Roaming South America

Villa Mercedes, AR - A Second Visit was Worth It

October 22, 2026

Villa Mercedes, Argentina, with a population of around 133,000, was founded as a post station in 1706 or so, the locals jokingly called it Las Pulgas (the fleas), then in 1752 the process to establish the town began. Villa Mercedes was named "Río Quinto" because the river Quinto runs alongside and through part of the town. It was founded in 1856, then in 1861 was named Villa Mercedes in honor to Virgen de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy). The town is located right in the middle between Córdoba and Mendoza. My first blog of VM has the full history of the town. I find it a nice stop-over when traveling between those two cities.

In my previous blog, I wrote that there's nothing particularly notable in Villa Mercedes. I was wrong because I didn't explore all of the town. There's a street called Calle Angosta. At each end of the street is an entry arch with the street name across the top at each end of the street and on each side of the arches are very big guitars. What's the deal? This street is sung about in a nationally famous song called "Calle Angosta" by José Zavala. The street runs alongside the railway tracks in the old station neighborhood, so it has houses on only one side. The song celebrates exactly that little oddity, describing it as the street with a single sidewalk. It also names the neighborhood bar where local musicians and guitarists used to gather, which made the street a symbol of the city's bohemian, music-loving past. The bar, Boliche Don Miranda, is still open and serving the town.

Villa Mercedes has taken advantage of the fame. The city hosts the Fiesta Nacional de la Calle Angosta, a major annual folklore festival that draws big-name Argentine folk performers, and the street itself has been turned into something of a heritage site with the arch, murals, and municipal heritage plaques. There's a double-guitarist relief which is signed by Mónica Corrales and Marta Lerner, a painted panel on an old stucco wall is titled "Los Cantores" by Ailen Garro and dated 2003, and a close-up of a guitar is signed Alfredo C. And others that are harder to make out the signatures.

During my previous visit to Villa Mercedes, I walked around the Parque Costanera Río Quinto. I walked it again and followed the path around the far end, then followed a trail alongside the river. Eventually, almost at the new bridge, in my previous blog I mentioned this bridge as being under construction, the path seemed to come to an end. The Google Map satellite image showed it continuing. I climbed the embankment, went up to a dirt road, and a woman came out of the only house there, and we talked for a while. And a teen boy and girl and a younger boy all joined us. We all talked for about 15-20 minutes. The older boy said the trail is mostly unusable now - either covered in water or overgrown. The dirt road they are on continues and connects to the main road with the new bridge. Also, at that end, is Parque La Pedrera which has an auto-racing track (I walked part of it), small lakes, lots of park space, a skate park, a grass soccer/hockey field in a very nice stadium, and a golf course. There are pictures in the photo album.

Villa Mercedes is a very nice town to visit if you're traveling between the east and west sides of Argentina. There's an interesting train museum/park and numerous plazas. The town has pretty much everything you could need including multiple banks and ATMs. As I wrote in my previous blog, which was in November 2024, I like this town. But could I live here? No, for one simple reason – winters are too cold for me. Now that I've visited twice, I can say I still enjoy visiting Villa Mercedes. If I revisit this central region of Argentina in the future, I will definitely visit Villa Mercedes again.