Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (Spanish pronunciation: [baˈi.a ˈβlaŋka]; English: White Bay) is an Argentine city by the Atlantic Ocean.The city has an important seaport with a depth of 15 m (49 ft), kept constant upstream almost all along the length of the bay, where the Napostá Stream drains.The bay (which is an estuary) was seen by Ferdinand Magellan during his first circumnavigation of the world on the order of Charles I of Spain in 1520, looking for a canal connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of South America.[1][2] The city was founded as a fortress on 11 April 1828 by Colonel Ramón Estomba on the orders of Brigadier-General and subsequent Governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas.Another important foreign settlement close to the city was of Dutch settlers, in Tres Arroyos, located about 250 km northeast.Major groups of immigrants from Germany and Jews from Eastern Europe also arrived in the city and the region at the beginning of the 20th century,[citation needed] as well as during World War II and the post-war period.It was designed and built from 12 May 1898 to 8 March 1902 by an Italian engineer Luigi Luiggi, and a Dutch company named Dirks, Dates & Van Hattem (detailed in the History of Puerto Belgrano).With the approval of the supreme court of the Buenos Aires Province, the interim mayor and former president of the city council was appointed to complete his predecessor's term.Competence between Puerto de Bahía Blanca and those located on the shores of Patagonia (subsidized by provincial governments through the National Treasury)[8] made it stronger and very well organized having received investments from the private sector like Cargill[9] that upgraded facilities in the 1980s.[10] the availability of energy (natural gas and electricity) and human resources make the area quite an interesting one from industrial and commercial perspectives.The local airport's runways belong to the Navy Aviation (BACE, standing for Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora).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.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.National Universities are Facultad Regional Bahía Blanca Universidad Tecnológica Nacional,[20] 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 the Universidad Nacional del Sur[21] (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.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.The main public library, Biblioteca Bernardino Rivadavia,[18] is one of the oldest in the area, possessing a curated collection of around 160,000 books, newspapers, and magazines.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.A military museum organised by the Army at its local "Comando del V Cuerpo de Ejército" (V Army Corps Command)[23] 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.There is one local and regional newspaper, La Nueva Provincia, as well as regularly published indexed scientific journals such as Revista Científica de la Asociación Médica de Bahía Blanca[24] (Bahía Blanca Medical Association Scientific Journal) in Spanish with abstracts in both Spanish and English.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.[26] Fishing for sharks is becoming an attraction for an increasing number of people, some of whom travel from across the country to do it, in specified areas of the estuary where it is permitted by boat or from small piers in the islands of the bay.[28] There is one golf club with three courts of 9 holes each, driving range and putting green where courtesy for visiting players is observed.Two of the best padel players in history hail from Bahía Blanca: Juan Mieres and Miguel Lamperti, both currently ranked in the top 10 in the world.
Coat of armsArgentinaProvinceBuenos AiresPartidoBahía BlancacensusTime zoneUTC−3CPA BaseArea codeClimateArgentineAtlantic OceanBuenos Aires provinceBahía Blanca PartidoGreater Bahía BlancaNapostá StreamestuaryFerdinand MagellanCharles I of SpainBrigadier-GeneralJuan Manuel de RosasBrazilianCharles DarwinMalonesCalfucuráBuenos Aires Great Southern RailwayPampasimmigrationPigüéTres ArroyosPuerto BelgranoJosé Evaristo UriburuLuigi LuiggiNational Bank of ArgentinaNeuquén ProvinceRío NegropetrochemicalRosarioParaná RiverZapalaComandante Espora AirportUruguayRuta Nacional 3OlavarríaViedmaTrelewComodoro RivadaviaRío GallegosRío GrandeUshuaiaSanta RosaRío CuartoTrenque Lauquenrailway stationsBahía Blanca SudBA Great SouthernGeneral Roca RailwayConstituciónTrenes ArgentinosBahía Blanca and North Western RailwayRosario and Puerto Belgrano RailwayRosario & Pto. BelgranoBB & North WesternBanco de la NaciónBolsa de Comercio de Bahía BlancaChamber of Commercestock exchangeBernardino RivadaviaJosé de San MartínLola MoraGiuseppe GaribaldiIsabel I of CastileSaint GeorgeIngeniero WhiteLa Nueva ProvinciaOrchestraBalletSalesiansUniversidad Nacional del SurCésar MilsteinAlliance FrançaiseDante Alighieri SocietyGoethe-InstitutBasque languageEuzkadiBenito Quinquela MartínSalesians of Don BoscoPatagoniaindexedscientific journalsCREEBBAsharksReligion in ArgentinaArchdiocese of Bahía BlancaRoman CatholicsProtestantsynagogueMuslimsmosqueArgentine ConstitutionneoclassicalcathedralOur Lady of Mercy CathedralGuillermo José GarlattiCaritasnon-governmental organizationsManu GinóbilifootballtennisswimmingbasketballAutódromo Aldea Romana de Bahía BlancaEmanuel GinóbiliSan Antonio SpursJuan Ignacio SánchezAlejandro MontecchiaOlympic GamesAthensFIBA World ChampionshipSergio Santos Hernándezfootball (soccer)OlimpoArgentine first divisionArgentina national football team