Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is a coastal city of Argentina in the province of Buenos Aires, 250 miles from the capital. This bustling city (2001 population 560,274), founded in 1874, has developed into the favorite seaside resort of the inhabitants of the capital. Especially during the first presidential terms of Juan Perón, (1946–1955), with the construction of hotels run by labor unions, Mar del Plata developed into an accessible destination for working- and middle-class tourists. The nearby spa of Huincó, where the mineral water has a moderate calcium carbonate content, attracts many patients with lung problems. Mar del Plata is also an important fish-processing center, with packing plants, paper mills, grain mills, and apparel manufactories. Two universities, the University of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Catholic University Stella Maris, as well as an institute of marine biology, enhance the cultural life of the city. The city has hosted many conventions, including the Fourth Summit of the Americas in 2005, which generated protests. The navy station at Mar del Plata ensures the presence of the Argentine armed forces in the Atlantic.

Following a resurge of tourism in the early 1990s, Mar del Plata experienced a downturn during the country's economic crisis but has since rebounded, despite continuing unemployment.

See alsoBuenos Aires; Perón, Juan Domingo.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Roberto Cava, Síntesis histórica de Mar del Plata (Mar del Plata, 1968).

Additional Bibliography

Bartolucci, Mónica I., and Adriana Alvarez. Mar del Plata: Imágenes urbanas, vida cotidiana y sociédad, 1874–1990. Mar del Plata, Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 2002.

Cignoli, Alberto. La Cuestión urbana en el posfordismo: La dinámica reciente del desarrollo urbano de Mar del Plata. Rosario, Argentina: Homo Sapiens Ediciones, 1997.

Mantobani, José M., and Lorena C. Thesz, eds. Entre el trigo y la espuma: Mar del Plata y el problema de la creación de los pueblos balnearios del Sudeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires a fines del siglo XIX. Mar del Plata, Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 2002.

Orden, María Liliana da. Inmigración española, familia y movilidad social en la Argentina moderna: Una mirada desde Mar del Plata, 1890–1930. Buenos Aires: Editorial Biblos, 2005.

Pastoriza, Elisa, ed. Las puertas al mar: Consumo, ocio y política en Mar del Plata, Montevideo y Viña del Mar. Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 2002.

                                      CÉsar N. Caviedes