Colón

The Uruguay River was the frontier and the highway of eastern Entre Ríos long before Colón existed. In 1857 a group of Swiss and French immigrants landed at the Calera de Espiro, a lime-burning site on the river bank, and Justo José de Urquiza, the caudillo of the province and president of the Argentine Confederation, settled them on his own land as Colonia San José — one of the first agricultural colonies for immigrants in Argentina. The colonists farmed and raised cattle inland and brought their produce to the landing to be shipped.

As more people gathered around the landing, Urquiza decided a new town was needed there, and on 12 April 1863 he founded Colón on the site that is now its port. It grew as a river trading post for the colony's goods; the creation of the Villa de Colón was formally promulgated in 1871, its municipal government was installed in 1873, and the parish of Santos Justo y Pastor followed in 1876. Nearby, a meat-salting works grew into a plant of the English-owned Liebig's Extract of Meat Company, around which the village of Pueblo Liebig formed.

In the 20th century the town became a first-class municipality after the provincial constitution was reformed in 1933, and Herminio Quirós, who became governor of Entre Ríos in 1930, gave it the park that bears his name. The opening of the General Artigas Bridge to Paysandú in December 1975 tied Colón to Uruguay. Today its river beaches and its thermal pools, fed by water from the Guaraní Aquifer more than 750 metres down, make it one of the province's main holiday towns.

Colón calls itself the provincial capital of tourism, and its identity is that of a river resort with deep immigrant roots. The Swiss, Savoyard and French families of Colonia San José shaped the surrounding countryside: in San José the colonists founded what is regarded as the first shooting club in South America in 1859, and a Savoyard cultural centre and a regional history museum keep their story. The Forclaz windmill, built by one of the founding families, is a national historic monument.

Crafts are the town's particular pride. The Fiesta Nacional de la Artesanía grew from small displays in the municipal building and stalls in Plaza Washington in the 1960s; it was recognised as a national festival in 1986 and moved to Parque Quirós in the 1990s. Each edition honours one craft — plant fibres, silverwork and leather have all had their year — and craftspeople from other provinces and neighbouring countries take part.

Summer belongs to the corsos, the carnival parades that fill the streets around Plaza Washington in January and February with drummers, costumes and spray foam. Basketball has a strong following, with two local clubs, La Armonía and La Unión, and Entre Ríos is chamamé and carnival country.

Colón had about 23,000 people at the 2010 census, and the Colón Department around it about 75,000 at the 2022 census, including the neighbouring towns of San José and Pueblo Liebig. It is a low-rise town of family houses and gardens on a grid behind the river, with the commercial streets around Plaza San Martín and newer cabins and holiday homes towards the beaches.

Tourism drives the economy: hotels, cabins, campsites, a casino, the thermal complex with its indoor and outdoor pools and water park, restaurants and crafts. Around it, the farms of the old colonies grow grain and raise livestock, and the port, which handles river traffic on the Uruguay, has a natural depth that rarely needs dredging. Paysandú across the bridge is close enough for shopping and family visits.

The year swings between a crowded summer and a quiet winter. In the holiday season the population swells, the beaches and the Costanera are busy until late, and carnival takes over the weekends; out of season the town settles back into a slow provincial rhythm of afternoon siestas, evening walks by the river and mate on the doorstep. As elsewhere in Argentina, inflation and the cost of living shape household budgets.

The river sets the menu. Surubí and pacú, large fish of the Uruguay and Paraná, are grilled whole or cut into steaks, and boga and dorado are fried or cooked in chupín, a tomato-based fish stew of the Litoral. Sport fishing on the Uruguay draws visitors, and local guides run fishing trips on the river.

Beef remains central, as everywhere in Argentina: parrillas grill bife de chorizo, asado de tira, chorizo and morcilla, served with chimichurri, and the weekend asado is a family ritual. Empanadas and milanesas are everyday food, and pasta reflects the Italian side of the province's immigration.

The colonies left their mark on the local larder. Shops sell cheeses and salami from the surrounding farms, honey and alfajores. Entre Ríos is known for its citrus, and ice-cream parlours are a fixture of summer evenings on the main street. To drink, there is mate at every hour, beer on the beach and wine from Argentina's western vineyards.