Salta is a city in northwestern
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and the capital city of the
Salta ProvinceSalta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.
Overview
It is situated in the Lerma Valley, 1,152 meters (3780 feet) above sea level, at the foothills of the
AndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountains.
The weather is warm and dry, with annual averages of 756 mm of rainfall and an average temperature of 16.4 °C (20.4 °C in summer, 10.8 °C in winter). January and February are the months with greatest rainfall. During the spring, Salta is occasionally plagued by severe, week long dust storms.
Nicknamed
Salta la Linda ("Salta the Fair"), it has become a major tourist destination due to its old, colonial architecture and the natural scenery of the valleys westward. Attractions in the city proper include the 18th century
CabildoFor a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...
, the neo-classical style
CathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
, and the
July 9 central square. The city's museums exhibit a wide range of artifacts and art work from the native civilizations that flourished in the area (Salta is located in the Southernmost region of what was the
Inca empireThe Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
, belonging to the Collasuyu, one of the four areas the empire was divided until the Spanish conquest), as well as from the 16th century Spanish conquest and the colonial and post-colonial periods. Salta is also the starting point of the "Train to the Clouds" (
Tren a las nubes), and on the way to red-soiled
Cafayate
, as well as to other nearby tourist destinations.
The Martín Miguel de Güemes Airport, 6 kilometres southeast of the city, has regular flights to
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Tucumán, Jujuy,
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, Iguazu, Rio de Janeiro and
Santa Cruz de la SierraSanta Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...
(
BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
).
History
Salta was founded on April 16, 1582 by the Spanish
conquistadorConquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
Hernando de LermaHernando de Lerma was a conqueror, politician, lawyer and city founder from Seville, Spain.On November 13, 1577, Lerma was named Governor of Tucumán, by Spanish King Philip II. Described by historians as a man of violence, de Lerma had problems with several people from the area, including fellow...
, who intended the settlement to be an outpost between Lima, Peru and Buenos Aires.
During the
war of independenceThe Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, the city became a commercial and military strategic point between
PerúPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and the Argentine cities. Between 1816 and 1821, the city was led by local military leader General
Martín Miguel de GüemesMartín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...
, who under the command of General
José de San MartínJosé Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
, defended the city and surrounding area from Spanish forces coming from further north.
Salta emerged from the War of Independence politically in disarray and financially bankrupt, a condition that lingered throughout much of the 19th century. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the arrival of
ItalianAn Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...
,
SpanishSpanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
and
ArabAn Arab Argentine is an Argentine citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria but also there are some individuals from the...
immigrants, particularly Syrians and Lebanese, revived trade and agriculture all over the area while further enhancing the city's multicultural flavor.
Climate
The climate in Salta is
highland subtropicalAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(
Cwb, according to the
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
), and it is famous in Argentina for having a very pleasant weather. Located in the subtropical north, but at an altitude of 1,200 metres, Salta enjoys 4 distinct seasons: summers are warm with frequent thunderstorms, with daytime highs around 26ºC to 28ºC (79F to 82F) and pleasant, refreshing nights around 15ºC or 16ºC (59F to 61F). Fall brings dry weather, pleasant days at around 22ºC (71F) and cool nights at around 10ºC (50F). By winter, the dryness is extreme, with very few rain episodes. Nights are quite cold at 3ºC (37F) on average, but daytime heating allows for high temperatures of 19ºC (66F). Snow is rare but not unprecedented, and frost is quite common, with temperatures reaching down to -7ºC (19F) during the coldest nights. Spring brings sunny weather with warm days and cool nights: days range from 25ºC to 28ºC (77F to 82F) with nights between 10ºC and 14ºC (50F to 57F), and the first thunderstorms make the landscape become lush once again.
Of the over 800 mm of rain that Salta receives yearly, over 80% falls between December and March, when thunderstorms occur almost daily. During the rest of the year, blue skies dominate the region.
Attractions
The city center features a number of impressive buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th and early 20th centuries. Clockwise around the Ninth of July Square are the neoclassical Cathedral, the French style Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cabildo (in former times, the city's town hall, nowadays a historical museum) and the neoclassical Museum of High Mountain Archeology, which houses artifacts from the Inca civilization, including the magnifically preserved mummies of three Inca children. The Plaza is almost completely surrounded by a gallery, and its beauty inspired a
Chivas RegalChivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand's home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland.It is the...
TV ad, aired in 2004.
Within walking distance of the 9th July Square are the impressive Saint Francis Church and the city's three pedestrian streets:
Alberdi,
Florida and "Caseros". The three blocks in
Balcarce streetBalcarce Street is a popular street in Salta, Argentina . It crosses the downtown of the city, from Belgrano Avenue to the former Salta railway station...
closest to the train station are now the center of night life in Salta, with restaurants, pubs and cafés on both sidewalks and concerts every night.
