San Antonio de Areco is one of the old, traditional cities in the Province of Buenos Aires. It was founded around a chapel built by Jose Ruiz de Arellano in 1730, in a corner of his property.

These lands extended along the riverbanks of the homonymous river, which gave place to the Town of Areco, a zone that also included Zarate, Campana, Carmen de Areco and Baradero.

Located north of the Province of Buenos Aires, the district's surface of 852 km2 houses a population of 18800 people. It is currently a thriving city that keeps alive the old traditional spirit, which is the main attraction for those who wish to follow the tracks of its splendorous past.

You get in direct touch with traditions in this place, known as the gaucho homeland; and thanks to Ricardo Güiraldes, author of the immortal book Don Segundo Sombra, the name of the City of Areco transcends its own borders.

Güiraldes lived in the Estancia La Porteña, founded by the descendants of Jose Ruiz Arellano in 1812, and gaucho Segundo Ramirez, who was to be the main character in the book, was in charge of the ranch in those times.

Travellers will find old houses with their colonial iron grids and narrow sidewalks on the streets of San Antonio de Areco, where history and tradition are still alive.

Its closeness to the Federal Capital is thus supported by the excellent infrastructure it enjoys; but, in any case, the most outstanding quality in it is that touch of tradition that can be found in its historic centre and the aroma of typical rural life in the surrounding estancias.

You can also visit shops with regional articles, old wholesale shops, or recreational places by the Areco River. Something to be noted are the many traditionalist delegations that have the chance of taking part in the Feast of Tradition.

HOW TO GET THERE

For those coming from the Federal Capital, take the Northern Access, Pilar branch, and then National Route Nº 8, which is the fastest and easiest way, due to the prime conditions of the roads.

Another way of arriving here is through the Western Access up to Luján, then along National Route Nº 7 up to San Andres de Giles; or along Provincial Route Nº 6, until reaching National Route Nº 8, which will take you directly to the city.

A third option would be to take the Old Route Nº 8 from Morón up to Pilar.

The trip will take around two and a half hours.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Ricardo Güiraldes Museum
It was created in the year 1933, and it tries to look like the old main house of an estancia, protected by old cannons, an earthwork and a moat. It occupies a state of almost 40 hs where you can appreciate native flora. Its different rooms host, among other things, the armchair and the bureau where Güiraldes wrote the famous Martin Fierro, a bed that belonged to Juan Manuel Rosas, and documents regarding the novel Segundo Sombra. It also shows the everyday belongings of a typical gaucho of the region from the XIX century, besides paintings, weapons, books and documents depicting the Argentine customs that prevailed in this town in Buenos Aires' countryside.

La Blanqueada Wholesale Shop
It is an symbolic place in San Antonio de Areco, and the first encounter between Segundo Sombra and Fabio takes place in it, in the famous novel written by Güiraldes. It is now 150 years old and has been refurbished to look as it was in the old times. There are wheat mills, a settler's wagon with wheels two metres high, old stagecoaches and a centenarian ombu tree behind the shop. It is founded at the gate of the Criollo Park and the Ricardo Güiraldes Museum.

Parochial Church of San Antonio de Padua
In the year 1714 an invasion pounded the Districts of Arrecifes and San Antonio de Areco, causing the believing settlers to vow to raise a chapel in honour of San Antonio in order to get rid of the crooks. In view that the oratory ended without being large enough, General Ruiz de Arellano, owner of the land where it was raised, asked the Bishop of Buenos Aires for permission to build the pledged chapel; the request was accepted on October the 27th of 1728. It is found in front of Arellano Plaza, and was totally refurbished in 1869. It is the only temple in the entire District of Areco, and has always been universally known as the Chapel of San Antonio.

Quinta Guerrico
It is located on the historic corner of Laplacette and Bolivar Stts, where the grills of the Feast of Tradition were lit for the first time, and where the local residents use to gather together.