MAR DEL PLATA - English
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, 400 km (249 mi) south of Buenos Aires. The name "Mar del Plata" has apparently the meaning of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata". Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. With a population of 614
,350 as per the 2010 census , it is the 7th largest city in Argentina. ECONOMY
As part of the Argentine recreational coast, tourism is Mar del Plata's main economic activity with seven million tourists visiting the city in 2006. Mar del Plata has a sophisticated tourist infrastructure with countless hotels, restaurants, casinos, theatres and other tourist attractions. Mar del Plata is also an important sports centre with a multi-purpose Olympic style stadium (first used for the 1978 World Cup and later upgraded for the 1995 Pan American Games), 5 golf courses and many other facilities. As an important fishing port, industry concentrates on fish processing and at least two large shipyards. The area is also host to other light industry, such as textile, food manufacturing and polymers. There is a well-developed packaging machines industry, its quality being recognized in international markets. One of these companies was one of the pioneers in the automatic packaging of tea bags, exporting its original machine-designs abroad. Another company also exports its products and sold royalties to other countries. During the mid 1980s, Mar del Plata saw the birth of electronics factories, focused mostly on the telecommunications field, with two of them succeeding in the international market. Since the 2000s, a local company builds and develops oil industry equipment, with customers in the United States, Russia, Oman and Egypt. The stone is traditionally used in construction. There is a huge area of farms in the rural areas surrounding the city, specialized mostly in the cultivation of vegetables. Although the area had suffered from a high rate of unemployment from 1995 to 2003, Mar del Plata has seen 46,000 new jobs created from the third quarter of 2003 to the third quarter of 2008, representing an increase of 22%. The 2008 Davis Cup Final was held in Mar del Plata and, after being shut for a decade the Gran Hotel Provincial (one of the largest hotels in Argentina) was reopened by the Madrid-based NH Hotels, in 2009. Mar del Plata continues to lead Argentina's room availability: of 440,000 registered hotel rooms nationwide in early 2009, the city was home to nearly 56,000 (5,000 more than Buenos Aires). TRANSPORTATION
Mar del Plata is served by Ástor Piazzola International Airport (MDQ/SAZM) with daily flights to Buenos Aires served by Aerolíneas Argentinas and Sol Líneas Aéreas and weekly flights to Patagonia served by LADE. It has a bus terminal serving most cities in Argentina. There is a train station with two daily trains to Buenos Aires' Estación Constitución. Highway 2 connects Mar del Plata with Buenos Aires and Route 11 connects it through the coastline, ending at Miramar, 40 km (25 mi) south of Mar del Plata. Route 88 connects to Necochea and Route 226 to Balcarce, Tandil and Olavarría. CULTURE
Mar del Plata is the most popular destination for conventions in Argentina after Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata has a wide range of services in this sector. The summer season hosts over fifty theatrical plays. Shows And Festivals
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the only competitive accredited film festival in Latin America. The Fiesta Nacional del Mar ("National Sea Festival") with the election and coronation of the Sea Queen and her princesses, which takes place in December as the official inauguration of the summer season. The Premios Estrella de Mar ("Sea Star Awards") which honor the best stage plays and shows of the season. The Valencian Falles week, a local reenactment of the Valencian event conducted by the Valencian community. The Mar del Plata Fashion Show, along with a number of fashion parades that gathers the best haute couture designers. The Fiesta Nacional de los Pescadores (National Fishermen's Festival), a colourful display of seamen tradition and cuisine. Mar del Plata has also hosted the 1995 Pan American Games, the 2003 Parapan American Games, the 2005 FIBA Under-21 World Championship, and co-hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. Since 1987 Mar del Plata annually hosts the Mar del Plata Marathon, in early December. The 53rd International Mathematical Olympiad was held in Mar del Plata in 2012. The local Government sponsors a Symphonic Orchestra, as well as a Conservatorium and a School of Classical and Modern Dance. Nightlife
