Argentina is undoubtedly one of the largest countries in the world. With an area of 2,780,000 square kilometers, our country is the eighth largest on the entire planet. One with many towns with exotic, funny and even terrifying names. The best known is Salsipoders, in the province of Córdoba. It has a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants and is considered a city within the Greater Cordoba agglomerate, as it is only located 37 kilometers from the capital of the province.
In recent times, tourism has grown a lot in the area, with spas, valleys and museums to explore. The legend of its name and its history are still unknown: it is said that its name refers to a kidnapping of a woman at the hands of a Querandi Indian. who, after a fight near a river, threw the girl’s husband into the river’s waters, telling him: “Get out if you can.”
Santiago del Estero is the oldest province of our country, with the city of the same name founded more than 450 years ago by the Spanish. Over the years, many adjacent towns were named, and some have very original characteristics. Near the City of Clodomira there are four locations with funeral spirits: Sepultura, El Hoyo, Negra Muerta and Bayo Muerto.
Gin drawer
In the interior of the Chubut province, the third largest in the country, we have a case of settlements that have different names, but identical stories. At the end of the 19th century, trips by car were common from the 16 de Octubre valley, where the city of Trevelin is located (the only one founded by the Welsh) to the lower valley of the Chubut River, where the cities of Gaiman are located, Trelew or the capital Rawson.
On one of their trips, where food, clothing and drinks were transported, a crate of gin fell to the floor. The episode remained a local anecdote and as a way of locating the area, they began to say “where the gin box”. As if it were a prophecy, years later, in a place very close to the original, another even larger load of gin fell, which meant a differentiation of the names into Cajon de Ginebra Chico the first and Cajon de Ginebra Grande, something unique in the world. These events were known throughout the province, and the Welsh called this place Bocs Gin, which means “Sad Gin.”
In San Juan, in the Cuyo region, we have a case similar to that of Salsitrabajos, but with very different realities. The Matagusanos town is located in the department of Ullum and a few kilometers from the Río de la Travesía, famous in the area. The truth is that the aridity of the place has meant that it has only one family: Los Díaz, who, being just 3 people, represent the total inhabitants. The origin of the name, according to them, refers to the aridity and complicated living conditions there, so discouraging that they even kill worms.
In the vast expanse of the province of Buenos Aires, more precisely in the district of Tordillo, we find Esquina de Crotto, a settlement with a history closely linked to national politics. José Camilo Crotto was an Argentine politician closely associated with the rural sector. He was governor of the Province of Buenos Aires from 1918 to 1921, having also been one of the founders of the Radical Civic Union along with Hipolito Yrigoyen, president of the nation.
In 1921, due to disagreements with the latter, he decided to settle in this area where his relatives lived. Near his ranch there was a grocery store, which was known as “La Esquina de Crotto”, because that is how “corner” was used to refer to bars or grocery stores in rural areas. Currently, the area is not inhabited, but the reopening of the grocery store as a historical museum has been planned, in addition to the creation of a hotel where the only school in the area was formerly located.
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