Progreso is a city in the

Canelones Department The Departamento de Canelones (; ) is one of the 19 Uruguayan departments. With an area of and 608,956 inhabitants at the 2023 Census, it is located in the south of Uruguay. Its capital is Canelones. Ciudad de la Costa is the largest city by ...

of southern

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. It gives the name to the municipality to which it belongs.

Geography

The city is located on the old Route 5 (which runs parallel to the railway track Montevideo - Santa Lucia), about from the centre of Montevideo. It belongs to the wider metropolitan area of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. The

Arroyo Colorado Arroyo Colorado is a river in Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy Counties, Texas, that flows mostly eastward some from Lake Llano Grande into the Laguna Madre. Arroyo Colorado is a name derived from Spanish meaning "red creek bed". See also * Ar ...

flows through the jurisdiction.

History

The city was founded on 15 November 1871 under the name of ''Progreso'', the Spanish term for «Progress». However, prior to 1871, the place where the current city is located received the name of ''Puntas del Canelón Chico'' or ''Arroyo del Gigante''.tacuy.com.uy: Information about the Canelones Department, a brief historical survey
The name ''Progreso'' is due to the arrival of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in 1871, which was introduced into Uruguay by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. The railway system enabled the place to expand itself beyond its original borders and to achieve, at the same time, some sort of economic prosperity. The railway system also resulted in the establishment of some English families near the industrial area of the city. Today the wooded avenue that leads to the railway station is known as the ''Avenida de los Ingleses'', meaning «Avenue of the Englishmen». The neighborhood where this station is located is known as the ''Villa Inglesa'', «English Village». Its status was elevated to "Pueblo" (village) category on 1 July 1953 by the Act of Ley Nº 11.968, and then on 11 December 1981 to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley Nº 15.228. Present-day Progreso, despite its name, ranks high in Uruguay as far as the unemployment rate is concerned.

Population

According to the 2011 census, Progreso had a population of 16,244. In 2010, the ''Intendencia de Canelones'' had estimated a population of 19,578 for the municipality during the elections. MunCanProgreso

Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Places of worship

* St. Anthony Mary Claret Parish Church (

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Claretians The Claretians, officially named the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (; abbreviated CMF), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was f ...

) * St. Mary of the Visitation Monastery (Roman Catholic,

Visitandines The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (), abbreviated VSM and also known as the Visitandines, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women. Members of the order are also known as the Salesian Sisters (not to be ...

)

Government

The city mayor as of July 2015 is Javier "Petru" Petrucelli. "MUNICIPIOS DE URUGUAY" at the Intendents' Congress website

References

External links

www.progreso.com.uy

INE map of Progreso
{{Canelones Department Populated places in the Canelones Department