It has 3,819 inhabitants per the 2001 census [INDEC], and is the head town of the Río Seco Department.

It lies in the north of the province, by National Route 9, about 27 km (17 mi) south of the provincial border with Santiago del Estero and 170 km (106 mi) north-northeast of the provincial capital Córdoba.

Its name was changed to the current one by provincial governor Roque Ferreira on 26 May 1858.

The town was the birthplace of the poet Leopoldo Lugones (1874–1938), whose childhood house is today a museum and a National Historic Monument.

The area was also the stage of the assassination of the caudillo of Entre Ríos Province Francisco Ramírez, in 1821.