Southern Cone Under the
British
Santa Fe/Wilsonton
In Auchmuty-Whitelocke World (AWW), the twin cities of Santa Fe, capital of New Lancashire, and Wilsonton, capital of the Argentine Republic, are located on the west bank of the Parana River, across from Parana (capital of South Mesopotamia province). Located about 470 kilometres from Buenos Aires and 160 kilometres from Rosario, they have a combined population of 750,000. The local area code for calling is 0342 (formerly 042), within the +54 country code.
These two cities have radically different histories. Santa Fe was founded in 1573 in present-day Cayastá and moved 80 kilometres south to its present site in the 1600s, and capitulated to the British in 1807 after the conquest of Buenos Aires; even today, it remains a conservative, Spanish-speaking city. By contrast, Wilsonton was planned in 1882 by Peter Benoit and established a few years later, after it was decided to move the capital away from Buenos Aires; it is largely English-speaking and liberal.
In Santa Fe, just 19% of the total population of 400,000 is angloparlant, while in Wilsonton, it is 75% angloparlant (out of 350,000). Wilsonton is more ethnically diverse than Santa Fe, but neither of those has as much diversity as Buenos Aires, Rosario, or even Cordova City. Roman Catholicism predominates in Santa Fe, while Protestants are a majority in Wilsonton (though will a sizeable Catholic minority). The people in Santa Fe are Santa Feans in English and santafecinos in Spanish; those in Wilsonton are Wilsontonians in English and wilsontonenses in Spanish.
Transportation is plentiful in the Santa Fe-Wilsonton area, both in going to/from it and within it. The twin cities are both served by Old Willow International Airport, several kilometres south of Wilsonton. In Santa Fe, the mian train and bus terminals are, respectively, Lumley Train Station and the Santa Fe Bus Terminal Station. The corresponding terminals in Wilsonton are the Rock Train Station and the Wilsonton Bus Station. Public transit within Santa Fe-Wilsonton includes a city bus network, along with two light rail lines (one line connecting Santa Fe and Wilsonton, the other being being a spur of the first line).
In Santa Fe, the attractions tend to be historical. Among them, the San Francisco Convent and Museum is tops. Other museums include the Santa Fe Historical Museum, the Juan de Garay Ethnographic and Colonial Museum, and the Rosa Galisteo de Rodriguez Fine Arts Museum. The most interesting religious institutions are Iglesia de la Compañía and the Templo de Santo Domingo/Casa de los Aldao. The centre of Santa Fe also has Province House (formerly Government House) and the Legislative Building of New Lancashire, plus the Metropolitan Cathedral; there is the La Esmeralda Experimental Farm on the outskirts.
Wilsonton, being the capital of the country, has national-type attractions. The most relevant are the Parliament Building and the New Pink House. A British-inspired Changing of the Guard takes place at the Parliament Building, and the New Pink House is the President's official residence (before 1956, it was the official residence of the Governor-General of Argentina). Moreover, Griffon Manor was the Prime Minister's official residence for several decades before that post was abolished in 1976. There is a building that houses the headquarters for the army, the Defence Ministry, and so on, while the Parliament Museum near the parliament exhibits items related to national government. Other capital-themed attractions include the National Engraving Museum, National Historical Museum, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Decorative Arts Museum, the National Library, and the National Military Cemetery. Within Blenheim Park, you have the Argentine National Zoo and the Cockerell Observatory.
Some of the festivities in Santa Fe and/or Wilsonton include the Jazz & Blues Festival, the International Festival of Digital Art, the Wilsonton Shakespeare Festival, the Tango Festival, and the Wilsonton Fringe Festival (one of the better fringe festivals in the county).
Santa Fe is a primary flax-processing centre, while Wilsonton is a high-tech hub. Wilsonton is the home of the Centre Littoral Technological Park, which houses, among other things, the International Centre for Computational Methods in Engineering.
In Santa Fe, soccer is the most popular sport, represented by Club Atletico Colon. Wilsonton gravitates towards cricket and rugby; the top cricket team is the Unions, and the top rugby team is the Wilsonton Rugby Club. Also in Wilsonton, there is the Argentine Racetrack.
Like in so many things, each of these cities has its own theatre. There is the Spanish-speaking Mayo Theatre in Santa Fe, and the English-speaking Argentine Theatre (nationally respected) in Wilsonton. The best symphony orchestra in town is the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina in Wilsonton, along with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra.
There is plenty of shopping in both cities. Besides the markets and stores downtown, Santa Fe has the Recoleta Station Shopping Centre and the Paseo del Sol Mall, and Wilsonton has the Benoit Promenade Shopping Centre and the Capital Gardens Mall.
Santa Fe’s main hospitals are the Hospital Provincial J.B. Iturraspe and the Hospital Garay; in Wilsonton, they are the Capital Hospital and the Wilsonton Children's Hospital.
By far the leading newspaper in Santa Fe is El Litoral; in Wilsonton, there are two. For Wilsontonians, there is the Times, and the national newspaper based in Wilsonton is the Argentine Free Press.
As you might have guessed, education is divided along linguistic lines between the two cities. In Santa Fe, the schools are mostly Spanish, while in Wilsonton, they are mostly English. In Wilsonton, the foremost private schools are the Collegiate of the Argentine, Argyle Academy, Saint James College, and Saint Catherines School. As for higher education, Santa Fe has Universidad Nacional del Litoral, and Wilsonton has National Capital University and Kerry University. The liberal-arts college in Wilsonton is Schluter College.
In Wilsonton, luxury hotels include the Capital Hotel and Morgan Hotel.
Back to Top
Nearby
Across the Parana River from Santa Fe and Wilsonton is the city of Parana, capital of South Mesopotamia province, with a population of 490,000. There, the street pattern is diagonal, unlike many other Argentine cities. Though it has more people than Santa Fe or Wilsonton, it has a slower-paced atmosphere than across the river, because the combined population of Santa Fe and Wilsonton is greater than that of Parana. In English, the inhabitants are called Paranans, and in Spanish, paranaenses.
Parana is the home of the bilingual University of Parana and the angloparlant Greer University, as well as the angloparlant Parana Journal and hispanoparlant Diario Uno. Tourists can go to such places as the Maté Museum and the Crafts Museum/Market, along with the South Mesopotamia Music and Crafts Festival (in February), the Maté Festival, the Shakespeare Festival, and the Opera Festival. The local area code for calling is 0343 (formerly 043), within the +54 country code.
Northwest of the capital region is the town of Hope, founded in the late 19th century by European immigrants. It hosts the National Agricultural Festival in September.
Eighty or so kilometres upstream from the Santa Fe-Wilsonton area is Cayastá; as previously mentioned, this was the original site of Santa Fe. Entirely built of adobe, this small town had seven churches or religious orders; today, it is carefully protected against the elements.
Much of the information on this page, especially about the tourist attractions, shopping, hospitals, theatres, and hotels, is derived from the Lonely Planet Guide to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, Lonely Planet Publications, 4th edition, 2002, and other sources, and is altered for AWW conditions.
Back to Homepage
|
|
