The name of the city of Corrientes Corrientes It is public knowledge, Mr. Juan de Torres de Vera y Aragón, come and governor of the provinces of Río de la Plata, founded the City Vera on the site of the Seven Streams on Sunday April 3, 1588, as stated in its charter, which in part it states: "... seat and people founded the city of Vera site they call the Seven Corrientes province of Paraná and the Tape ... "
On the origin of the name, and there is no doubt, the front wanted to perpetuate the family name of his family in the city that he personally founded, therefore, should be forgotten all those who sought unusual hypothesis attributing other origins to its name, as the reasoning, rather than complex should be simple. Similarly, the front wanted to perpetuate the name of his home town New Estepa entitled to a city that was founded at the mouth of the Bermejo River, for which issued on May 4, 1588 from Santa Fe a provision to masters Sebastian de León and Diego de Olavarria order to carry out this foundation and the inability and disinterest of the commissioners for that purpose was never made. The provision in part of its text expressed following:
" ... within three years and fundareis poblareis on behalf of Her Majesty and me, in his royal name in the Bermejo River ... you can go to the mouth of the Bermejo River, and in his mouth, or the part that it proves you more comfortable, and poblareis fundareis a villa, which is entitled and call the town of Estepa New ... "
As was customary in those days, when founder entitled the city's founding , the proper name preceded or followed him the name of a virgin saint or dogma of the Catholic Church, but for the city of Vera was not recorded such peculiarity in its charter, situation that was quickly amended by adding founder soon after the saint of his name, which the city was entitled San Juan de Vera , at least he recorded the advance when he made reference to it in a document issued in the city of Santa Fe on May 4, just one month founded the city of Vera, which in part stated: " ... and four leagues to the town of San Juan de Vera river in the middle."
This new name given by the advance was not isolated or occasional basis, to reiterate it again in 1594 in another document drawn up when he was in Spain, he certifying the services of Don Francisco de Irarrázaval and Andía who was his companion in the founding of the city of Vera, a document which also called city of San Juan de Vera "and later did the same in a power grants in the year 1604 John of War on your behalf to request the council of the city of Vera the testimony of the founding of "City Sant Joan de Vera in Corrientes Seven."
A very peculiar document emanating from the lieutenant governor Alonso de Vera y Aragón luxuries gives more detail the name of the city, the province where he was summoned and the limits to be had. The document was issued in 1591 when he made the first distribution of arable land for the residents of the City of Vera, it was not until this year that people start to cultivate the land adjacent to the urban layout of the city Thanks to exemplary punishment was the Indians who surrounded the fort of the city with the purpose of destroying it. Under the heading of that document stated the following:
" In the name of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons and one true God, and glorious Lady Our Blessed Virgin Mary, and King Don Felipe our lord, I Alonso de Vera y Aragón, captain-general, justice most of the city of Vera, the seven provinces of Corrientes, Paraná, Uruguahi, Tape to the North Sea, San Francisco and Viaza and advance Guairá by Juan de Torres de Vera y Aragón, Governor Captain General and chief justice of all these Provinces of Río de la Plata ... "Very
despite the official name was the city of Corrientes in its foundation, it was transformed over the years become the whim of the men who were turning to taste and that it was more practical and meaningful. Had a substantial impact on this particular feature of the place where it was located in the city, commonly known to all as the site of the Seven Corrientes, the currents that form in the river water passing through the seven natural spikes protruding from its coast.
This feature of the site is supported by several documents, among which we can mention the relationship that the Franciscan friar Juan de Rivadeneira delivery to the Council of the Indies in 1581, which states: " to 7 streams " or letter of Captain Alonso de Vera y Aragon to the king of Spain, dated Santa Fe to June 15, 1587, which states: "Juan de Torres Navarrete Lieutenant General of these provinces on behalf of your highness, then sent me population on behalf of Your Highness in the Seven Streams "or in the commission issued by the advance of Saavedra Hernandarias January 25, 1588, which states:" Seven Corrientes province ", or record of foundation, which states: " in the place called the Seven Streams ."
Thanks to careful study of existing documentation, have been determined that the custom of adding the name of the site following the proper name of the city began to be used on documents issued outside the city of Vera. In their investigation, I managed to find the following testimony:
1) A power issued on March 7, 1591 in the city of Santa Fe to Manuel de Frias, given by Don Figueroa Gonzalo Gutierrez, inquest judge of the Audiencia de la Plata against those responsible for the death of Don Gonzalo de Guzman Martel in the city Santa Fe, where it is called simply Seven Corrientes.
2) A will made on September 27, 1595 in the city of Asunción Gómez Catalina, where it is called city of Vera in Corrientes.
3) An order issued by Captain Diego Nunez de Prado, regular mayor the city of Asuncion on November 27, 1596 in the city of Asunción, against Francisco Ortiz de Leguizamo, neighbor San Juan de Vera in Corrientes.
