Reconquista
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Reconquista

Reconquista

Northern Santa Fe city near the Paraná, offering a grounded slice of small-town Argentina

Reconquista may not be the big tourist city you would jump at the chance of travelling to. No bright lights, casinos, streets of restaurants or theme parks here. But if you're looking to experience part of "small-town Argentina" while not going too small, Reconquista is a good place to check out.

With a population of 70,000 people Reconquista is small without being scarily so. Nearby Avellaneda is 4km across the river and it's 25,000 residents add to the general population of the area.

Reco (as it's fondly known as to the locals) is located in the north of the province of Santa Fe, near the Rio Parana. It is a city traditionally designed with all streets parallel to eachother, interspersed with many green plazas (small squares). The main central plaza is a popular meeting point of the city's youths. In the university holidays and feriados (public holidays) when the students come home, the plaza is full of people doing laps in their cars along the narrow streets, friends sitting near their cars or on the curbside driking a Quilmes (beer) and eating hamburgers from the caravan parked nearby. It is here that they will come before heading out to one of the city's nightclubs.

Here there is little choice. Chicano, located on Calle Obligado and Habegger, is the city's main nightclub. Recently moved from Avellaneda, some of the older clubbers think it has lost it's orignal charm, but it is still a fun place to go to dance the night away and meet up with friends. Here, tourists will experience cumbia music and will learn the dance that is less complicated than salsa, but still a lot of fun.

Pancho Villa attracts an older crowd on Friday and Saturday nights, but gets very packed on Thursdays with the younger crowd. This two storey club is actually quite small and extremly hot, but is still a lot of fun.

There are a few restaurants and bars around the intersection of Obligado and Habegger - near Chicano. It is nice to come here in the evening to have a drink or enjoy some traditional Argentinian food such as empanadas and milanesas.

The stretch of highway between Avellaneda and Reconquista fills with walkers and cyclists in the summertime who make the most of the warm weather to get some exercise. At times the humidity can be very oppressive leaving anyone who dares go for a walk drenched in sweat, but it is a nice walk all the same.

Guide

Getting There

Reconquista is on Ruta Nacional 11, about 320 km north of Santa Fe city and 800 km north of Buenos Aires. Long-distance buses from Buenos Aires take around 10–11 hours; most travellers stop in Santa Fe or Rosario along the way. Buses from Resistencia and Corrientes arrive from the north.

Daniel Jukic Airport (RCQ), about 8 km south of town, has occasional scheduled services and is otherwise an Argentine air force base. The airport is named for a pilot from the area who died over the Falklands in 1982. Most visitors arrive by bus or car.

Guide

Things to Do

Reconquista is not a sightseeing town. A morning around Plaza 25 de Mayo and the cathedral covers the centre; the two local museums fill another hour each. The real pleasure here is sitting in a plaza watching small-town Argentine life unfold — students cruising the centre in their cars, families walking the Costanera in the evening, men playing chess outside the kiosks. Time it for late afternoon when the heat eases.

Guide

When to Go

Reconquista has a subtropical climate — long, very hot, humid summers and mild winters. December to February is uncomfortable: highs around 33 °C with stifling humidity, and occasional violent thunderstorms. Many locals retreat indoors in the afternoon.

The best months to visit are April to June and September to November, when daytime temperatures sit in the low 20s and the air dries out. The biggest local event is the Fiesta Nacional del Surubí, a river-fishing competition held on the Paraná in late April that draws competitors from across Argentina.