Government of Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is the head of the department (Partido) of General Pueyrredón. The current Mayor of the city and department is Gustavo Pulti, of the local party Acción Marplatense.

The Honorable Concejo Deliberante (the town council) has some legislative powers. The term of office for both the Mayor and council members is four years.

In 1919, Mar del Plata became the first town in South America to have a Socialist Mayor, a son of Italian Immigrants, Teodoro Bronzini. The Socialist Party would dominate the city political landscape for most of the 20th century.

The Government official page has a comprehensive listing of all Mayors and Commissioners of Mar del Plata from 1881 to the present.

There is an extensive but interesting work by the American sociologist Susan Stokes about the democratic process in Mar del Plata since 1983 in comparison to other regions of Argentina. One of the main thesis of her articles is that the social and economic development of Mar del Plata was quite atypical, with a strong prevalence of middle-class values that discouraged the policy of clientelism that is the common background in other urban environments of Argentina.

Cariló

Cariló (from the mapuche word "Green Dune") is a beach resort town in Argentina. It is situated in a man made forest on the Atlantic coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, approximately 360 km south of Buenos Aires city in the adminastrative division of Pinamar Partido.

Until a few years ago, access to the town was strictly controlled by the ruling authority. Today Cariló is publicly accessible, but comparatively high prices ensure that it remains the preserve of the well heeled.

Cariló offers a lot of activities to individuals of all ages. The beach town offers sand dunes that attract many tourists for four wheeling. Many hotels and lodges in the area either have All-terrain vehicle, or quads, to rent or are associated with a company on the beach that does it. Dune bashing is a local favorite in the area for tourists and year round inhabitants.

How to get there

Access is via intercoastal state Route 11 (Spanish) that travels along the coast of the Province of Buenos Aires. Train, bus and plane are also available from Pinamar and Villa Gesell (please, check transportation availability as it may vary according to low or high season) and then a taxi is required to get there (about 6 to 10 miles from these terminal stations).

History and tourist attractions in Carilo

The Cariló area was transformed from large desert dunes close to the sea to a huge forest and a beach.

In the early 1920s, Mr. Héctor Manuel Guerrero started the forestation of the farm cóalled "Dos Montes". This farm included a cattle ranch called "Médanos" (meaning "Dunes") that has a surface of 1.700 ha. Several problems were faced as the lack of transportation and accesses were combined with almost no experience regarding on-sand forestation. Guerrero family decided to keep the forestation up to the sea shore, and included some fruit trees that brought local bird species.

In 1935, that new forested area was named "Cariló" that means "Green Dune" in local Indian language, Mapuche.

In 1938, the forestation nurseries were moved to the farm "Dos Montes".

In 1947, More than 660 thousand trees were ready to be planted.

In 1948, an estate house called "Divisadero" (also "Casa Grande") was built over a dune by the sea with the forest behind.

During the 1970s, all the forestation nurseries were disabled when the forestland of the total private property of the Guerrero family was completed.

The sons of the founder decided to name all the streets of the Cariló, using wild plants/trees - for those streets running perpendicular to the sea - and local bird names - for those that are in parallel to the sea - in alphabetical order.

Cariló is a beach town that offers many hotels, lodges, cabins, and summer homes to tourists both from Argentina and elsewhere, rather than having yearlong residents. Since it is a hotspot amongst tourists it offers several activities to visitors.

• Cariló Beach

Offers a clean ocean environment for families and freinds.

• Downtown Cariló

Downtown Cariló offers many unique shops around the Paseo Epuyen. Small, family own restaurants can also be found in this area, which allow for a cozy dining experience.

• Cariló Dune bashing

This beach town's sand dunes allow for fun on the All-terrain vehicles.

• Cariló Forest

Cariló not only has a beach to enjoy from but it also is built amonst a forest, which gives a chance for tourists to enjoy from the natural wildlife of the plants and animals.

Las Grutas

Las Grutas is a beach resort town located in the Argentine province of Río Negro, in the department of San Antonio, with a stable population of 3,500 inhabitant.s

It's located 15 kilometers southern of San Antonio Oeste, and is visited by over 250,000 tourist every summer. Its beaches are known for having relatively warm waters in spite of their location in the Patagonia, due to the wide tidal amplitude, and the protection of the San Matías Gulf. The town was founded in 1964, mainly as a group of campings, and soon began growing. But it was not until the 1980s that tourism industry finally exploded, with the construction of numerous hotels and a provincial casino.

Las Grutas', meaning "The Caves" in Spanish, comes from the caves created by the erosion of the sea on the cliffs that separate the city from the beach. The access to the beaches is therefore restricted to the existing 12 descends or "bajadas". Their names, from north to south, are "3 de febrero", "Los acantilados", "A.C.A.", "La rueda", "Cero", "Primera", "Segunda", "Tercera", "Cuarta", "Quinta", "Sexta" y "Séptima", the last seven named from first to seventh.

