San Miguel is a city in the northwest region of
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires (, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of B ...
, 30 km from the
City of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. San Miguel is the county seat of
San Miguel Partido, and has been a part of Greater Buenos Aires since the early 2000s. The number of inhabitants was 157,532 according to the 2001 census.
Part of a vast
estancia estate owned by General
Ángel Pacheco, San Miguel was founded as ''San José del Pilar'' by a
French Argentine agronomist
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...
, Adolfo Sourdeaux, on May 18, 1864. Part of
Pilar Partido
Pilar Partido is a Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido in the northern part of Greater Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 232,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city i ...
initially, the town was renamed San Miguel after the former district was subdivided shortly afterward. A
Buenos Aires-Pacific Railway line was built along the town in 1870, and its first schools were opened at that time as part of President
Domingo Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...
's program for
education in Argentina
Education in Argentina is a responsibility shared by the national government, the provinces and federal district and private institutions. Education at all levels, including university, is free. President Domingo Sarmiento's assertion that "the ...
. The town was designated as county seat for the newly created ''General Sarmiento Partido'' in 1889, and was in turn made the county seat for
San Miguel Partido when the former was subdivided in 1994. San Miguel's transition from a rural community to that of a suburban
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
with high-rise buildings has caused it to lose its village character and strained its infrastructure. The largely service-oriented economy is complemented by industries such as the IPH
steel cable facility.
Cable television provider TeleRed broadcasts from San Miguel, covering audiences in most of the Greater Buenos Aires. Its programming includes a local Catholic channel, Señal Santa Marìa, which offers family-friendly content plus religious programmes, mostly from
EWTN
The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...
.
San Miguel is home to a number of educational institutions, including the
National University of General Sarmiento and the parochial ''
Colegio Máximo de San José'', from which Jorge Bergoglio (the future
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
) obtained a degree in philosophy.
San Miguel has numerous
bus lines running through the center and is served with several stations by the
San Martin and
Urquiza commuter railroad lines, which provide easy access to Buenos Aires.
Climate
Sport
The city is home to
Club Atlético San Miguel football club.
References
External links
*
Sitio de interacción vecinal del Partido de San Miguel Guía, Farmacias, Foros, etcPortal Comercial del Partido de San Miguel History, Photos, etcEl portal de San MiguelPortal de San MiguelUniversidad Nacional De General SarmientoUniversidad Nacional De Lujan, San Miguel regional centreUniversidad Del Salvador*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090215102218/http://www.24con.com/conurbano/localidades/sanmiguel/ San Miguel News
{{Authority control
Populated places in Buenos Aires Province
Populated places established in 1864
Cities in Argentina