Choele Choel
Encyclopedia
Choele Choel is the capital of the department
of Avellaneda
in the Argentine
province
of Río Negro
, and the most important settlement within the Valle Medio ("Middle Valley") agricultural area of the Río Negro River in Patagonia
Choele Choel, with a population of 9,791 , is located at the intersection of the National Routes #22 and #250, around 1000 kilometres from Buenos Aires
, 180 from General Roca
, 193 from the Las Grutas
beach resort, and 460 from Puerto Madryn
.
Its long distance bus terminal is a common stop for buses going to both sea-side Patagonia (Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos, Ushuaia
) and North-Andean
Patagonia (Bariloche, El Bolsón
).
During the 1990s, the airport used to serve regular flights to Buenos Aires
, but currently serves only infrequent private charters.
, it was founded on July 9, 1879 by General Conrado Villegas. After a flood, the inhabitants moved to a place known as Pampa de los Molinos. They would stay there until Match 18, 1882, when the settlement was moved to its current location.
The town acquired special importance during the Conquest of the Desert
, when the border between the white man and the Native Americans was pushed south the shore of the Río Negro River.
In 1883, a post office was installed in the town. Salesians
arrived in 1890. The Provincial School #10 was created in 1904, and in 1917 the Library. Irish Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh
was born in the town in 1927, and Choele Choel is home to a sizable Russian
community; besides the European immigrant communities common to most of Argentina, the town received refugees from Laos
in the 1970s.
, translated as "Yellow flower race," or from the Tehuelche language
("Small river rolling-stones"). Another version translates it as "Bark scarecrows."
Departments of Argentina
Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...
of Avellaneda
Avellaneda Department, Río Negro
Avellaneda is a department of the Río Negro Province, Argentina.It's crossed by the Negro River forming a fertile valley known as the Valle Medio. The river bifurcates and then both arms join again forming two main islands known as Isla grande de Choele Choel and Isla Chica de Choele Choel and a...
in the Argentine
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...
province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Río Negro
Río Negro Province
Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...
, and the most important settlement within the Valle Medio ("Middle Valley") agricultural area of the Río Negro River in 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...
Overview
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...
, 180 from General Roca
General Roca
General Roca may refer to a number of things and places named after Argentine military Julio Argentino Roca:Places;Argentina*General Roca, Río Negro*General Roca Department, Río Negro*General Roca Department, Córdoba...
, 193 from the Las Grutas
Las Grutas
Las Grutas is a beach resort town located in the Argentine province of Río Negro, in the department of San Antonio, with a stable population of 3,500 inhabitant.s...
beach resort, and 460 from Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn is a city in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is the head town of the Viedma Department, and has about 57,571 inhabitants according to the last census in 2001....
.
Its long distance bus terminal is a common stop for buses going to both sea-side Patagonia (Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos, 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....
) and North-Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
Patagonia (Bariloche, El Bolsón
El Bolsón, Río Negro
El Bolsón is a town situated in the southwest of Río Negro Province, Argentina, at the foot of the Piltriquitron Mountain. Due to a series of valleys through the mountains of Chile to the Pacific Ocean, El Bolsón has an unusually mild climate for its southern location.El Bolsón area's first...
).
During the 1990s, the airport used to serve regular flights 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...
, but currently serves only infrequent private charters.
History
Originally named Nicolás AvellanedaNicolás Avellaneda
Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva was an Argentine politician and journalist, and president of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education reform, leading to Argentina's economic growth...
, it was founded on July 9, 1879 by General Conrado Villegas. After a flood, the inhabitants moved to a place known as Pampa de los Molinos. They would stay there until Match 18, 1882, when the settlement was moved to its current location.
The town acquired special importance during the Conquest of the Desert
Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert was a military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s, which established Argentine dominance over Patagonia, which was inhabited by indigenous peoples...
, when the border between the white man and the Native Americans was pushed south the shore of the Río Negro River.
In 1883, a post office was installed in the town. Salesians
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...
arrived in 1890. The Provincial School #10 was created in 1904, and in 1917 the Library. Irish Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh
Rodolfo Walsh
Rodolfo Jorge Walsh was an Argentine writer, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta which he wrote the day before his murder, protesting that their economic policies were having an even greater effect on...
was born in the town in 1927, and Choele Choel is home to a sizable Russian
Russians in Argentina
There are 250,000 people of Russian origin living in Argentina. Mostly in Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires. The majority came between 1880 and 1921...
community; besides the European immigrant communities common to most of Argentina, the town received refugees from Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
in the 1970s.
The Name
There are several versions regarding the meaning of Choele Choel: it might be from the Araucan languageMapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
, translated as "Yellow flower race," or from the Tehuelche language
Tehuelche language
Tehuelche is a nearly extinct Chon language spoken by four people in Patagonia out of an ethnic group of 200. They were originally nomadic hunters from Chile. It is also known as Aonikenk or Aonek'o 'ajen...
("Small river rolling-stones"). Another version translates it as "Bark scarecrows."