Editing Azul, Buenos Aires (section)

{{Infobox settlement
| official_name           = Azul
| settlement_type         = Town
| image_shield            = Escudo Azul v1 - con cinta (lower res).png
| image_flag              = Bandera del Partido de Azul (oficial).png
| image_skyline           = AzulPlazaSanMartin.jpg
| image_caption           = Plaza San Martín
| pushpin_map             = 
| pushpin_label_position  = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize1        = 200
| coordinates             = {{coord|36|47|S|59|51|W|region:AR|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = {{ARG}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of Argentina|Province]]
| subdivision_name1       = {{Flag|Buenos Aires Province|name=Buenos Aires}}
| subdivision_type2       = [[Partidos of Buenos Aires|Partido]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Azul Partido|Azul]]
| established_title       = Founded
| established_date        = December 16, 1832
| elevation_footnotes     = <!--for references: use<ref> </ref>  tags-->
| elevation_m             = 137
| population_total        = 55,728
| population_as_of        = 2010 census
| population_density_km2  = auto
| postal_code_type        = [[Argentine postal code|CPA Base]]
| postal_code             = [[ISO 3166-2:AR|B]] 7330
| area_code               = +[[Telephone numbers in Argentina|54]] 2281
| blank_name              = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info              = [[Oceanic climate|Cfb]]
| website                 = {{URL|http://www.azul.gov.ar/}}
}}
'''Azul''' ({{IPA|es|aˈsul}}, English: "blue", for the stream Azul, which flows through the area) is the head city of the [[Azul Partido]], located at the center of the [[Buenos Aires Province]] in [[Argentina]], 300&nbsp;km south of [[Buenos Aires]]. It has 63,000 inhabitants as per the {{census-ar|2001}}  .
[[File:Plaza Azul2.JPG|thumb|left|180px|City Hall]]
Its principal, goods-producing economic activities are [[Agriculture in Argentina|agriculture]] and the raising of cattle for meat and leather exports. Home to a dynamic services sector, over 2,000 commercial businesses are registered in the city.<ref>[http://www.azulesturismo.com.ar/historia/ Subcomisión de Turismo: Azul es Historia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317163249/http://www.azulesturismo.com.ar/historia/ |date=2010-03-17 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref>
{{stack|[[File:AzulCatedralExterior.jpg|thumb|180px|Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary]]}}
The town was founded on December 16, 1832, following Governor [[Juan Manuel de Rosas]]' orders for the construction of a fort, San Serapio Mártir del Arroyo Azul, to guard against indigenous raids. Subsequent [[land grant]]s led to the development of a stable community, and in 1895, Azul was formally declared a town by provincial authorities. The local cathedral, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, was consecrated in 1906. 
[[File:AzulCementerio.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Monument in the Azul Cemetery, by [[Francisco Salamone]]]]
The town's cemetery portal and main slaughterhouse were both designed by architect [[Francisco Salamone]], and contain elements of [[Art Deco]] style. Built in the late 1930s, these buildings were some of the first examples of modern architecture in rural Argentina. The town was the scene of an attack on outlying Army barracks by far-left [[People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina)|ERP]] militants on January 19, 1974, the most violent assault of its kind in the country up to that point.

Azul is home to the schools of Agronomy and Law of the [[National University of Central Buenos Aires]]. The Teatro Español, founded in the city in 1897, is among the most important of the central [[pampas]] area, and in 1992, hosted the [[Bolshoi Ballet]].<ref>[http://www.teatroespanol.azul.com.ar/ Teatro Español de Azul] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430013608/http://www.teatroespanol.azul.com.ar/ |date=April 30, 2010 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref>

The [[Miguel de Cervantes]] Festival is held there every spring since 2007, and ''Casa Ronco'', an antiquarian library and museum, maintains the country's best collections relating to the noted Spanish writer. ''Casa Ronco'' is named after the collector Bartolomé Ronco. Azul was declared Argentina's "City of Cervantes" by [[UNESCO]] in 2007.<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/01/26/conexiones/t-01351560.htm ''Clarín'' (26 January 2007)] {{in lang|es}}</ref>