On 5 October 1833, an advance column of the left-flank Rosa's Desert Campaign, under Sergeant Major Leandro Ibáñez, fought a skirmish with a native tribe under Cayupán who was camped near the local creek.

From that date on European immigration mainly by Spaniards and Italians, colonized the region, with the town officially founded on 19 June 1889.

Nonetheless, in the native Gennakenk language, the letter "v" did not exist which may have led to a misspelling in the official reports from the late 19th Century.

The most credible is the one suggested by anthropologist Rodolfo Casamiquela, meaning "creek that overflows", referring to the frequent flooding in the valley before Europeans built canals.

Coming from the eastern coast it is the first prominent local population center due to the fertile valley and fruit and vegetable farming.