Constitución is a ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

'' or neighborhood 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 ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, approximately two kilometers south of downtown. The borough is centered on Constitución Station and the square of the same name and can be reached by subway, by bus (notably

Colectivo 60 Route 60, known locally as ''El Sesenta'' ("The Sixty" in Spanish), runs from Constitución station, in the centre of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina to the Tigre Club in the '' partido'' of Tigre. The service is operated by Micro Ómnibu ...

) and enjoys easy access by car via 9 de Julio, San Juan and Caseros Avenues, as well as the 25 de Mayo toll road. The neighborhood is home to the Argentine University of Enterprise and the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

Faculty of Social Sciences.

History

The area, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in colonial times, was granted a parish in 1769 and incorporated into the city in 1777. Home to an important mission of

Bethlehemites Bethlehemites, or Bethlemites, is the name of five Catholic religious orders. Two of them were restored to existence in the 20th century. The other three are extinct. 12th-century order in Bethlehem and Italy This order was founded in Bethlehem ...

, they maintained a convalescent clinic there until their papal suppression in 1821. The area then became home to a large farmer's market and its relative elevation began attracting development. The market was renamed in honor of the recently promulgated

Argentine Constitution The Constitution of the Argentine Nation () is the Constitution, basic governing document of Argentina, and the primary source of existing Law of Argentina, law in Argentina. Its Argentine Constitution of 1853, first version was written in 1853 b ...

in 1856 and the neighborhood, long centered on the market, soon acquired the name. Work began in 1864 on the

Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) () was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward Lumb in 1862 and the f ...

led the opening of a station at the market and with it, the rapid growth of the area as an immigrants' quarter. Groundbreaking for a new railway terminal in 1885 was accompanied by the razing of the market in favor of Constitución Plaza. A non-profit clinic opened by the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Reverend Barton Lodge in 1844 became the British Hospital in 1887 (still the borough's largest). The neighborhood was subsequently home to

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union who served as President of Argentina from 1916 to 1922 and again from 1928 until his overthrow in ...

, a co-founder of the centrist

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...

in 1891 who tirelessly campaigned for and, in 1912, won the right to universal (male) suffrage in Argentina and the secret ballot. Elected president in 1916, his Constitución home was ransacked during a coup against him in 1930. The mayor appointed in 1976 by Argentina's last dictatorship,

Osvaldo Cacciatore Osvaldo Andrés Cacciatore (1924–2007) was an Argentine Air Force brigadier and Mayor of Buenos Aires during the National Reorganization Process military dictatorship. His management at the head of the city of Buenos Aires was controversial fo ...

, had plans drawn up for eight freeways within the city proper, three of which were finished. The two busiest, the 25 de Mayo and 9 de Julio Freeways, meet at a junction north of Constitución station. The structures, though a great benefit to commuters, led to the exodus of much of the neighborhood's middle class.

External links

Barriada: Constitución
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitucion, Buenos Aires Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires