Goya, Corrientes

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Goya
—  City  —
Goya is located in Argentina
Goya
Location of Goya in Argentina
Coordinates: 29°8′S 59°15′W / 29.133°S 59.25°W / -29.133; -59.25Coordinates: 29°8′S 59°15′W / 29.133°S 59.25°W / -29.133; -59.25
Country Argentina
Province Corrientes
Department Goya
Government
 • Mayor Francisco Ignacio Osella (Unión Cívica Radical)
Highest elevation 50 m (160 ft)
Lowest elevation 30 m (100 ft)
Population
 • Total 87,349
Demonym goyano
Time zone ART (UTC-3)
CPA base W3450
Dialing code +54 3777

Goya is a city in the south-west of the province of Corrientes in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It has about 87,000 inhabitants as of the 2001 census [INDEC].

The city lies on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite Reconquista, Santa Fe, 222 kilometres south from the provincial capital (Corrientes) and 715 kilometres north-northwest from Buenos Aires.

Goya hosts the annual National Festival of the Surubí, which includes a fishing contest. The surubí is a popular large catfish of the Paraná.

Contents

[edit] Origin of its name and history

The city of Goya originated from the purchase of land at the site by Gregoria Morales and her husband, Bernardo Olivera, in 1771. The city does not have foundation act and, in agreement with the oral tradition, its name is owed to the enterprising Gregoria Morales' nickname: Doña Goya. Following the couple's settlement in the proximities of the present "costanera" (riverfront), she opened a general store upon her arrival, and per historian José M. Cabrer, tradition held that this lady made exquisite cheeses, with the milk of cows fed with reedbeds and coconuts. Her canned goods were, in turn, purchased by visitors and merchants plying the Paraná River, popularizing the name of the delicacies to the extent that, by 1801, the site was popularly known as "Goya Port."

The settlement was informally established as such in 1807, and the local cathedral, Our Lady of the Rosary, was consecrated in 1884. Among Goya's historical anecdotes is having been where Camila O'Gorman and her forbidden love, Father Ladislao Gutiérrez, sought refuge; the couple where apprehended and executed in 1848.

[edit] Swallows

Every November 24 thousands of migratory swallows arrive in Goya, coming from San Juan Capistrano, California, from where they leave on October 23 and cross around 11,000 kilometres following the Pacific coast. When arriving in Goya, the swallows (golondrinas) are received with a series of festivals at the Monument to the swallows located in San Martín Square, one of the birds' preferred nesting places. The return to Capistrano of the first swallows begins around February 18, to arrive in California on March 19 every year. This particular event encouraged the mayors of Goya and San Juan Capistrano to sign a declaration of brotherhood between the two cities in 1985; President Raúl Alfonsín contributed a framed Argentine flag in commemoration of the event to San Juan Capistrano.

San Martín Plaza
La Rotonda Church
National Festival of the Surubí

[edit] Renowned natives

[edit] References

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