4) A title of lieutenant governor of the city of Vera de Jacome Antonio, issued on September 20, 1598 in the city of Asunción by the governor Hernandarias de Saavedra, who is embedded in the Proceedings of the Cabildo Vera City, where it is called San Juan de Vera in the city of Corrientes and Vera . Amen
official name was given by the founder of the city and the place where I was seated, the City also had a name Current Guarani which is scarce evidence that we can find in official documents, a name that was preserved by its inhabitants since ancient times and today is used as a nickname and representative of the whole province of Corrientes. Taragui Guarani is the name of the City of Corrientes , which has its origin in lizards features plenty of villages and towns the cliffs and shores of the place of the seven streams. To confirm this, I managed to find three valuable unpublished evidence supporting my claims. The first evidence dates from 1597, when Governor Juan Ramirez de Velasco issued to Captain Antonio de Anasco his appointment as lieutenant general of the government of Rio la Plata, to carry out their duties and offices in five cities of the governorate, which cities named as follows in the paper: "Conception and Assumption Taraguiron , Ciudad Real and Xerez and Villa Rica Holy Spirit. " The second witness from the year 1602, at which time the carpenter Francisco López Ortiz, a resident of the City of Vera, gives his will in the city of Asuncion where he occasionally was working in the factory of the main church of that city, document in which, referring to his daughter reads as follows: " Beatriz Ortiz, who is married to Jerome Ibarra neighbor the city of Taraguyro of this government . " The last testimony that I have found, comes from attorney Don Francisco de Alfaro, a royal official who was commissioned by the Royal Court of the city of La Plata to explore the governance and observe the treatment that was given to the Indians entrusted to the English In its report suggested the division of the governor of Rio de la Plata in two independent governors, speaking about it in these terms: " the other government of Paraguay would start from the city of Vera that by another name and call flows the Indians Taragui , this government would have the city and Paraguay, which is the Assumption, and Guairá, the town of Jerez and there was little if visit every two years. "
But does that mean and why Taragui used this term to refer to the place Guarani where he established the city of Vera? In the years 1639 and 1640 the Jesuit Antonio Ruiz de Montoya published in Madrid by the Treasury of Guaraní Language and Art and Vocabulary of the Guaraní language, works in which the author first attained social and cultural context of the Guarani language words , reflecting the worldview of those who spoke and communicated in that language. In the first, referred to on page 356 that means Taragui lizard, this definition I was ratified later by the Jesuit Bartomeu Melià, ethnohistorical research specialist and the highest authority of the Guarani language today, who told me that " Taragui lizard has always been and I think that no currents be lacking. "
I really catches the eye of indifference and ignorance that we have in our province of origin and true meaning of the word Taragui, as well as trying distort its meaning, giving it far-fetched interpretations, never recognized it as the name Guaraní City currents, which also prompted widespread apathy of our shy and elusive lizards, denying them any iconographic representation of our culture, as they were the ones who gave the name Guaraní our primitive city. This apathy and ignorance of its origin and meaning has led to the term wrongly Taragui today is representative of our entire province and monuments have been located that has nothing to do with the meaning of the term.
Florencio Our beloved historian Manuel Mantilla made an amazing self-interpretation of the word Taragui Guarani, which was later imitated and followed by not a few writers and historians. Mantilla argues that " Aborigines from near the city Taragui denominated, which means village nearby. The word is composed: of tobacco , village, and about here , close, close. The move taba b r singularity in the Guarani language, and for the same cause to disappears. " I find it strange that Mantilla has reached these far-fetched conclusions, considering that in his Historical Chronicle mentioned that you have read the Treasury of the Guaraní language of Father Ruiz de Montoya, where I stated that clearly states that Taragui means lizard.
Leaving aside the documentary evidence, I will now review the evidence published by ancient historians who dealt with this issue. There is a very ancient testimony that has gone unnoticed by historians of these latitudes, a manuscript work entitled Compendium and Description of the West Indies, whose author was a English monk of the Order of Discalced Carmelites called Fray Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa, who toured America between the years 1608-1622. The manuscript of this work, this discovery was considered the largest event of historical literature of the twentieth century, remained on file in the Barberini Collection of the Vatican Library until the notable American Latinist Charles Upson Clark of the Smithsonian Institution discovered by year 1918 and published full for the first time in 1948. That is why it was not before available to the historians of our country, and even today few know it. It is a rich description of the cities of Rio de la Plata by an eyewitness of excess capacity, part of his book describes what he saw and inquired about the City of Corrientes and part of his manuscript tells us:
" from the city of city of the Assumption, to go to Buenos Ayres distruito of vaxar Buelvas to the Rio Corrientes auaxo of Seven, which is founded the city of San Juan de Vera of 40 English, citizen in VNAs varrancas on the Rio de la Plata, call the city Taraguirô Indian language, which means lizard, also usually call it the Seven Streams, being founded the city on high varranca vna, which has seven points, which for them, and the boards of seven whirlpools hazen Rios, give cause for Cuia this name. "
This short and precise speech Fray Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa, simplicity makes it clear with the names of the city of Corrientes in those days, elucidating the meaning of the name Guaraní and why the seven streams. It details the city where he was seated and says the number of neighbors at that time lived in the city of Vera. While the manuscript is not the date of his visit to the city of San Juan de Vera, I can estimate that had to do in 1618, it is known that in that year was also in the cities of Tucumán, Santiago del Estero and La Rioja, in 1619 and was in Lima (Peru) and in 1622 launched his return to Spain. It was very gratifying for me to know the contents of this manuscript, as supported by it are all statements that have been maintaining for a long time and I have reflected in previous publications to it.
