This is the administrative capital of the Buenos Aires province. It is also an industrial city with a major YPF (the national oil company) refinery there. The refinery is so close to the city centre that the skyline looks like it is dominated by towering infernos. In fact the city grew into the industrial area. Most people in the city work for the government, as the BA province is enormous and has lots of admin behind its running, and otherwise a large chuck of the residents work in the industrial area particularly in refining and petrochemicals. Despite the dangerous proximity and unfortunate historical legacy of pollution on all 3 fronts (air, land, water), the industries are part of peoples livelihoods here.
OK, not everyone is happy...
The Rio de la Plata (Silver River or River Plate) has been polluted for decades by port, industrial, residential and commercial activities, particularly effluent, so it will be a major challenge to clean up one of the largest river mouths in the world where an amalgamation of 3 major rivers (Paraguay, Parana, Uruguay) empties into the Atlantic. It is also faced by 3 major cities: Buenos Aires, La Plata and Montevideo (Uruguay).
The main rivers feeding Rio de la Plata
The 3 main cities
It is very silty (sediments from the 3 rivers) so the river is brown!
When an Argentinian tells you that she/he is from BA, don't jump into conclusions that she/he is a "Porteño" (colloquial term for anyone from the capital city)i.e., from the capital city. BA province is big, including small towns, the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata and ranch land, so you can picture small town / big town fear and loathing. It reminds me of a friend of mine from upstate New York in the USA who cringes if anyone ever mistakenly says that he is from the "Big Apple", New York City. Ive met people from Salta (in the North) and Patagonia (in the South) who roll their eyes at the very mention of (don't quote me on this) " young, loud, guitar strumming, mullet donning, stripy clown trousers wearing, backpacking Porteños" coming through town.
La Plata is said to be a model city in design. The layout is in the classic colonial grid style, with linking diagonal avenues but more thinking went into increasing access to open spaces and amenities. Unfortunately, as with other worldwide examples (ranging from Milton Keynes in the UK to Dodoma in Tanzania to Abuja in Nigeria), the urban generation project hit lots of snags with numerous afterthoughts. In the case of La Plata, transportation is not so good and some buildings look out of place. Then comes the 2 "monuments of corruption": the main Theatro Argentino (or Opera House) and the new Football Stadium. The former spent millions of dollars on imported materials for its acoustics in a recent refurbishment but they didn't work (it was then replaced with local materials, doh!). The latter took ages to finish, with ownership changing hands (also lots of money, if you get my drift) only for the local football team refusing to move in!!
When an Argentinian tells you that she/he is from BA, don't jump into conclusions that she/he is a "Porteño" (colloquial term for anyone from the capital city)i.e., from the capital city. BA province is big, including small towns, the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata and ranch land, so you can picture small town / big town fear and loathing. It reminds me of a friend of mine from upstate New York in the USA who cringes if anyone ever mistakenly says that he is from the "Big Apple", New York City. Ive met people from Salta (in the North) and Patagonia (in the South) who roll their eyes at the very mention of (don't quote me on this) " young, loud, guitar strumming, mullet donning, stripy clown trousers wearing, backpacking Porteños" coming through town.
La Plata is said to be a model city in design. The layout is in the classic colonial grid style, with linking diagonal avenues but more thinking went into increasing access to open spaces and amenities. Unfortunately, as with other worldwide examples (ranging from Milton Keynes in the UK to Dodoma in Tanzania to Abuja in Nigeria), the urban generation project hit lots of snags with numerous afterthoughts. In the case of La Plata, transportation is not so good and some buildings look out of place. Then comes the 2 "monuments of corruption": the main Theatro Argentino (or Opera House) and the new Football Stadium. The former spent millions of dollars on imported materials for its acoustics in a recent refurbishment but they didn't work (it was then replaced with local materials, doh!). The latter took ages to finish, with ownership changing hands (also lots of money, if you get my drift) only for the local football team refusing to move in!!
La Plata skyline
The interior of the Theatro Argentino, with the super expensive acoustics
The exterior (concrete heaven)
Criticisms aside, the Gothic cathedral which also took a near eternity to complete (not as long as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona though!) has state of the art design and structures. The towers have super fast lifts to get cool views and the bells are electronically controlled (now the bell ringing abbots are out of the job!!) and instead of gargoyles we have ducks and deer! In the park below there are some interesting and controversial statues. The sculptor was said to have his reservations against the Church. For example, one his works is an archer with the bow and arrow directed at an image of Jesus Christ on the cathedral facade. The bow and arrow were removed later on! As is consistent in this country, the food here was excellent. We ate a "parilla" that looked like a German beer hall and packed with families and friends, and serving generous amount of traditional meat platters. Another cool thing: you also get complementary plates of peanuts the shells of which you can dump on the floor (they get swept up later)! Nuts!
La Plata Cathedral
K.
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