"Land of Sun, good wine and more " a Mendoza Travel Page by Gaspar&Floppy

Mendoza is our homeprovince, so beautiful, so clean, so hot! in summer. It's the land of sun and wine, a good place to live, to love and to experience.
We're proud to say that we live in a desert so, anytime you see a tree in Mendoza or a green area you'll be seeing the results of a lot of hardwork and a deep love for this land where we live.

Mendoza was founded in 1561 by the Spanish conqueror Don Pedro del Castillo, he named it "Mendoza" after Don Pedro de Mendoza, the founder of Buenos Aires.
The original inhabitants of this land were the Huarpes, an indian tribe that were peaceful and their main activity was agriculture and fishing. They had an irrigation sistem of ditches (what we call "zanjones and acequias") and that irrigation system, with some improvements of course still exists in our days.
Mendoza was the base for planing and training the army of the Andes, the army led by the General Jose de San Martin that would liberate Argentina, Chile and Peru from the Spaniards.
In 1861 an earthquake destroyed great part of the city and killing 3000 people. After the earthquake, the old downtown which was in the zone of the Foundational Area Museum was moved to the zone of Plaza Independencia.

In the 19th century an English traveler wrote in his diary that the only thing that the people of Mendoza knew how to do it good was to sleep their siesta. Well Sir, that's not the only one.
The "siesta" is an old habit of many people in Mendoza. The afternoons are so hot in summer that there was no use in doing something exept for taking a nap from 1pm till 4 pm.
Things have changed a lot although some people still have that habit and you may find lots of shops in Mendoza closed from 1pm till 4 or 5 pm.

WINE WINE WINE
Mendoza is one of the 8 wine Capitals in the world.
Mendoza's wine industry is really important for the province but wine making is not only an activity. Mendoza's traditional songs, tales and the whole culture of the province is influenced by wine. Wine means gathering with friends, celebration, hard work, sadness, etc. In every aspect of Mendoza's traditions you will find the magic that comes up from the vineyards: wine.