Plaza General San Martin

Plaza General San Martín

Location: Downtown area. Streets Buenos Aires, Corrientes, Belgrano, and San Martín. It was the city’s first square.

It serves as a space for leisure, recreation, artistic and cultural expressions, as well as civil events. Covering an area of 1 hectare, it was constructed along with the founding of the town. In its early days, it had some games and was mostly covered in sand. Its design follows geometric patterns, featuring a central arch where all the entrances converge.

It previously had other names such as Plaza “B”, Plaza Sargento Cabral, Plaza Gral. Bartolomé Mitre. Walking along Buenos Aires Street, you can cross the first path to the left, where you’ll find a basalt rock extracted from the quarries of Yacyretá, which remained submerged in Lake Yacyretá. To the right, on Buenos Aires Street, you can see the symbol that gave the Guarani name to the Yacyretá Hydroelectric Dam, represented by a little bridge with a circle, a lake, and the moon, designed with stainless steel and common cement, signifying the moon reflected in the river (Yacyretá = the place where the moon shines), surrounded by local floral species.

Continuing along San Martín Street, you’ll find the mast, built in 1968 by the Maritime Assistance belonging to the Argentine National Coast Guard. It has a central mast for the National Flag and two side masts for the Provincial Flag or the flag of Paraguay depending on the occasion. This area was the venue for official ceremonies, parades, civil, military, and school events, and national holidays, currently used on certain occasions.

In the central arch of the square stands the monument to General San Martín, constructed in August 1993 and renovated in December 1998. It is a bronze-painted bust on a prismatic pedestal made of brick veneer.

On Belgrano Street, there is a children’s play area, and finally, on Corrientes Street, you’ll see the amphitheater, named Ramón Méndez, a renowned musician from Corrientes. This space is used for recreational activities, events, sociocultural gatherings, regional musical groups, and various shows.

Regarding flora, there are both native and exotic species that complement the urban ecosystem of the area.

Chivato: an exotic tree with a wide, spreading crown similar to mimosa or acacia, large leaves, and striking red flowers, spectacular when in bloom.

Jacarandá tarco: a large exotic tree with deciduous foliage, violet-blue flowers slightly curved, blooming in spring, and reproducing through seeds.

Ombú: an exotic plant with a large size, a well-developed trunk at its base, a globular crown, white flowers arranged in clusters, greenish fruits, and black seeds.

These trees are over 60 years old.

Abundant native pines include Paraná, Eliotis, and grevillea.

Tree species like virá pitá (native), viraró (native), obeña, lapacho, and cedar, which is the oldest tree in the square, over 100 years old.

Palm tree species include Yatay and palmitos.