Córdoba

The Comechingones and Sanavirones lived in the region when Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera's expedition arrived, and on 6 July 1573 he founded Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía, naming it after the city in Spain. After four years of conflict the settlement was moved to the opposite bank of the Suquía River, where it has stayed. The Jesuits arrived in 1599, established a novitiate and in 1610 the Colegio Máximo, which became the University of Córdoba in 1613 — the oldest in Argentina and among the oldest in the Americas. Their estancias at Caroya, Jesús María, Santa Catalina, Alta Gracia and La Candelaria paid for it until the order's expulsion in 1767.

The university earned Córdoba the nickname La Docta, "the learned", and the city remained a conservative, church-centred provincial capital through the 19th century. Immigration changed it after 1880: by the 1910s more than two fifths of its people had been born abroad. In 1918 students in the medical school began the University Reform, which spread across Latin America and reshaped how universities were governed.

Industry followed in the 20th century, with aircraft and car factories drawing thousands of rural families; the population, almost 400,000 in 1947, roughly doubled, and by 1970 Córdoba was Argentina's second city. It was the starting point of the 1955 uprising that overthrew Perón, and in May 1969 the Cordobazo, a revolt of workers and students, ultimately led to elections in 1973. The Jesuit Block and the estancias were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Córdoba's character comes from its students and its humour. The National University and several others give the city a young population drawn from across Argentina and neighbouring countries, and that shows in the bars of Nueva Córdoba, the theatres and cultural centres, and the art bars where music, comedy and exhibitions mix. The cordobés accent, stretching the syllable before the stress, is known across the country and a constant subject of popular humour.

Cuarteto is the city's own music: a dance-hall sound born in Córdoba and named after its early four-piece bands of violin, piano, accordion and bass. Its stars, from La Mona Jiménez to the late Rodrigo, are local heroes. In summer much of the cultural life moves west to the Sierras, where Cosquín's folk festival is the high point of January.

Football is followed with passion, with Talleres, Belgrano and Instituto in the top division and big matches at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium. The Catholic heritage is visible in the colonial churches, though daily life is largely secular, and the city keeps a strong memory of the dictatorship years in its archive and memorial sites.

About 1.57 million people lived in the city at the 2022 census, making it the second most populous in Argentina, and Greater Córdoba takes in neighbouring towns such as Villa Allende, La Calera and Malvinas Argentinas. The city holds around two fifths of the province's people. Students arrive from the north-east and south-west of Argentina and from other South American countries.

The economy rests on manufacturing — above all cars and car parts, while railway and aircraft building have greatly diminished — on the universities, provincial government and services, and increasingly on software and technology firms. The farmland of the province, and the businesses that serve it, feed the city's wealth. Most people live in low-rise barrios spreading out from the centre; apartment towers have filled Nueva Córdoba, while some better-off families have moved to gated communities on the edges.

The day follows the Argentine rhythm, with a long lunch break in many businesses, merienda in the late afternoon and dinner after nine. Summer weekends empty the city towards the rivers and lakes of the Sierras, where many families have holiday houses. Inflation, wages and the cost of living dominate conversation, as elsewhere in the country.

Córdoba eats much as the rest of Argentina does: asado and parrilla at weekends, empanadas, milanesas and pasta, and medialunas with coffee or mate at merienda. Its own specialities are few but proudly kept. The alfajor cordobés, a biscuit sandwich filled with fruit jelly, usually quince, differs from the dulce de leche versions found elsewhere, and is sold in bakeries all over the city.

The province's immigrant towns supply the city's tables: Colonia Caroya to the north is known for its salame, cured sausage made in the Friulian way, and the Sierras towns sell their own regional products. Honey, salami and alfajores turn up at the weekend crafts fair in Güemes, and the Mercado Norte is the city's large market hall for groceries.

The drink is Fernet con Coca — the bitter Italian liqueur mixed with cola — and Córdoba Province, called "the world fernet capital", drinks just under 30 per cent of all the fernet consumed in Argentina; it is poured at every party, asado and bar. Beer is the other student staple, and the bars of Nueva Córdoba and Güemes serve pizza, sandwiches and picadas, boards of cold meats and cheese, late into the night.