Durazno

Durazno, in full San Pedro de Durazno, city, central Uruguay, on the Yi River. Long part of an unclaimed area between Spanish and Portuguese territories, Durazno was not formally founded until 1821, when José Fructuoso Rivera established a settlement called San Pedro de Durazno, a name concocted from Dom Pedro de Alcântara, prince regent of Brazil, and durazno (“peach”), for the local fruit trees. During the fight for Uruguayan independence, Durazno was a republican headquarters.

A processing and trade centre for the cattle industry, the city has a livestock agricultural school, meat-packing plants, dairies, grain mills, and a cement factory. Pop. (2004) 33,576.