Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz

Established on 19 December 1885 to increase Argentine power over southern Patagonia, Río Gallegos became the capital of the then Territory of Santa Cruz in 1888, retaining its status when the territory became a province in 1957. Néstor Kirchner, later President of Argentina, served as the city's mayor from 1987 to 1991 and is interred in a mausoleum in the city's cemetery.

History

In 1525 Spanish explorer García Jofre de Loaísa became the first European to reach the Gallegos River, and named it Río San Idelfonso. Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor's 1535 expedition was the first to name the river "Río Gallegos". The area was not settled by Europeans until much later, with the settlement established 19 December 1885, when the Argentine government wished to better express its sovereignty over southern Patagonia – a naval base was created which increased the development of the town. Between 1912 and 1920, the government encouraged settlers from the Falkland Islands and southern Chile with preferential farming conditions. Some 3,000 arrived and boosted the town. As sheep-farming increased, Río Gallegos became the principal port for exporting sheep and their products. The Pioneers Museum is a preserved old Patagonian house exhibiting the life of the early settlers.

Governor Ramón Lista decided to move the Territorial Capital from Puerto Santa Cruz to Río Gallegos in 1888; official ratification of this decision came on 19 May 1904. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Luján was consecrated in 1900. The Territory of Santa Cruz was declared a Province in 1957, with Mario Cástulo Paradelo as its first Governor.

In the 1982 Falklands War, the city airport was base of Argentine Air Force Mirage III interceptors and A-4 Skyhawks strike aircraft.

Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, was mayor of Río Gallegos between 1987 and 1991. His mausoleum is in the city and a street bears his name.

Today, Río Gallegos is an important city of the Argentine far south, with military bases and an international airport. Flights between Chile and Mount Pleasant Airport on the Falkland Islands stop at Río Gallegos once a month.