Rising imposingly in the east is San Bernardo Hill. Its summit, from which visitors can get an awe-inspiring view of the city and the entire valley, can be reached by car, cable car or stairway.
Culture and arts
Salta is probably the most Spanish city in Argentina by physical appearance: so much so that tourists visiting from
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
often find a strong resemblance between Salta and Andalucian cities. The local culture, however, is a blend of Spanish and gaucho (mestizo, criollo, both indigenous and non indigenous) traditions, lending the city a distinctive identity, somewhat different from the more Europeanlike metropolises to the south.
The city boasts three theaters, several museums (one of which exhibits the perfectly preserved bodies of c.500 year old inca children sacrificed in the
AndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
to Inca gods), and a busy calendar of art exhibitions, shows, music festivals, and other cultural events.
One of the main activities in Salta is the April Culture Festival, which lasts the entire month and offers a wide variety of activities such as cultural performances, a handcraft exposition, and live orchestral performances.
Sports
Salta residents, as most Argentines, are very enthusiastic about
soccerAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. The most important local clubs are
Juventud AntonianaCentro Juventud Antoniana is a football club from the city of Salta in Salta Province, Argentina. The team currently plays in Torneo Argentino A, which is the regionalised third level of the Argentine Football Association league system.Juventud Antoniana played in the Argentine top flight 6 times:...
,
Gimnasia y Tiro de SaltaClub de Gimnasia y Tiro is an Argentine Football club, which home town is located in the city of Salta of the Salta Province. The team currently plays in the regionalised 3rd. level of the Argentine football league system, the Torneo Argentino A....
, and
Central NorteClub Atlético Central Norte is a football club from Salta city, Argentina. The team currently plays in the Torneo Argentino A, which is the regionalised third level of the Argentine Football Association league system....
; many faithful fans follow each.
Juventud Antoniana and
Central Norte currently play in the
third national divisionZone 1Zone 2-List of champions:European-styled seasonsApertura and Clausura seasonsEuropean-styled seasons-External links:*...
, while
Gimnasia y Tiro plays in the
fourthTorneo Argentino B is one of two leagues that form the regionalised fourth level of the Argentine football league system. Clubs in Torneo Argentinos B come from all over Argentina....
.
Other locally popular sports include baseball (a game in which Salta players excel nationally), basketball, volleyball, rugby, and mountaineering.
The main sporting venue in Salta is the
Padre Ernesto Martearena StadiumEstadio Padre Ernesto Martearena is a multi-use stadium in Salta, Argentina. The stadium, built for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, holds 20,408 people and was opened in 2001. It is now the home ground of football club Juventud Antoniana, which plays in the country's third level...
; the Gimnasia y Tiro and Juventud Antoniana stadiums also see many athletic matches. The largest roofed facility in the city is the Ciudad de Salta Stadium, chiefly used for basketball, volleyball, and boxing.
Over the last twenty years, Salta has played host to such high-profile international sporting events as the
1990 Basketball World CupThe 1990 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Argentina from August 8 to August 20, 1990.The competition final phase was held at the Luna Park, Buenos Aires.Yugoslavia emerged as the tournament winner...
, the 1994
Camel TrophyThe Camel Trophy was a vehicle oriented competition that was held between 1980 and 2000, and was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain.- The Events :...
, the
2002 Volleyball World CupThe 2002 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship was the 15th edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB. It was held in Salta, Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Santa Fé and San Juan, Argentina from September 28 to October 13, 2002.-Pools composition:* Because ...
, and the 2009 Hockey Champions Challenge. The
Argentina national rugby union teamThe Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
, the "Pumas", have played in Salta against the
ItalianThe Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
(2005) and
EnglishThe England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
(2009) Top football clubs, including Boca Juniors, River Plate and Racing, have played friendly games in Salta in summer, off-season matches.
Notable people
- Mariano Boedo
Mariano Boedo was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina....
, statesman
- Jorge Horacio Brito
-Life and times:Jorge Brito was born in Salta in 1952 and was raised by his mother, who was widowed in 1962. He founded Anglia, a brokerage, in 1976 and, in 1985, purchased a competing brokerage, Financiera Macro. He was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in June 1988 and cultivated close...
, banker, businessman
- Laureano Brizuela, singer
- Caloi, cartoonist
- Los Chalchaleros
Los Chalchaleros is an Argentine musical ensemble consisting today of four men. The group was established in 1948 in the northern province of Salta. It is named after a local song-bird, the chalchalero....
, folk music band
- Los Nocheros
Los Nocheros is a pop/folk music group from Salta, Argentina. Composed of Mario Teruel, Rubén Ehizaguirre, Kike Teruel and Álvaro Teruel , their 1994 debut album was titled Con El Alma. Los Nocheros gained fame during appearances at the National Folklore Festival in Cosquín, Córdoba...
