Yapeyú

José de San Martín

Yapeyú is a town in the province of Corrientes, Argentina, in the San Martín Department. It has about 2,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census [INDEC], and it is known throughout the country because it was the birthplace of General José de San Martín (1778–1850), hero of the War of Independence.

The town was founded on December 4, 1626 by the Jesuit Pedro Romero, who gave it the name Villa de Nuestra Señora de los Santos Reyes Magos y Yapeyú. The word Yapeyú comes from the Guaraní language and means "ripe fruit"; in other times, it was also the name of the river that is called today Guaviraví.

The town was one of the 30 missions established at the beginning of the 17th century that were destroyed in 1817 by the Portuguese army. The city was later rebuilt, and the ruins of the little fortress, which at the end of the 18th century had been the home of Lt. Juan de San Martín and his wife, Gregoria Matorras, were preserved. [link]

Sources

[Municipal information] - Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina.
[Basic info about the town]

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