Valentin Alsina (Lanús)

Valentín Alsina is a city in the Lanús district, located in the southern zone of Greater Buenos Aires, corresponding administratively to the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located on the right bank of the Riachuelo and is linked to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires by the Alsina bridge, built in 1938.

It limits to the north with the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, to the southwest with the city of Lanús, to the southeast with the town of Gerli and to the east with the town of Piñeyro (Avellaneda district).

Geography

The lands of the Lanús district make up almost the entirety of the hydrographic basin of the Matanza River, a tributary of the Río de la Plata.

Its altimetry is generally very flat and reaches up to 10 m s. no. m., Valentín Alsina's level elevation goes from 7 m s. no. m. to 4 m s. no. m.

History

In 1850 Enrique Ochoa founded the second saladero in the area (true origin of the town), in the lands that were known as Paso de Burgos or Paso Chico. Ochoa fought for the construction of a bridge, which was finally built in 1859 under the management of Dr. Valentín Alsina, governor of the province of Buenos Aires. For this reason, the name of Puente Alsina was imposed after the death of the ex-governor, and it was extended to the entire area. The town was officially founded in 1874 by Daniel de Solier, who donated the land it occupied.

Population

According to the 2001 census, Valentín Alsina was the fourth locality according to the number of inhabitants of the district, with 41,155 Alsinenses; representing 9% of the total party.

Alsina Bridge

At one time it was also called the Uriburu Bridge, it is a historic, emblematic and patrimonial bridge that connects the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Nueva Pompeya, with the populous town of Valentín Alsina. The current structure is the work of engineer José C. Álvarez, who also built the La Noria Bridge. From the Colony, the Riachuelo was forded through this pass and it was known as "Paso de Burgos". It was one of the four accesses to the city of Buenos Aires from the south-southwest campaign.

Four bridges were built before the current one: the first two from 1855 and 1856, destroyed by floods; the one that was inaugurated in 1859, made with resistant wood, until 1909, and another, made of iron, from 1910 to 1938. The first three mentioned were the initiative of Enrique Ochoa, a Spanish immigrant owner of a saladero (on the side of the current town de Lanús), merchant and one of the subscribers to the founding act of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange in 1854, who presented himself to the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires requesting permission to carry out the work at his expense. The concession was granted to him in perpetuity, passing after his death to the family that alienated him in 1885.

At the request of Ochoa himself, it was named “Puente Alsina” in 1858 in homage to former governor Valentín Alsina, who attended the inauguration party and under whose mandate the work was managed. The toll payment, however, provoked not a few resistances. Finally, it was expropriated by the government. This means of communication significantly influenced the development and toponymy of the area. The name could never be uprooted despite the change produced in 1938 on the occasion of the inauguration of the current structure. On the other hand, the name "José Félix Uriburu", in homage to the soldier who overthrew the constitutional government of President Hipólito Yrigoyen in September 1930, had been causing rejection, and institutionally, especially since the restoration of the rule of law in 1983.

Finally, it recovered the historical name of origin in 2002 (Law No. 806 of the GCBA; previously, in 1998, the Municipality of Lanús had already incorporated the traditional name in official communications). Its patrimonial value was recognized when it was declared a "Site of Cultural Interest" by the City of Buenos Aires and of "Historical, Architectural and Cultural Interest" by the Deliberative Council of the Municipality of Lanús.

Traditional symbol on both banks of the Riachuelo, it contains a strong referential and historical value. There, during the second English invasion, the determined confrontation of the Buenos Aires hussars against the invading force took place. In June 1880 it was the scene of the combat between the national troops under the orders of President Avellaneda and the provincial ones of Governor Carlos Tejedor, whose defeat precipitated the consecration of Buenos Aires as the Capital of the country. The question of the roots of the name is not minor in this case. Three generations systematically refused, beyond a premeditated attitude, to accept his replacement. And it had been immortalized in the verses of Carlos de la Púa and Raúl González Tuñón among others and nothing less.

Sports

In the city is located the headquarters of the Club Atlético Victoriano Arenas, which currently plays in the First C of Argentine soccer.

Alsinenses and recognized residents

• Sandro: singer, musician, actor and songwriter, pop and rock. One of the most outstanding Argentine interpreters.
• Horacio Accavallo, world champion of boxing.
• Edmundo Rivero: singer, guitarist and composer of tangos.
• Mariano Gabriel Martínez: singer, guitarist and punk rock composer, integrates Attaque 77.
• Mario Ian: vocalist, musician, rock composer. He integrated bands like Rata Blanca or Alakrán.
• Oscar Mediavilla: musician and rock composer, guitarist from La Torre.
• Gady Pampillón: guitarist and composer of hard rock-blues rock, former Alakrán, Tarzen, La Torre, Pappo and others.
• Pipo Cipolatti: rock musician.
• 2 Minutes: punk rock group.
• Ricardo Montaner: melodic singer based in Venezuela.
• Miguel Angel Russo: ex-player and coach.
• Mabel Manzotti: actress.
• Gustavo López: former judge of the Independent Atletic Club.
• Manuel Quindimil: entrepreneur and politician. For many years he was the mayor of Lanús, lived and died on Valentín Alsina.
• Juan Carlos Uder: basketball player, World Gold medal 1950.
• Diego Valeri: Lanús footballer, Porto, Almeria and Portland Timbers.

Sister cities

• Naples
• Numea