Esteban Adrogué (September 2, 1815 – 1903) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

citizen born in

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 ...

and founder of the city of

Adrogué Adrogué () is a city in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, located 23 km south of Buenos Aires. It is the administrative headquarters for Almirante Brown Partido (county). At slightly more than 30,000 inhabitants, it is a prominent residenti ...

in the southern part 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 ...

, Argentina.

Early life

Son of Don José Ramón Adrogué and Doña Petrona Portela. His father, originally from

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain, was a merchant, activity that he would later develop, to reach a solid economical position. He dedicated his life to commerce and saved a good deal of money that would allow him to become a pioneer in the urbanization of the southern part of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. His enterprising and progressive spirit took him to worry about public works and participated in many of them. During his lifetime, he participated in the construction on the Alsina bridge, located over the

Matanza River The Matanza River is a stream in Argentina that originates in the Buenos Aires Province and defines the southern boundary of the Buenos Aires federal district. It empties into the Río de la Plata between Tandanor and Dock Sud. The La Boca neig ...

, the electricity and gas-based lighting in

and the pavement on the streets.

Founder

By the middle of the 19th century, he was one of the founders of the city of

Lomas de Zamora Lomas de Zamora is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located south of the City of Buenos Aires and within the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Lomas de Zamora Partido and has a population of 111,897 ...

, contributing also to the creation of the partido bearing the same name. In the 1870s he started the project that would make him famous, the foundation of the city of

, originally called Almirante Brown, and the foundation of the

Almirante Brown Partido Almirante Brown is a partido of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located at the south of the Gran Buenos Aires urban area, at coordinates . It has an area of and 555,731 inhabitants (), and its capital is Adrogué. Name The partido is n ...

. It was built as a fashionable area, safe from yellow fever. Esteban Adrogué wanted the town that would bear his name to stand out from the others, so it possesses an original layout and numerous lush trees on the sidewalks, and was the summer resort of preference of the

porteño (feminine: ''Porteña'', in Spanish) is mainly used to refer to the residents of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is also used for other port cities, such as El Puerto de Santa María, Spain; Valparaíso, Chile; Mazatlán, Veracruz, Acapulco and ...

s aristocracy between 1872 and 1920. He was the owner of the Las Delicias hotel, formerly his own private residence, which accommodated several distinguished figures like

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

Domingo Faustino 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 '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...

Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fa ...

Silvina Ocampo Silvina Ocampo (28 July 1903 – 14 December 1993) was an Argentine short story writer, poet, and artist. Ocampo's friend and collaborator Jorge Luis Borges called Ocampo "one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language, whether on this side o ...

Victoria Ocampo Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo (7 April 1890 – 27 January 1979) was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine '' Sur'', she was also a writer and critic in he ...

and

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see R ...

, among others. On April 12, 1837, he married Isidora Amestoy Arnais y Pinazo.

Death and legacy

Esteban Adrogué died in 1903. A monument in his honor is established in the square baring his name, located in the center of the city of Adrogué. His remains rest in the

La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery () is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, President of Ar ...

, in Buenos Aires.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrogue Argentine people of Spanish descent People from Buenos Aires 1815 births 1903 deaths Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Patrician families of Buenos Aires