Esperanza
Coat of arms of Esperanza
Esperanza is located in Argentina
Esperanza
Esperanza
Location of Esperanza in Argentina
Coordinates: 31°25′S 60°56′W / 31.417°S 60.933°W / -31.417; -60.933
CountryArgentina
ProvinceSanta Fe
DepartmentLas Colonias
Government
  MayorAna Meiners (Justicialist Party)
Area
  Total289 km2 (112 sq mi)
Elevation
38 m (125 ft)
Population
 (2010 census)
  Total40,125
  Density140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-3 (ART)
CPA base
S3080
Dialing code+54 3496
WebsiteOfficial website

Esperanza is a city in the center of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It had about 36,000 inhabitants at the 2001 census [INDEC] and it is the head town of the Las Colonias Department.

Esperanza is at the heart of the most important dairy district of the country (milk production is based on the Holando-Argentino breed). Cattle farming is also a major activity. Additionally it hosts many small and medium industries in a variety of sectors (wood, metal mechanics, food products, book printing, editorials, textile, leather, etc.).

History

City Hall, Esperanza, Santa Fe.

Esperanza was the first formally organized agricultural colony in Argentina, formed by 200 families of immigrants from Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg who arrived during January and February 1856. The town was officially founded on 8 September 1856. The lands for each family in the colony had been set aside on 15 June 1853 by an agreement (the Agricultural Colonization Contract) between the government of Santa Fe and the entrepreneur Aarón Castellanos. The original name of the city was Colonia Esperanza, that is "Colony Hope".

The city was the third one in the province to have a Municipal Council, after Rosario and Santa Fe, on 4 May 1861. It was declared the head town of its department in 1884. In 1892, it hosted the first Agricultural Congress of the Republic.

In 1944, the national government decreed that September 8, the feast of the birth of the Virgin Mary (patron of Esperanza), was to be the National Day of the Agricultural Worker, and in 1979 Esperanza was declared permanent seat of the National Festival of Agriculture and National Agricultural Worker Day.

Notable natives

References

  • Municipality of Esperanza - Official website.
  • "Esperanza, Santa Fe". Santa Fe provincial government.
  • Municipal information: Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina. (in Spanish)
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