Ramos Mejía is a city in

La Matanza Partido La Matanza ('The Slaughter' in Spanish) is a '' partido'' (county or department) located in the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. This provincial subdivision had 1,775,272 inhabitants (at the 2010 C ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Argentina. The town has an area of and a population of 98,547. The city is one of the largest commercial districts in the Western area 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 ...

History

The land where the city is now located was originally purchased from Martín José de Altolaguirre by Francisco Ramos Mejía in 1808. Ramos Mejía was the son of a merchant from

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, and had returned from a nine-year stay in the

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

, where his business interests had met with success. The ranch became noteworthy as the site of the first public religious controversy in Argentina, when Ramos Mejía's differences over the interpretation of

biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek , meaning 'ruler, rule' or 'measu ...

with the local parish priest, Father Castañeda, led to the former's exile from the parish in 1821. The property remained in name of wife, María Antonia Segurola de Ramos Mejía, who became its sole proprietor upon her husband's death in 1828. Confiscated by order of Governor

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

in 1840, it was returned to the widow in 1853 following Rosas' overthrow. She bequeathed the land to her four sons in a

living trust A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person. In the English common law, the party who entrusts the property is k ...

. They, in turn, sold the first lots to the Buenos Aires Western Railway, which opened the station at the site on September 25, 1858, along the nation's first

rail line Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film *Rails (film), ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini *Rail ( ...

. Subsequent sales by the heirs, and its resale as parcels, led to the establishment of the town in 1871. Buoyed by the subsequent wave of

immigration in Argentina The history of immigration to Argentina can be divided into several major stages: * Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonization between the :es:Siglo XVI, 16th and :es:Siglo XVIII, 18th century, mostly male, largely assimilat ...

, Ramos Mejía grew rapidly and in 1904, the

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

Avenida Rivadavia Avenida Rivadavia is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, extending from San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, downtown Buenos Aires to the western suburb of Merlo, Buenos Aires, Merlo. It is considered the third longest avenue ...

reached the town from Buenos Aires. The original station was replaced in 1907 by a larger structure designed by Dutch architect John Doyer; one of the most recognizable examples of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

in Argentina, the building itself was converted to a museum in 2008. Ramos Mejía would be the site of other milestones in the history of Argentine public transport. The establishment of the Transporte Ideal San Justo, a

shared taxi A share taxi, shared taxi, taxibus, or jitney or dollar van in the US, or marshrutka in former Soviet countries, is a mode of transport which falls between a taxicab and a bus. Share taxis are a form of paratransit. They are vehicles for hire and ...

company, in 1921, marked the birth of the popular transport service in Argentina (where they are known as ''

colectivo ''Colectivo'' ( English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from ''vehículos de transporte colectivo'' ("vehicl ...

s''). The

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

of the Western Railway line in 1923 between Ramos Mejía and the

Once railway station Once railway station (, ; informally known as ) is a large railway terminus in central Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the ''Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, barrio'' of Balvanera. The station, inaugurated on 20 December 1882, is located in the barr ...

terminal in Buenos Aires would be another first in the nation. Among the most important educational institutions in the city are the Ward College, established in 1913, the Santo Domingo College (founded in 1915), and the

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

Wilfrid Barón College of Don Bosco, established in 1930; one of its alumni was the future

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, who (as Jorge Bergoglio) studied here as a sixth-grader. The local ''Casa de la Cultura'' ("cultural house") houses the Leopoldo Marechal Theatre, one of the most important such establishments in La Matanza County. Ramos Mejía was officially recognized as a city by the Provincial Legislature on September 17, 1964. The city is the birthplace of, among other well-known personalities in Argentina, comedian Antonio Gasalla, cyclist and olympic gold medalist Walter Pérez, former Vice President Carlos Ruckauf, Governor

Daniel Scioli Daniel Osvaldo Scioli ( , ; born 13 January 1957) is an Argentine politician, businessman and former sportsman. He currently serves as the Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports since January 2024. He was Vice President of Argentina from ...

