Founded in 1892, Santa Rosa (situated in the heart of La Pampa) was the product of the great immigration movement of the French, Italian and Spanish workers who flocked to Argentina to work on the railroads. Under their influence, the Plaza San Martin and some impressive buildings, such as the Teatro Español, were constructed.
These immigrants were not the original inhabitants of the area, however. Various nomad tribes had occupied the land thousands of years earlier, after discovering a rare hospitable microclimate amidst mostly semi-arid terrain. Evidence of these original inhabitants is found on cave walls in Parque Nacional Lihué Calel.
One of the youngest capitals in the country, Santa Rosa wasn’t granted its status as capital of La Pampa until 1951 (upon the whim of Eva Perón). The province was originally named after the infamous politician. The town grew to be an important administrative centre, mostly due to the central geographical location rather than the significance of the town. The oldest hotel in Santa Rosa is less than a hundred years old, adding to the feel of a town just beginning to awake.