La Matanza ('The Slaughter' in Spanish) is a '' partido'' (county or department) located in the

urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. This provincial subdivision had 1,775,272 inhabitants (at the 2010 Census) in an area of . Its capital city is San Justo, which is located around from the

City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...

History

The origin of the name is uncertain. Is believed to reference a confrontation that Diego, the brother of

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

Pedro de Mendoza Pedro de Mendoza () (c. 1499 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', soldier and explorer, and the first ''adelantado'' of New Andalusia. Setting sail Pedro de Mendoza was born in Guadix, Grenada, part of a large noble family that ...

, had with the

Querandí The Querandí were one of the Het peoples, indigenous South Americans who lived in the Pampas area of Argentina; specifically, they were the eastern Didiuhet. The name Querandí was given by the Guaraní people, as they would consume animal fat i ...

tribe in 1536, where he and 22 soldiers that were with him died. This area and the river were named La Matanza (The Slaughter) probably in his name, sometimes using the plural form (Matanzas). The oldest document in which the name of La Matanza appears is dated 29 July 1603. The partido was named Pago until 1730, then Partido de Matanza y Pozos (Partido of Slaughter and Wells): it was then a largely underpopulated rural area, and was led by a two-mayor system. In 1784, the partido was divided in two into La Matanza and Cañada de Morón (Morón Gully). In 1856, the capital city San Justo was founded. In the 20th century, its population dramatically increased with the influx of the European immigration first and the internal migration later to the surroundings of the

, followed by migrants from neighbouring countries (mainly Bolivia and Paraguay) by the end of the century.

Population

According to the Argentine census bureau, the

INDEC The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses ( es, link=no, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos; INDEC) is an Argentine decentralized public body that operates within the Ministry of Economy, which exercises the direction of all of ...

, the population was 1,121,298 in 1991, 1,255,288 in 2001 and 1,772,130 in 2010. With an estimate of over 2 million by 2020, it is the most populated ''partido'' in the

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

and the most populated municipality in the country.

Administrative subdivisions

La Matanza Partido is divided into sixteen subdivisions or ''localidades'': *

Aldo Bonzi Aldo Bonzi is a town in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. The town owes its name to Turin-born businessman Dr. Aldo Bonzi (1852–1935), who arrived in Argentina in ...

Ciudad Evita Ciudad Evita is a city in the '' partido'' of La Matanza in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located 20 kilometers (13 mi) from Downtown Buenos Aires within the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. Ciudad Evita has a population of 68,650 (2001). ...

González Catán González Catán is a city located in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city is the second-largest by area in the county (52 km²), and the second most-populous. The city is located near the southwestern end of the Gr ...

* Gregorio de Laferrere *

Isidro Casanova Isidro Casanova is a city in La Matanza Partido, Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. It borders the towns of Villa Luzuriaga, San Justo, Ciudad Evita, Rafael Castillo, Laferrere, and Ezeiza. History The area encompassing Isidro Casanova was i ...

La Tablada La Tablada is a city in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and is part of the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. Overview La Tablada initially developed around the Buenos Aires Western Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires) ...

Lomas del Mirador Lomas del Mirador is a city of the La Matanza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires. Located outside Buenos Aires along the southwest edge of the General Paz Freeway, the city has a population of 51,488 (INDEC, 2001). The land where Lomas del Mirador ...

* Rafael Castillo *

Ramos Mejía Ramos Mejía is a Town in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The town has an area of and a population of 98,547. The city is one of the largest commercial districts in the Western Zone of Greater Buenos Aires. History The l ...

* San Justo (seat) *

Tapiales Tapiales is a town in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and forms part of Greater Buenos Aires. Tapiales had a population of 15,158 at the 2001 census. Tapiales was established in 1902 by Agustín Elía along the recently inaugurate ...

Veinte de Junio Veinte de Junio is a town located 35 km from Buenos Aires, in La Matanza Partido, La Matanza, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Veinte de Junio is an outback sleepy rural town, relatively isolated from the rest of the Greater Buenos Aires. ...

Villa Celina Ciudad Celina (formerly Villa Celina) is a city in La Matanza Partido, in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. It's is bordered to the north by Avenida General Paz, to the west by Ricchieri Freeway, to the south by , and to the east by the banks ...

Villa Luzuriaga A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

* Villa Madero *

Virrey del Pino Virrey del Pino is a city in La Matanza Partido, in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. With a total of 117 km², it is the most extensive city in the La Matanza Partido. It is crossed by the RN 3 between kilometers 34 and 48. In this ...

Notes and references

External links

Municipality of La Matanza

National University of La Matanza

''El1 Digital'', a local newspaper
Partidos of Buenos Aires Province States and territories established in 1784 {{BuenosAiresAR-geo-stub