Machagai Explained

Official Name:Machagai
Settlement Type:City
Pushpin Map:Argentina
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Argentina
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1: Chaco
Subdivision Type2:Department
Subdivision Name2:Veinticinco de Mayo
Subdivision Type3:1st level Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Machagai
Population As Of:2010 census
Population Total:21,997
Coordinates:-26.9167°N -62°W
Elevation M:83
Postal Code Type:CPA Base
Postal Code:H 3534
Timezone:ART
Utc Offset:-3
Area Code:+54 3734
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Cfa

Machagai (pronounced as /es/) is a city in Chaco Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Veinticinco de Mayo Department.

Toponymy

In the Qom language "Machagai" means "lowland", referring to its geographical features as a slope near rivers like the Bermejo and Paraná.

History

Native Argentines like the Qom people used to wander through the area, giving the place its name. After the end of the Argentine Civil War, the government turned its attention to scarcely populated regions of the country like Patagonia and Chaco and started to promote the arrival of immigrants to populate and strengthen them. The province of Chaco was one of the most transformed by this wave of immigration.[1] In 1909 the first Serbian immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to Machagai and founded their agricultural colonies, in 1921 by State decree it was promoted to the category of town. Until the mid-20th century, Machagai continued to receive immigrants from Yugoslavia and Spain.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.unne.edu.ar/unnevieja/Web/cyt/cyt/humanidades/h-031.pdf De Europa al Chaco: Colectividades, Mutualismo y Mantenimiento Cultural