Corrientes

Argentina

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Corrientes, city, capital of Corrientes provincia (province), northeastern Argentina, and river port on the east bank of the Paraná River, opposite Resistencia.

It originated in 1588 when Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón, governor of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, built a fort there named San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes (meaning “seven currents”) for the seven rapids upstream. In 1865 the city was the site of the decisive defeat of a Paraguayan invasion force during the War of the Triple Alliance.

The city’s economy is based on the processing and exporting of agricultural products, including cotton, rice, tobacco, firewood, and citrus fruits. Its river port is one of the most important for steamers between Buenos Aires and the upper reaches of the Paraguay River.

Corrientes has retained much of its colonial architecture, including the Church of La Cruz, a pilgrimage centre where the 16th-century cross of Torres de Vera is venerated; it is located on the Plaza Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón, which was established as a national monument in 1945. The National University of the North-East (founded 1957) is located there. The city was the setting for Graham Greene’s The Honorary Consul (1980). Pop. (2001) 314,546; (2010) 358,223.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg.