Tucumán

Tucumán is a province in northeastern Argentina. It has a population of 1.3 million and its capital, San Miguel de Tucumán, has a population of 530,000. A small percentage of the province's inhabitants are from the Diaguita Calchaquí indigenous group. According to official estimates, almost half of the province's urban population is lives beneath the poverty line (INDEC, First Semester 2006). Tucumán holds a symbolically prominent place in the history of Argentina. It was there, on 9 July 1816, that representatives from around the country gathered to declare the independence of the United Provinces. Its contemporary history is marked by the tragic events of the guerrilla conflict with the People's Revolutionary Army in the 1970s and their crushing defeat by the military's Operation Independence in 1975.

The province has two geographically differentiated regions: plains in the east and mountains in the west. The climate is subtropical with a dry season. Due to its abundant flora, Tucumán is known as "the garden of the Republic." Its production is relatively diversified. The most industrialized agricultural sectors are sugar and lemons, and there are also extensive soybean and tobacco crops. The manufacturing industry, favored by special tax laws, is also significant. Principal tourist attractions of Tucumán are the Calchaquí valleys, home to the native indigenous ruins of Quilmes, and the El Mollar and Tafi del Valle villas. Tucumán plays an important role in the folk-music culture of northern Argentina. Its capital city still retains much of its colonial architectural heritage.

See alsoArgentina, Geography .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baraza de Vargas, Lidia. Historia de Tucumán. Buenos Aires: A-Z Editora, 1995.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC). Series Estadísticas Provinciales, 2006, Primer Semestre.

Paolasso, Pablo. Geografía de Tucumán. San Miguel de Tucumán: La Gaceta, 2004.

                                     Vicente Palermo