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Juan José Castelli | |
|---|---|
  Juan José Castelli Location of Juan José Castelli in Argentina | |
| Coordinates:25°57′S60°37′W / 25.950°S 60.617°W /-25.950; -60.617 | |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Province |  Chaco |
| Department | General Güemes |
| Population (2010 census) | |
• Total | 27,201 |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (ART) |
| CPA base | H3705 |
| Dialing code | +54 3732 |
Juan José Castelli (usually abbreviated toCastelli) is a town in theprovince ofChaco, Argentina. It is located 274 km from the provincial capitalResistencia and has about 27,000 inhabitants as per the 2010census[INDEC]. It is the head town of the General Güemes Department. Its population is mainly ofVolga German descent.
The area was originally populated byaboriginals of theToba andWichí tribes. Around 1910 a group of colonists fromSalta, who had followed the course of theBermejo River, established there. After the end ofWorld War I, and especially due to the 1923 campaign encouraging the development ofcotton crops in Chaco,European immigrants started to come. In 1928 Castelli was founded as anagricultural colony, 100 km north ofPresidencia Roque Sáenz Peña.
In June 1931, 320 Volga German families arrived, even carrying furniture, tools and livestock. They were around 2,300 who had been settled inLa Pampa and the west ofBuenos Aires, but were forced to move by bad harvests and economic problems. Cotton cultivation was at the time promoted as a source of wealth. Besides the Volga German majority, immigrants fromPoland,Romania,Spain,Paraguay,Hungary,Czechoslovakia,Italy,Yugoslavia andUkraine also came.
On 17 June 1936 the settlement was linked to Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña by arailroad. This major achievement sparked the foundation of the town as such, locally acknowledged on 3 October (though the official date was that of the National Decree of 2 February 1938).
The town greatly suffered the consequences of the blockade effected by the Allies duringWorld War II, sinceGermany was one of the largest importers of cotton produced in the area, and that prevented shipments. After 1941, however, international prices of cotton increased and from then on Castelli progressed. A delegation of theNación Bank was opened in the city in 1952, and the Güemes Hospital was built in 1956.
As of the 21st century, the city has severalcooperatives in the fields of agriculture, promotion of electric power supply in rural areas,beekeeping, sustainable forest exploitation, fruit cultivation, etc. There are also agaucho traditionalist association and a Volga German community association, as well as several sports clubs.