Trelew

Trelew (, from "town" and the name of the founder, Lewis Jones) is a city in the eastern part of the Chubut Province of Argentina, 21km away from the coast. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, with 97,915 inhabitants as of 2010. The Trelew municipality is part of the Rawson Department, whose capital, Rawson, is also the provincial capital.

Trelew is an important commercial and industrial centre for the region and is the main hub for wool processing, accounting for 90 percent of activity in Argentina. The produce of this industry is mainly shipped and exported through Puerto Madryn and Puerto Deseado.

Trelew is home to the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio, showcasing the paleontological heritage of the Patagonic region, and considered one of the most important of its kind in South America. It also has an Astronomic and Planetary Observatory.

The city is served by the Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport, of both civilian and military use. The airport's runway is shared with the Almirante Zar Naval Base, home of the Lockheed P-3 Orion squadron of the Argentine Naval Aviation.

History

Trelew's foundation is linked with Welsh settlement in Argentina, the leaders of which were Captain Sir Thomas Duncombe Love Jones-Parry (of Madryn) and Lewis (Luis) Jones, who acted as spokesmen to deal with the Argentine government in the beginning of the 1860s. The town was named Trelew in honour of the latter Jones: ''tre'' meaning "town" in Welsh and "Lew" being an apocope for ''Lewis''.

Trelew was established on 20 October 1886 as the starting point for the Central Chubut Railway line that would link the lower Chubut River Valley to Puerto Madryn. Railway building equipment and 400 settlers arrived on July 28 of that same year on the steamer ''Vesta''. The line was opened in 1888 and later extended from Trelew to Gaiman, Dolavon and finally to Las Plumas. In 1961, the line was closed.

1972 massacre

Trelew was the scene of a massacre in 1972. A breakout of political prisoners at the federal penitentiary resulted in the death of one guard and the attempted flight of about 100 individuals who opposed the military dictatorship which followed the overthrow of President Arturo Illia. A small group of prisoners succeeded in commandeering a plane and flying to safety in Chile. The rest submitted to the authorities and were returned to a military prison, where 19 were shot (three survived).

The town of Trelew was searched by the military and locals were seized and taken to the Villa Devoto prison in Buenos Aires. Virtually the entire town went on strike and succeeded in securing the release of the prisoners at Villa Devoto. These incidents were documented in the book ''La Pasión según Trelew'', by Tomás Eloy Martínez, which was originally published in 1973, but was then suppressed by the dictatorship of the '' Proceso'', and reissued in 1997.

Tourism

Trelew is the centre of tourism in the Central Meseta, the Valley of the Chubut River and the coast. Punta Tombo, the biggest penguin reserve in Argentina, is accessible from the city.

An annual Eisteddfod is held in Trelew in October, a traditional festival which receives guests from across the country and from Wales, which constitutes a unique expression of Welsh culture in South America.

The former Trelew railway station, which was declared a national historic monument in 1969, has functioned as a museum, ''El Museo Regional Pueblo de Luis'', since 1984.

Sports

Racing de Trelew and Huracán de Trelew are the most important local football clubs. Patoruzú Rugby Club and Trelew Rugby Club are the local clubs practicing this sport. In boxing, the Matthysse brothers, Lucas and Walter, are from Trelew, although most of their notable fights took place in the United States.

Gallery

File:Banco Nacion - Trelew.JPG, Argentina National Bank at night
File:A train of ox-drawn carts leaving Trelew, Patagonia.jpg, A train of ox-drawn carts leaving Trelew, c. 1880
File:pueblo de luis.jpg, Welsh People's Museum, Trelew
File:Aeropuerto Viejo de Trelew - Centro Cultural por la Memoria 12.JPG, Former Airport of Trelew, now a "cultural centre for the memory".

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Trelew experiences a cold semi-desert climate (''BSk'') bordering on a cold desert climate (''BWk''), with warm summers, cold winters and low precipitation year-round.

Notable people

* Omar Andrés Narváez, boxer
* Juan Ignacio Antonio, footballer
* Lucas Matthysse, boxer
* Walter Matthysse, boxer
* Gustavo Caamaño, footballer
*Matías Jara, footballer
* Franco Niell, footballer
* Daniel Pérez, footballer
* Valentina Bassi, actress
* Pablo Morant, footballer

International relations

Trelew is twinned with:

* Covilhã, Portugal
* Albidona, Italy
* Caernarfon, Wales

See also

* Omega Tower Trelew
* Welsh settlement in Argentina

References

Sources

*''La Pasión según Trelew'', Espejo de la Argentina, (c) 1997, Editorial Planeta Argentina S.A.I.C.; Third Edition: April 2000, Buenos Aires,

External links

Trelew Site

Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration.

City home page
(in Spanish)
*


* Band which blends British folk music and South American sounds. The members are Uruguayan and Welsh and are based in Montevideo, Uruguay
* Geo Links for Trelew

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Populated places in Chubut Province
Populated places established in 1886
Welsh settlement in Patagonia
Cities in Argentina