San Luis Province

San Luis Province is a contradiction, a tiny province with a small population that’s gained and maintained notoriety through the Rodríguez Saá political dynasty. Its most prominent figure, erratic populist Adolfo Rodríguez Saá (“El Adolfo”), proudly declared Argentina’s 2001 debt default in a brief term as caretaker president; he wants to be president again.

Ironically, the province remained solvent despite widespread corruption in what opponents of El Adolfo and brother Alberto punningly call a dictadura Saátanica.

San Luis prefers to be called Portal de Cuyo (The Gateway to Cuyo); its roads are among the country’s best, and its namesake city [1] is a tidy provincial capital, and there’s open access Wi-Fi throughout the province.

For foreigners, its most worthwhile sight is the fossil-rich canyon country of Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas [2]; for Puntanos (provincial natives) and other Argentines, it’s the underrated Sierras on the border of Córdoba Province [3].