Verónica is a town and ''localidad'' in

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 ...

, in

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 ...

. It is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

for the county ('' partido'') of Punta Indio.

History

The town was created on 18 March 1915 on land donated by Martín Tornquist, and named after his wife, Verónica Bernal. A year before, on 1 January 1914, the railroad from the city of

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

had arrived at Verónica, and a station was built. In 1925 the Punta Indio Naval Base was established, from the downtown core. It became one of the pillars for the development of the town until its near dismantlement during the 1990s.

Demographics

From the beginning, the town showed a diversity in people's origins. Besides the traditional Spanish-Italian population, a large number of immigrants from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

among others) established themselves in the area. Today, a German Boarding School (''Escuela Hogar de Verónica'') serves as a retreat for German schools from all over the country. The town stood in for an Uruguayan town in the American film ''

The City of Your Final Destination ''The City of Your Final Destination'' is a 2009 American romantic drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Omar Metwally, Hiroyuki Sanada and Norma Aleandro. It was written by Ruth ...

'' released in 2009.

Economic activities

The main activities in the town are related to farming: agriculture, cattle and bird raising. More recently tourism started to develop around the old

estancia An estancia is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias in the southern South American grasslands, the ''pampas'', have historically been estates used to raise livestock, such as cattle or sheep. In Pu ...

s in the area.

Sports

There are two major sports associations in Verónica: ''Club Juventud Unida'' and ''Club Social y Deportivo Verónica''. They compete in regional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournaments. Until 2001, a

Turismo Carretera Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. Th ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

was held at the Naval Base.

Transportation

Although the train link has been non-operational for many years, the building of the train station is still operational, although nowadays it is used for cultural associations. A regular bus service is established between Verónica and La Plata, provided by Expreso La Plata. There are also mini-buses that connect with both La Plata and

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 ...

. Local transport circulates within the town, and connects Verónica with Punta Indio and Pipinas.

Climate

Notable Veroniquenses

* Reposo, Daniel Gustavo, Argentine lawyer and politician

References

External links

*
Punta Indio Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veronica, Buenos Aires Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1915