, screenwriter Damián Szifrón, and songwriter

María Elena Walsh María Elena Walsh (1 February 1930 – 10 January 2011) was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, playwright, writer and composer, mainly known for her songs and books for children. Her work includes many of the most popular children's books ...

Places of interest

Ramos Mejía is located approximately from the center of Buenos Aires (capital), and has rapid access through

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

s. Has many historical buildings, churches, and schools The Ramos Mejia Station: it's a city heritage, and the mansion next to the station has symbolic value, because it is the center of the history of Ramos Mejia. This building, from 1906 was designed and built by Dutch architect John Doyer (1862–1936), who designed and built also the

. The architecture design matches the late Victorian style.

Education

Public schools

*School Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Elementary) *School General José de San Martín (Elementary/High School) *School José Manuel Estrada (Elementary/High School) *School

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

(Elementary) *School República de Brasil (Elementary) *School

Juan Bautista Alberdi Juan Bautista Alberdi (August 29, 1810 – June 19, 1884) was an Argentine political theorist and diplomat. Although he lived most of his life in exile in Montevideo, Uruguay and in Chile, he influenced the content of the Constitution of Argen ...

(Elementary) *School

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 ...

(Elementary) *School Patricias Argentinas (Elementary) *School Jorge Simon Liborio Muse (Elementary) *School Sargento Cabral (Elementary) *School General G. A. de Lamadrid (Elementary) *School Alas Argentinas (Elementary) *School República de Venezuela (Elementary) *School José Félix Bogado (High School) *School Santa María de Buenos Aires (High School) *School Esteban Echeverria (High School) *School Juan B de la Salle (High School)

Private schools

*School Nuestra Señora de Fatima (Elementary – High School) *School Parroquial San Juan XXIII (Maternal – Inicial – Elementary – High School regular and technical – Tertiary) *Institute Don Bosco (Elementary – High School) *School Ramos Mejia (Inicial – Elementary – High School) * School Santo Domingo (Kindergarten – Elementary – High School) *Institute San Miguel (Inicial – Elementary – High School) *School Santísimo Redentor (Elementary – High School) *Escuela Argentina del Oeste (Elementary – High School) *Escuela

Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, ; ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called genetic epistemology. ...

(Elementary – High School) *Institute Santo Tomás de Aquino (Kindergarten – Elementary – High School) *Institute French (Kindergarten – Elementary – High School) *School del Parque (Elementary – High School) *Escuela Colina de la Paz (Elementary) *Institute Sarmiento (High School) *Institute Juan José Castelli (High School) — Closed in 2008 permanently *School Guillermo de Orange – Orange Day School (Inicial – Elementary – High School)

Notable people

* Luis Fabián Artime, soccer player * Héctor Calcaño, actor * Germán Delfino, soccer referee * Mariano Donda, soccer player *

Leopoldo Federico Leopoldo Federico (12 January 1927 – 28 December 2014) was an Argentine bandoneon player, arranger, director and composer. Life Born in the district of Once in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico was one of the most prolific bandoneo ...

, tango conductor * Sabrina Garciarena, actress * Antonio Gasalla, actor and comedian * Christian Gómez, soccer player * Araceli González, actress * Diana Ingro, actress * Verónica Magario, politician, Mayor of La Matanza between 2015 and 2019 * Jorge Minissale, rock musician * Agustín Orión, soccer player (Boca Juniors) * Gustavo "Cucho" Parisi, singer and musician, leader of

Los Auténticos Decadentes Los Auténticos Decadentes (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Authentic Decadents") is an Argentina, Argentine band that mixes ska with Latin American rhythms. The band was formed around the year 1986 by Cucho and Nito, who invited Gastón to jo ...

* Walter Pérez, cyclist * Erica Rivas, actress * Carlos Ruckauf, politician * Damián Szifron, tv producer * Fernando Tobio, soccer player *

, writer and musician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos Mejia La Matanza Partido Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1871 1871 establishments in Argentina Cities in Argentina