When I had just arrived in the city of San Juan I had no idea about the history of this town, but it only took a couple of days to understand what happened here. At first I was surprised by how modern everything is in this place, unlike other cities I visited that always preserve a bit of their historic center from colonial times. Later, I understood that this capital is marked by the damage caused by a strong earthquake that forced them to start from scratch and far from leaving this in oblivion, the people of San Juan keep in mind what happened at that time 😶.
Cuando recién había llegado a la ciudad de San Juan no tenía ni un poco de idea sobre la historia de este pueblo, pero solo bastó con un par de días para interiorizarme sobre lo que sucedió aquí. Al principio me sorprendió lo moderno que es todo en este lugar, a diferencia de otras ciudades que visité que siempre conservan un poco de su casco histórico desde la época colonial. Luego, entendí que esta capital está marcada por los estragos producidos por un fuerte terremoto que los obligó a empezar desde cero y lejos de dejar esto en el olvido, los sanjuaninos mantienen muy presente lo sucedido en aquella época 😶.
If you want to learn more about what happened in the largest earthquake in San Juan and Argentina, just visit the Urban History Museum. This space is a quite interesting building within Parque 25 de Mayo because it is covered with a colorful vertical garden in tune with the large green space around. This small museum offers guided tours but you can also explore on your own.
Si deseas interiorizarte sobre lo ocurrido en el terremoto más grande de San Juan y de Argentina, solo basta con visitar el Museo de la Historia Urbana. Este espacio es un edificio bastante interesante dentro del Parque 25 de Mayo porque está recubierto con un jardín vertical colorido y a tono con el gran espacio verde de alrededor. Este pequeño museo ofrece visitas guiadas pero también se puede recorrer por cuenta propia.
On one of my afternoons free from work, I decided to go to this museum because it was highly recommended to me to understand the reason behind several architectural issues. This place seeks to publicize and reflect on what happened in 1944: on January 15 at 8:52 PM an earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale occurred and as its epicenter was only 20 km from the city of San Juan , in a few seconds it destroyed almost everything built so far.
En una de mis tardes libres de trabajo, decidí acercarme a este museo porque me lo recomendaron bastante para entender el por qué de varias cuestiones arquitectónicas. Este lugar busca dar a conocer y reflexionar lo ocurrido en el año 1944: el día 15 de enero a las 8.52 PM se produjo un terremoto de magnitud 7 en la escala Ritcher y como su epicentro solo fue a 20 km de la ciudad de San Juan, en unos pocos segundos destruyó casi todo lo edificado hasta el momento.
At that time, most of the buildings and houses that the city had were mainly made of adobe, a very fragile material that did not resist the great movement of the ground. On that occasion they had to mourn a large number of victims and those who survived lost everything they had. To show solidarity with the people of San Juan, aid was raised nationwide to assist the victims.
En ese momento, las mayoría de las construccuiones y casas con las que contaba la ciudad eran principalmente de adobe, un material muy frágil que no resistió el gran movimiento del suelo. En esa oportunidad tuvieron que lamentarse gran cantidad de víctimas y aquellos que sobrevivieron perdieron todo lo que tenían. Para solidarizarse con el pueblo de San Juan, se recaudó ayuda a nivel nacional para asistir a las víctimas.
Almost no trace remained of what the old town was like with all its typical buildings of the time. Currently, in the center of the city only a part of what was the railway station, a hotel and a part of a sports stadium remained standing. In this museum you can see photos of all the beautiful buildings that were lost during that tragedy.
Casi ningún rastro quedó de lo que era el antiguo pueblo con todos sus edificios típicos de la época. Actualmente, en el centro de la ciudad solo quedaron en pie una parte de lo que era la estación del ferrocarril, un hotel y una parte de un estadio deportivo. En este museo pueden verse fotos de todos los edificios hermosos que se perdieron durante esa tragedia.
The signage indicated that at that time the surviving society was divided into two groups: those who wanted to leave the place to start somewhere else and those who wanted to stay to rebuild the town. That is why the trains were reactivated, to be able to mobilize people who wanted to get out of there but also to bring help from other parts of the country.
La cartelería indicaba que en ese momento la sociedad sobreviviente se repartió en dos grupos: los que querían irse del lugar a empezar en otra parte y los que querían quedarse a levantar de nuevo el pueblo. Es por eso que se reactivaron los trenes, para poder movilizar a las personas que deseaban salir de ahí pero también para traer la ayuda de otras partes del país.