The first accesses where the ones named "Primera", "Segunda", and "Tercera" (first, second and third), to which new ones were added as the town, and the number of visitors grew.

Near the "Cero" access there are pools artificially carved in the stone that change their water in every tidal cycle. When the tide is low, the water in the pools is quickly warmed by the sun. In colder days, old people and children sometimes prefer to make use of the pools instead of the sea.

Miramar, Buenos Aires Province

Miramar is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province, 450 km (280 mi) south of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of General Alvarado Partido. The name "Miramar" cames from the words Mira (look) and Mar (sea).

 History

1870: The land that now includes General Alvarado Partido came into the ownership of Fortunato de La Plaza.

1879: The area changes jurisdiction from Balcarce to General Pueyrredón.

1887: It was around this time the project to build Miramar was undertaken by Jose María Dupuy, Rómulo Otamendi (engineer) and Fortunato de la Plaza.

1888: Miramar was founded on 20 September.

1889: Construction began on the first church in Miramar.

1891: The Partido of General Alvarado was created on September 29, with Miramar as its capital.

1911: The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway arrived in Miramar and the company later built a comfortable hotel and adjoining golf course in the town.

1920: The first aeroplane arrives in Miramar.

1927: The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway began the construction of the Miramar golf course.

1930: The hotel Dormy House was built adjacent to the golf course by the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, and later a tunnel was built to provide access to the sea from the hotel

Economy

The summer tourist season provides the most significant contribution to the economy of Miramar. Other economic activities include farming and agroindustry, with most of these concentrated around the nearby village of Comandante Nicanor Otamendi.

Attractions and activities of Miramar beach

Attractions

• Miramar Golf Course.
• Museo Punta Hermengo, museum.
• Vivero F. Ameghino, 5.02 km² of woodland.
• Enchanted Forest or Energic Forest
• Aero Club de la ciudad de Miramar, Aerodrome.
• Autodromo Roberto Hirch de Miramar, 1.47/1.72 km motor racing venue.
• The farm circuit, knows as "Mar y Pampa" near 37 Avenue has nice places, specially on weekends
• Vivero Dunícola "Florentino Ameghino"
• The dunes: 12 km of sand beaches - South of Miramar. There is a possibility to take a truck to know this incredible places and practise sandboard.
• The "Médano Blanco" (white dune), one of the tallest and close to "La Totora" brook.
• The coastline between Miramar and Mar del Plata (40km), has incredible landscapes with beaches, cliffs, brooks and wood.

Other attractions include the rivers Durazno and Brusquitas, an ecological reserve and a number of beaches.

Activities

• Surf: Many good breaks, one of which is famous throughout South America
• Golf: The course is of the well-known Scotch type.
• Fishing: by the coast, on board or in "La Ballenera" lagoon.
• Trekking: Especially in the forest ("El Vivero"), guide is recommended
• Mountain biking: Miramar is the point of the international circuits of mountain bike in Argentina, like "Panamerican Games"
• Horseback Riding: alone or with a guide, one can rent horses on weekends.

Monte Hermoso beach

Monte Hermoso is a town located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, some 100 km (62 mi) east of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of the partido of Monte Hermoso.

Founded at the beginning of the twentieth century, Monte Hermoso is a family seaside resort with more than 32 km (20 mi) of beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and with the unique characteristic in Argentina of having both sunrises and sunsets over the sea.

The summer climate of Monte Hermoso is more temperate than that of other major seaside resorts due to the sea breeze effect, while the water itself is warmer, making for a pleasant beach experience.

Monte Hermoso owes its existence to the 1879 purchase of 4,000 seaside hectares (10,000 acres) by Esteban Dufaur. His son, Sulpicio, created the El Recreo estancia in 1910, and in 1918, began welcoming guests with the inaugural of the Hotel de Madera; the hotel was built by Dafaur with lumber salvaged from a shipwreck on the shore. The settlement was established as such in 1975, and given autonomy on April 1, 1979.

The lighthouse, Faro Recalada a Bahia Blanca, 73 m (240 ft) high and the tallest in South America, is situated on the coastal road to Sauce Grande about 7 km (4 mi) east of the resort, where it marks the route to the nearby port of Bahía Blanca. Prefabricated in France by the same construction company, Barbier Bernad and Turenne that built the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it was erected in Argentina under the direction of Engineer Luigi, who also supervised the construction of the nearby naval base at Puerto Belgrano. Opened on 1 January 1906, the manned lighthouse, painted in red and white and giving out a white flash every 9 seconds, comprises an octagonal pyramidal cast iron tower with a central cylinder lantern and gallery. Guided tours of the lighthouse are provided daily.