'San Miguel de Tucumán' (usually referred to as simply 'Tucumán') is the largest
city in northwestern
Argentina, with a population of 525,853 per the . The
metropolitan area totals 806,000, making it the fifth-largest in the country. It is the
capital of the
province of Tucumán. It was founded in
1565 by
Spanish Diego de Villarroel travelling south from
Peru and was moved to the present site in
1685.
The city is bordered on the north by Las Talitas (Tafí Viejo), on the east by
Banda del Río Salí and
Alderetes (Cruz Alta), on the west by the city of
Yerba Buena, and on the south by Lules.
The city sits on the slopes of the Aconquija mountains, the easternmost mountain range before the large
Chaco-
Pampean flats. It is the commercial center of an irrigated area that produces large quantities of
sugarcane,
rice,
tobacco, and
fruit, and provides the province with its nickname, the Garden of the Republic. The
National University of Tucumán (
1914) and the
Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North (
1965) are in the city.
On
July 9,
1816 a
congress gathered in Tucumán declared the independence from
Spain, which did not officially recognize it until
1862. The meeting place of the congress, the
House of Tucumán, has been reconstructed as a national monument.
Tourist attractions

Government house
★ Independence Square
★ Government House
★ Cathedral
★ San Francisco Basilica
★ Federación Económica Building
★ Padilla House
★ Independence House
★ La Merced Church
★ Museum of Sacred Art
★ Timoteo Navarro Museum
★ President Avellaneda's House
★ Museum of Northern Folklore
★ 9 de Julio Park
Cultural Life and Education

Night view of the metropolitan area

The Cathedral at Sunset

Tucumán: Colonial-Style door

Tucumán: La Merced Church

Tucumán: 9 de Julio Park
For decades, San Miguel de Tucumán has been one of the most outstanding cultural spots in the country, in part, due to the influence of the prestigious
National University of Tucumán. It has been the birthplace and/or the home of well-known personalities such as folk singer
Mercedes Sosa, writer
Tomas Eloy Martínez, musician
Miguel Ángel Estrella, botanist
Miguel Lillo, painter
Luis Lobo de la Vega, and many others.
Two large theaters (San Martín and Alberdi) and several smaller and independent theaters offer a wide array of events, including plays, concerts, operas, and ballet, all year round. The ''Septiembre Musical'' is by far the most important cultural event during the year. This music festival, generally held at the Independencia Square, brings together several local and national artists who perform different musical styles ranging from folk music to rock.
There are two public universities in the city, the
National University of Tucumán and the
National Technological University, and a private one, the
Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North.
Transportation
The city is served by several bus lines that have routes within the city limits and some others that connect it to the neighboring cities of Yerba Buena, El Manantial, Tafi Viejo, Las Talitas, Banda del Rio Salí and Alderetes.
The
Benjamín Matienzo International Airport is the city's airport (though located 12 km east of the city, in the neighboring department of Cruz Alta) serving over 300,000 passengers a year. There are daily flights to
Buenos Aires,
Córdoba and
Santiago del Estero.
There is a weekly railway service to the Retiro station in Buenos Aires departing from the Bartolomé Mitre station located near downtown.
San Miguel de Tucumán boasts one of the largest bus stations in Argentina. The 30,000 m² '"Terminal del Tucumán"' (opened in
1994) is the point from where hundreds of bus services arrive from and depart to almost all of the largest and mid-size cities throughout the country.
Media
San Miguel de Tucumán is home to two free-to-air television stations ('
Channel 8' and '
Channel 10'), five newspapers ('
La Gaceta', '
El Siglo', 'El Periódico', 'El Tribuno' and 'La Ciudad'), three cable television companies ('CCC, ATS', and 'TCC') and several radio stations.
Natives of Tucumán
★
Julio A. Roca, former president
★
César Pelli, architect
★
Mercedes María Paz (born
June 27,
1966), professional tennis player
★
Omar Hasan, professional rugby player
★
Mercedes Sosa, folk music singer
★
Tomás Eloy Martínez, journalist and writer, author of ''Santa Evita''
★
Lorena Bernal, model and actress
★
Claudia Amura, chess player
★
Ramón Ortega, (known as Palito Ortega), former pop singer and politician
External links
★
Tucuman.gov.ar Tucuman Province Official Website
★
Municipalidad De San Miguel de Tucuman City Govt. Website
★
Tucuman.com Tucumán portal website
★
Tucuman Turismo Tucuman Tourist Office (Official Website)
★
Turismo en Tucuman Local Website with tourist information
★
CCtuning The only site dedicated to the tuning world, with photos of Tucumán and Argentina tuning shows.
★
La Gaceta The most important local newspaper
★
El Siglo Web Online edition of this local newspaper
★
Panorama24.com Online news
★
Primera Fuente Online webpaper
★
Tucuman al Dia Online webpaper
★
Tucuman Diario Online webpaper
★
Tucuman Noticias Online webpaper
★
Esto es Tucuman Local webzine about politics, media, general issues, etc.
★
Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Tucuman State University
★
Universidad del Norte Santo Tomas Aquino Tucuman Catholic University
★
Universidad Tecnologica Nacional (Tucuman Campus)
★
Tucuman photos Pictures of Tucuman City and its surroundings
★
Map of Tucuman, Tucuman AR Allows Zoom down to street level