Those who wanted to stay little by little began rebuilding the city, laying it out carefully since almost everything had to be rebuilt. That is why this city has so many modern and especially low buildings, since seismic activity continues to this day. From what they say, ground movements occur daily, but some are so profound that luckily they do not affect the city. There are also many urban codes to comply with, such as earthquake-resistant building regulations and buildings no more than 10 stories high. It is also suggested not to place flower pots on balconies and even schools have well-studied evacuation protocols in case of very strong earthquakes.
Aquellos que desearon quedarse poco a poco fueron reconstruyendo la ciudad, diagramandola con cuidado ya que hubo que reconstruir casi todo. Es por eso que esta ciudad cuenta con tantos edificios modernos y sobre todo bajos, ya que la actividad sísmica continúa hasta estos días. Por lo que dicen, diariamente ocurren movimientos del suelo, pero algunos son tan profundos que por suerte no afectan a la ciudad. También existen muchos códigos urbanísticos a cumplir, como normativas de construcción con sismorresistencia y edificios de no más de 10 pisos de alto. También se sugiere no colocar macetas en los balcones y hasta las escuelas tienen protocolos bien estudiados sobre evacuación en caso de sismos muy fuertes.
Going to this museum moved my feelings quite a bit because it made me think about those who lost everything, even their families, and had to start from scratch. I also liked that there is this space for memory and to make known what happened in that tragedy. I think that this town has a great capacity for adaptation and I'm happy for those who have not abandoned their land and built a beautiful city again that is worth visiting 💞.
Ir a este museo movilizó bastante mis sentimientos porque me hizo pensar en aquellos que perdieron todo, incluso a sus familias, y tuvieron que empezar desde cero. También me gustó que exista este espacio para la memoria y para dar a conocer lo ocurrido en esa tragedia. Pienso que este pueblo tiene una gran capacidad de adaptación y me alegro por aquellos que no han abandonado su tierra y construyeron nuevamente una hermosa ciudad que vale la pena ser visitada 💞.
❤️ Hope you liked this post! Thanks for reading. ❤️
❤️¡Espero que les haya gustado este post! Gracias por leer. ❤️
Lau 💕.
📸 Portada creada en Canva. Todas las imágenes son de mi propiedad 💕.
How are you dear friend @lauramica good night
To be honest, I didn't know everything that happened in this province. It's good that this museum exists so that people who visit the city know what happened and what the city was like in large part.
Beautiful shots, appreciate you sharing this whole story.
I take this opportunity to wish you a splendid night and a happy rest
Hello Luis, thank you very much :) I think this story is little known and I was surprised because it was the biggest natural disaster in our country. I'm glad they're back on their feet.
I send you greetings, good night too 😃.
Interesting History, Thank you for sharing @lauramica
You're welcome, thanks for stopping by ❤️
Is real a beautiful place and a very good place to teach and educate someone,I will love to visit that place someday
Glad that you liked it :)
Thank you
Thank you
que hermosas imágenes y lugar!
what a beautiful images and place!
Gracias ❤️
Unlike other places that people always abandoned due to one situation or the other, this place is an exceptional. The people really tried to rebuild the place, it looks beautiful
Luckily they stayed and built a great place here :)
Qué lindo recorrido Colega. A decir verdad este tipo de instalaciones resultan siempre muy interesante dado que nos da la oportunidad de conocer la historia. Me gustan mucho este tiempo de publicaciones educativas, por eso gracias por compartir.
Muchas gracias por pasar y dejar tu comentario. Si que fue un lugar interesante para conocer ❤️
The earthquake remains a very bad experience in every way. A friend of mine was in the midst of the one in 2012 that hit Emilia-Romagna: in addition to collapsed buildings, an earthquake marks you deeply.
This friend of mine was explaining to me that to this day when he hears a rumble (what could be a passing truck) he feels like an earthquake tremor is coming!
Kudos to all those people who despite losing their homes, have not lost the will to rebuild!
Wow, what a tough story about your friend. It must be horrible to go through that experience, I hope you feel better now. And this town was literally reborn from the rubble :) ❤️
How sad it is that the place was hit by a stromg earthquake back then. But at present, I see how it developed from catastrophe to success. What a beautiful spot it is now and people here are so amazing for keeping some fossil records of the past. It is really great to know about its history and how it has become beautiful now. Best regards sis and take care!
It look really good for knowing about the history of the city, and the history is really nice. Weldone my friend, please follow me. Thanks