and November are months when most of rainfall is expected. Autumn and winter tend to be windy. It should be kept in mind that the city is located in the southern (austral) hemisphere: summer starts on 21 December ending 21 March. Winter starts on 21 June ending on 21 September.
Health Care System
The illiteracy rate of the city, as well as the neonatal and infant mortality rates, are amongst the lowest in the country. Besides the national censuses -which take place every ten years-, the Ministry of Economy carries out periodical regional censuses sampling urban areas collecting data on economic and social indexes, such as Encuesta Permanente de Hogares by INDEC. There are two principal hospitals in the city: a provincial one, Hospital Dr José Penna, and a municipal one, Hospital Municipal Dr Leónidas Lucero, both of them tertiary centres for assistance and referrals throughout the region. The health care system is free of charge to any legal resident of the Nation. Public Health is the responsibility of both the Province of Buenos Aires and the City, which have a network of public clinics throughout the city and the region taking care of people as primary health carers. There are also private health care institutions. There is one physician for every 266 inhabitants. Public health is coordinated between the Minister of Health of the Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, who has a Delegate in Bahía Blanca (Zona Sanitaria I), and the City Administration under the supervision of the local Secretary of Health appointed directly by the city Mayor.
Aspects of interest about the City and Council Administration can be found on its website in both Spanish and English.
Consulates
The city is the seat of several foreign consulates including the Spanish, Italian and ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an. There are also Honorary Consulates of France, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.
Sister cities
(in alphabetical order according to the sister city)Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos is a city on the southern coast of Cuba, capital of Cienfuegos Province. It is located about from Havana, and has a population of 150,000. The city is dubbed La Perla del Sur...
, Cuba Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
, China Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
, Italy Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, United States Reus
Reus
Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague...
, Spain Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
, Chile