historical sites and good gastronomy in the rural area of ​​Chacabuco

In more than one case, the rural towns of the Buenos Aires province they cry out for a kind of viewpoint erected on the heights – like the top supported on the main mast of a ship – to be able to admire from end to end the neat distribution of its streets around the central square, the harmonious sequence of simple buildings and the splendorous green frame of the field, which shoots out towards the four sides.

170 kilometers away from the city of Buenos Aires, the district of Chacabuco has that privileged place where you can rest for a while and choose the direction to follow, to enjoy a more than pleasant walk when winter seems ready to give a truce.

In this case, the vantage point is the 100 meter long Rawso pedestrian bridgen, which is not precisely installed on the deck of a boat and, planted on dry land, is far from anticipating storms that lurk from the sea horizon.

Below the superb iron crossingthe San Martín railroad tracks separate the two platforms of the recovered station and its walls painted light blue and white under the red roofs that cover the ticket office and the waiting and waiting rooms. Customs Museum.

Towards the north, the staircase gives way directly to the wide layout of the Rawson Avenue, the axis that supports the main stages of the town’s cultural circuit. Further back, the centenary grove of Plaza San Martín It appears above the buildings, to close the picture in the best way, with a suggestive bucolic patina.

Strongly promoted since 1910 by Italian immigrants, the cultural activities as the best argument for social encounters, they are here an essential piece of daily life.

Thats why he Italian Theatre -inaugurated as a cinema and theater space in 1917- preserves a vitality that goes beyond the historic place that opens its luxurious wooden doors to tourists, the work of Augusto and Nicolo Falcioni.

The most substantial part of the town and those excellent Italian cabinetmakers is told in detail by his great-nephew, the collector of period documents and photos Roberto “Kotata” Muñoz Falcioni, member of the Board of Directors of the Rawson main chamber.

“Kotata” was a first-hand collaborator so that the filmmaker Norberto Rodríguez Correa could film scenes in the 300-seat room of the Italiano, which added to “Peregrino”, the documentary that narrates the career of the legendary Vox Dei musician Ricardo Soulé.

Works presented by casts from the region, popular festivals, films and acting courses keep the strong artistic vocation of the rawsenses.

This identity mark is also evident among the facilities of the Sarmiento club, the Guillermo Rawson Popular Library (from 1920) and the Ave Fénix Cultural Center, the most recently emerged bastion (it was inaugurated in 2014), where you can see iron crafts, take workshops on different specialties and learn about the legacy of Santiago Sanz. The most renowned local actor, born in Rawson in 1919 and died in 2014, brought his brilliance to several plays performed by the vocational groups Bambalinas and De la Puerta.

The cultural imprint It seems to take over the scene even in the Italian Pantheon of the cemetery and displace the proposal of typical flavors to a lesser level. But here everything is part of the same set. The creative hands of experienced chefs and pastry masters They are in charge of adding the gastronomic leg to the traditional itinerary.

This alternative route boasts one of its highest points in the artisanal production of the Calabrono ice cream parlorfrom whose own plantation the unbeatable kinoto with whiskey reaches the palates, one of the brightest stars of its large lineup.

In the less traveled half of Rawson, Flavor Warehouse It is the best reason to climb back onto the most famous bridge in the area to resume face-to-face contact with the sun, this time with your steps pointing south.

At the crossroads of two narrow dirt streets, where the vastness of the countryside and its cultivated plots of wheat, corn and wheat are already outlined, Rawsense Juan Zapata and Arequera Marcia Cardozo welcome diners eager to delight in the most genuine country food with a six-course menu, gourmet tastings, vegetables from a neighboring organic garden, cheeses from Suipacha and Chivilcoy and smoked cold cuts from Los Toldos.

If Zapata got used to receiving his guests with one eye and both hands fixed on the meat empanadas which he fries in an iron pot in the park, his wife is responsible for appearing in brief sessions from the kitchen – where she prepares her long-approved pumpkin cream and roasted carrots, a prelude to the successful gnocchi bolognese-, to reconvene the clients of the day for September 7 and 8, for the Provincial Alfajor Festival.

However, more than satisfied At the end of this day that only brought them pleasure, several of those guests warn the hostess that they will not wait that long to plan their return to Rawson.

• From the city of Buenos Aires to Rawson it is 170 kilometers via West Access to Luján, route 7 to Carmen de Areco and route 51. Option: West Access, route 5 to Chivilcoy and routes 30 and 51.

• Train San Martín from Retiro to Rawson (3 hours 35′) with transfer in Caseros, $7,390 in Primera and $8,825; with SUBE, $7,010 in Primera and $8,445 in Pullman; from 3 to 12 years, 50%.

• Pullman General Belgrano or Cóndor Estrella bus from Retiro to Carmen de Areco (3 hours), $9,000 semi-bed and $13,500 executive bed.

• Combi Fabebus from Plaza Italia or RoberDibe from Guardia Vieja and Gallo to Carmen de Areco, $12,000 during the week and Saturdays; Sundays, $13,000.

• Remís Gustavo Arca for 4 passengers from Carmen de Areco to Rawson, $12,000 (02325- 15682783).

• In Carmen de Areco, Carmen de Areco hotel: double room with breakfast, garage, wi-fi, $46,000; triple, $58,000; on weekdays, $38,000 for a double and $47,500 for a triple (02273- 443-533/442-543 / 02273- 15438400 / hotelcarmendeareco@hotmail.com / www.hotelcarmendeareco.com.ar).

• In Suipacha, La Casona del Pueblo hotel: double room with breakfast, wi-fi and parking, $30,000; apart for 4, $50,000 (02324- 15691037).

• Almacén de Sabores: welcome appetizer, empanada, six-course menu, dessert and snack at Almacén de Sabores, $15,000; with free drinks, $20,000; from 4 to 11 years, $8,000 (02346- 15532939 / 02346- 15681318).