The Gaucho City

The district of General Juan Madariaga, or “General Madariaga” as popularly known, emerged in 1907 with the arrival of Ferrocarril del Sud (the Southern Railway) at Divisadero Station.


Going for a Ride

The railway station is a picturesque building featuring English architecture and declared Historical Monument and Heritage of the Culture and History of General Madariaga. Today, it houses the Tuyú Museum, which presents various shows about the nature and history of this region made up by fields, lagoons, sandhills and crab colonies.

General Madariaga has always been identified as “The Gaucho City", where the sympathy of the locals for strangers is part of daily routine of this small but beautiful city. The main street in town is called Avellaneda and used to be known as "La Unión" (the Union). Today, it is the typical central street where youths gather in the afternoons. The important architecture of the early XX century stands out in the façades.

At 737 on the same street, visitors may observe one of the oldest and most typical houses in town, which was brought along by the pioneer families from the District of General Lavalle in the early 1900s.

Like in all the cities, there is also a main avenue named Avenida San Martín or Av. De los Próceres after the number of busts that commemorate various figures of the Argentinian history, such as Rivadavia, Mariano Moreno, Domingo F. Sarmiento, Manuel Belgrano, Cornelio Saavedra and Mitre, all of them made by sculptor Máximo Maldonado.


About Squares and Chapels

San Martín Square and the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stand on M. Ituño and Sarmiento Streets. The latter was built in 1909 and it houses the remains of Dr. Carlos Madariaga and Josefa Anchorena, owners of estancia El Tala.

José Hernández Square, surrounded by Uruguay and Buenos Aires Avenues, is one historical reference in the city: it shelters an iron milestone that divided the fields known as La Esperanza, Juancho Viejo and El Tala.

One of the greenest spaces in the city is Juan Anchorena Park, specially designed and created for recreation and sports.

The Town Hall and the Civic Center lie inside General Madariaga Square. Its singular beauty summons various generations both during the day and at night all year round. They gather there to admire the wide range of tree species and also to appreciate the General Juan Madariaga monument, which stands opposite the monument that honors Benjamín Zubiaurre, founder of the city and former owner of estancia La Esperanza.


A Very Rural Town

But there are no doubts (although there are various civic manifestations that have turned Madariaga into a beautiful city) that talking about Madariaga is talking about the Argentinian countryside.

Visitors are lured by the estancias lying near the urban shell, whether for historical reasons, for the beauty of their architectural styles or for the activities practiced in their venues during weekends. All of them manage to generate interest and invite visitors to stay.

Thousands of people visit the City of General Madariaga at Easter in order to attend the staging of “the Passion according to Saint John ", which commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Juan Anchorena Park is the natural frame of the impressive scenery, made up by promenades, footbridges and staircases which occupy over 600 square meters. Over 350 actors move about for an hour and a half across the huge stage and among the audience as they represent the different Stations of the Cross.

The show integrates theater, music and dancing in a gallery of cuecas, candombes, triunfos, milongas, galopas and chacareras, which give a clearly folkloric character to the performance.

"The Passion according to Saint John” is followed by an estimated audience of over 20,000 people during four days every year.