, folk music band
- Juan Carlos Dávalos, poet and writer
- Julia Elena Dávalos, folk singer
- Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...
, general
- Carlos Ibarguren
Carlos Ibarguren Uriburu was an Argentine academic, historian and politician. As a writer he was noted as one of the foremost academics of the history of Argentina as well as a leading expert on constitutional law...
, academic, politician
- Vincente Baffa Trasci, academic, politician
- Lydia Barro Panades-Baffa Trasci, academic
- César Isella
Cesar Isella , argentinian singer and songwriter of folk music. He joined Los Fronterizos from 1956 to 1966, was one of the main figures of the "Movement of the New Songbook", and in the 1990s he discovered and sponsored the singer Soledad Pastorutti...
, folk singer
- David Kavlin, TV host
- Luciano Leccese
Luciano Gabriel Leccese is an Argentine professional footballer-Career:He played on the professional level in Primera División A for Salamanca FC and Águilas Riviera Maya....
, footballer
- Gustavo Leguizamón, pianist, composer, poet
- José Juan Botelli, pianist, composer, writer
- Dino Saluzzi
Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi is an Argentine musician.The son of popular carpero composer and instrumentalist Cayetano Saluzzi, Dino played the bandoneón since his childhood...
, bandoneonist, composer
- Daniel Tinte
Daniel Tinte is a musician pianist and composer of Argentina.Founded in 1998 the artistic and musical movement "The Calchaquismo". The principal characteristics of which Calchaquismo, part of the meeting of the Argentine folk dance with the improvisation of jazz contemporary and the rock...
, pianist, composer
- Lucrecia Martel
Lucrecia Martel is a film director, screenplay writer, and producer.According to film critic Joel Poblete, who writes for Mabuse, a cinema magazine, Lucrecia Martel is one of the members of the so-called "New Argentina Cinema" which began c...
, film director
- José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz
José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz was an Argentine executive and policy maker. He served as Minister of the Economy under de facto President Jorge Rafael Videla between 1976 and 1981, and shaped economic policy during the self-styled National Reorganization Process military dictatorship.-Early...
, former economy minister
- Robustiano Patrón Costas
Robustiano Patrón Costas was a conservative Argentine politician and businessman who served as interim President of the nation and governor of his native province. He led the National Democratic Party....
, infamous sugar tycoon
- Luciana Pedraza
Luciana Duvall is an Argentine actress and director. She is married to American fellow actor Robert Duvall, and is the granddaughter of Argentine aviation pioneer Susana Ferrari Billinghurst....
, actress
- Victorino de la Plaza
Victorino de la Plaza y Palacios was President of Argentina from 9 August 1914 to 11 October 1916.Second son of José Roque Mariano de la Plaza Elejalde and Manuela de la Silva Palacios; his older brother, Rafael de la Plaza, was also a politician and acted as governor of Santiago del Estero...
, politician, president of Argentina
- Luís Sillero
Luis Hernán Sillero is an Argentine football striker. The last professional club he played for is Bolivian side Blooming.-Club career:...
, footballer
- José Evaristo Uriburu
José Evaristo de Uriburu y Álvarez de Arenales was President of Argentina from 23 January 1895 to 12 October 1898....
, president of Argentina
- José Félix Uriburu
General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu was the first de facto President of Argentina, achieved through a military coup, from September 6, 1930 to February 20, 1932.-Biography:...
, de facto president of Argentina
- José Valdiviezo
José Antonio Valdiviezo is an Argentine football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Gimnasia y Tiro de Salta in Argentina.- Career :...
, footballer
- Christian Rodrigo Zurita
Christian Rodrigo Zurita is an Argentine football midfielder. He currently plays for Mersin İdman Yurdu of the Spor Toto Super League in Turkey....
, footballer
- Facundo de Zuviría, lawyer, statesman
Trivia
- The film Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
and Tony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, was largely shot in the hills west of the city, near San Lorenzo.
- Actor John Schneider
John Richard Schneider III is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Bo Duke in the 1980s American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and as Jonathan Kent on Smallville, a 2001 television adaptation of Superman.Alongside his acting career, Schneider performed as a...
(The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
and SmallvilleSmallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
) was part of the cast of Cocaine WarsCocaine Wars is a 1985 Argentine-U.S. action film drama directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Olivera alongside Steven M. Krauzer and David Viñas.The associate producer of the film was Fernando Ayala...
, another film shot in Salta.
- Two Hollywood celebrities have married Salta-born girls: Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
(to Luciana Bozán Barroso), and Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
(to Luciana PedrazaLuciana Duvall is an Argentine actress and director. She is married to American fellow actor Robert Duvall, and is the granddaughter of Argentine aviation pioneer Susana Ferrari Billinghurst....
).
External links