Alvear is a town in
Corrientes Province
Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...
, Argentina. It is the capital of the
General Alvear Department. It is located at the mouth of the
Aguapey River, along the
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...
, which separates it from the Brazilian city of
Itaqui
Itaqui is a municipality in Brazil, located in the southwestern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, close to the Argentinian border, between Uruguaiana and São Borja. It sits at a mean altitude of 57 meters (187 ft), by the Uruguay Ri ...
, with which is closely related. It is accessed via the RN 14 or the General Urquiza railway. It is located roughly 800 km north of Buenos Aires, 250 km south of
Posadas and 440 km from
Corrientes
Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...
. According to the 2001 population census conducted by
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 ...
its population was 7917 inhabitants.
Etymology
The town was officially founded in 1863,
in the shadow of the "Ombú Protector", a tree that is immortalized in the community coat of arms. The name is believed to derive from General
Carlos de Alvear, who was born in the province of Corrientes and was honored by the members of Congress by naming the fledgling town Alvear after him. It is also said that Don Diego de Alvear, father of Carlos María, lived some years in the Itaqui pass, and that this also contributed to the imposition of the name.
Notable institutions
* Municipalidad de Alvear, the main institution of the city and is located at Centenario 565, off the main square, Plaza 9 de julio.
* Parroquia Inmaculada Concepción, spiritual center of Catholics in the city. Its first building was completed in the late nineteenth century. It takes its name from the image of the Virgin.
* Radio Club Aguapey (LU5LA), the only club in the Uruguay coast of the province
* Biblioteca Popular Carlos María de Alvear, library which attracts crowds of students interested in reading about the history the city. It is located in the main square.
*Hospital Dr. Miguel Sussini, hospital
*TVM TV Mercosur, television station
Also of note are the four schools of
samba, 'Pilmayken, Yasí Berá, Halcones For Ever and Itá Berá.'
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Corrientes Province