Mar del Plata has a wide variety of clubs located by district: the area of Alem street and Irigoyen (known for its quantity of pubs and nightclubs) and the coast and Constitution Avenue. Museums
The Juan Carlos Castagnino Municipal Museum of Art. The Museum of the Port of Mar del Plata Cleto Ciocchini. The Museum of Natural Science Lorenzo Scaglia, specialized in Paleontology of the Quaternary species around the region. The Mar del Plata Museum of the Sea, which includes one of the most complete collections of sea snails of the World. Villa Victoria, a vintage wooden house, the former residence of the late writer Victoria Ocampo, now a place for art expositions and classical music. CLIMATE
The weather pattern for the region is that of an oceanic climate (Cfb, according to the Köppen climate classification), with humid and moderate summers and relatively cool winters, although polar air masses from Antarctica are frequent. The average temperatures for January reach 20 °C (68 °F) and 8 °C (46 °F) for July. The West-Southwest winds bring down the temperature below 0 °C (32 °F), while the Southeast ones (the so called Sudestada) are stronger, producing coastal showers and rough seas, as well as strong squalls, but the cold is much less intense. There are about 20 days of frost each year, and almost 60 in the west hills area (some 300 mts above the sea level). Snowfall is not uncommon, but snow accumulation on the ground is rare, a phenomenon that takes place every 6 years or so, according to the last 40 year's data. Among the most best known such occurrences were the 1975 and 1991 snowstorms, but there were also snow accumulations in 1994 and 1997, in the highest hills area of Sierra de los Padres, in 1995 along the southern coast, and other two during the first hours of July 10, 2004 and July 15, 2010. There were two flurries in September 1986 and June 2007. There is fog in the last days of fall, and springtime is often marred by sea winds and sudden temperature's changes. There are some ten days of 30 °C (86 °F) each summer, certainly milder values than the rest of the pampas region. Usually, the summer nights are cool and pleasant, with values between 13 °C (55 °F) to 17 °C (63 °F). The record high is 41 °C (106 °F) on January 1957 (105 Fahrenheit). The wet season occurs during spring and summer, specially in January, with values between the 70 and 80 mm. The average annual
MAR DEL PLATA - Italiano
Mar del Plata è una città dell'Argentina centro-orientale, nella provincia di Buenos Aires, situata sulla costa dell'oceano Atlantico. La città ha 920.857 abitanti (censimento 2010). Fondata il 10 febbraio 1874, Mar del Plata è una città importante per la pesca e il turismo: la sua popolazione si triplica nell'alta stagione quando i turisti di tutto il paese confluiscono nella città.
È chiamata "la ciudad feliz" (La città felice) o semplicemente "la feliz" (La felice). TRASPORTI
Il principale mezzo di trasporto pubblico di Mar del Plata è l'autobus, detto colectivo. Per poter utilizzare i colectivos, bisogna acquistare un'apposita carta magnetica (tarjeta) disponibile in diversi punti vendita (supermercati, rifornitori di benzina, tabaccherie (polirrubros) ecc.) Per utilizzare la carta magnetica bisogna addebitare l'importo necessario nei punti di ricarica. Il prezzo del viaggio è unico per tutta la città e dintorni. Vi sono inoltre i taxi e i remis, una tipo particolare di taxi prenotabili esclusivamente per telefono. Mar del Plata possiede un aeroporto locale, (cod. IATA: MDQ) a 8 chilometri dalla città, sull'autostrada 2, che unisce Mar del Plata con Buenos Aires. L'aeroporto, battezzato negli anni novanta col nome Brigadier General Bartolomé de la Colina, è stato recentemente ribattezzato col nome del celebre musicista marplatense Astor Piazzolla. CULTURA
Nella città si svolge, dal 1954, il Mar del Plata Film Festival, uno dei festival cinematografici più importanti del Sud America.