Other modern testimonies dealing explain why the name of our city and the place where it was located. The first corresponds to the field master Don Bernardino Lopez Lujan, deputy governor of the city of Corrientes, in its report submitted on February 12, 1760 Governor Don Pedro de Zeballos stated the following:
"
founded the city the aforesaid advance Juan de Torres de Vera and Aragon, governor and captain-general of the provinces of Río de la Plata, and the title and name of city in the year of the Lord, 1588 April 3rd Sunday of the Resurrection of Lazarus, leading to the founding principle of a fort built and to defend the villagers themselves to refresh the ticket and sailing vessels dilated both Paraguay and Parana rivers from the port of Buenos Aires de la Asunción. Just ahead of Juan de Torres de Vera took the city and last name, calling since then the city of San Juan de Vera, and added the second of the seven streams of the Paraná river forming the crashing waters of the seven points that fall of land. His first lieutenant captain general and chief justice was Don Alonso de Vera y Aragón, appointed by the same advance. "
For its part the Jesuit José Quiroga, who in 1752 was a recognition of the Paraguay River from the mouth of Xauru to its confluence with the Paraná, also contributes his own. This document was published by Father Domingo Muriel in Appendix of the Latin version of the history of Paraguay's father Charlevoix. Referring to the city of Corrientes read:
"
called city of the seven streams, because the land where the city is, for seven stone points, leaving the river where the current is Paraná strong. "
And a few years later the Jesuit José Guevara also refers to the origin of the name of the place of the seven streams, on the basis of said Quiroga father, and rectifying those who at that time had a mistaken view:
"
Quiroga's father talking about the origin of the name of Seven Streams says: The city of Corrientes Seven has this name, not as believed by some short distance together there in many rivers, but because it is founded on a high plane that makes seven points entering their angles of stone in the river Paraná points which is a strong current made it impossible to rise to the ships, approaching them, and so to raise them is necessary to take the course through them. "
Moving the century, these features were noted and forwarded to the passage of time by occasional travelers and historians who visited us, as is the case of the French naturalist Alcides Dessalines d'Orbigny, who visited the city of Corrientes the year 1827 and expressed in his left Travel to South America that "
the large number of lizards that covered the coastal cliffs, this place has given the name of Taragui by the Indians, a name still used ." And in the twentieth century, the historian Vicente Quesada told us in his work The Province of Corrientes, that "the city of Corrientes
was known by the Guarani Taragui name, by the many lizards that are sheltered in the crevices of walls, roofs and patios, the abundance of this reptile called Guarani Taragui was the origin of this name "reconfirms opinion Francisco Geography Latzina in Argentina, which states that "the Guarani
this province at the time of the conquest, they called the city of Corrientes, Taragüy, because of the many lizards that used to take shelter in the cracks of the walls . "
As evidenced by all the history presented here, was eventually prevail in the name of the place where the city was settled on the name that will be given to the city in the foundation, and was so the city that was founded with the name City of Vera, became known over time San Juan de Vera, San Juan de Vera in Corrientes and San Juan de Vera of the Corrientes and San Juan de Vera of the Seven Corrientes, or Corrientes and was only finally Corrientes.
Analysis of the Chapter Acts of the council of the city, one can see that until October 30, 1598 was complied with without exception the name of city of Vera, a practice which continued with some exceptions from that date until year 1609 approximately. From the year 1610 is the start of the city called San Juan de Vera, with some exceptions, and since 1682 and is called San Juan de Vera of the Seven Streams. The name of the city of Corrientes, or Corrientes begin to gather strength from year 1764 or so.
Conference Gustavo Sorg from 03/11/2009 on the origin of the name of the city of Corrientes in the Corrientes Historical Museum
Gustavo Sorg hands over the Azcoaga Mr. Fernando González, director of the Historical Museum of Corrientes, the true coat of arms of the founder of Corrientes.
