Huinganco

Huinganco is a village and municipality in the Minas Department of the Neuquén Province in southwestern Argentina.[1]. It is located 470 km nothwest of Neuquén city, the province capital. Situated on the valley of the Neuquén River on the foot of the Cordillera del Viento mountain range, the village is nicknamed the garden of the province because of its natural beauty.[2]

Huinganco
Municipality and village
Huinganco
Huinganco
Coordinates: 37°07′S 70°39′W
Country Argentina
ProvinceNeuquén Province
Time zoneUTC-3 (ART)
ClimateCsb

History

Huinganco is a Pehuenche language name. It is composed by two words: huingan, refering to the local vegetation of the schinus genus, and co, meaning water or stream. It can be translated as the "huingan creek".[3]

The Pehuenche people settled the site of the current village between the 8th and 9th centuries, since its wetlands made the it convenient to breed animals.[4]

In 1879, the first Civil Authority of the Neuquén Territory was established in Charra Ruca, near Huinganco. The first settlers, who were mainly Chilean ranchers and farmers arrived some years later. In 1883, gold mining started in the region, attracting migration. The activity boomed between the 1920s and 1950s. The gold prices fell in the 1960s, affecting the towns economy. The lack of jobs caused a migration wave of young people to the Neuquén city area.[5]

The village was officialy founded in 1964. The local authorities were able to revive the economy by foresting the mountains of the Cordillera del Viento range and opening the plant nursery that would become Argentina's first communal forest.[6]

References
  1. Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish)
  2. "Un paraíso del Norte Neuquino llamado Huinganco". Neuquén province's tourist site (in Spanish). Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  3. "El jardín del Neuquén: Huinganco". Patagonia.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. "Localidades neuquinas. Huinganco". Neuquén province's tourist site (in Spanish). 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  5. "Una cabalgata por la Virgen". LM Neuquén (in Spanish). February 17, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  6. "Huinganco celebra con un norte claro: la forestación". Río Negro (in Spanish). April 20, 2001. Retrieved February 4, 2021.


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