Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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run thr ough the walled-in ar ea. You can spend hours wandering the gr ounds, which
cover 4 city blocks, adorned with wor ks by local and international sculptors. More than
6,400 mausoleums form an architectural free-for-all, including Greek temples and pyra-
mids. The most popular site is the tomb of E va “Evita” Perón, which is always heaped
with flowers and notes fr om adoring fans. To prevent her body fr om being stolen, as it
had been many times, she is buried in a concr ete vault 8.1m (27 ft.) undergr ound. In
spite of this, people peek through the glass doors and swear they see her. Many other rich
or famous Argentines are buried here as well, including a number of Argentine presidents
(many names on tombs correspond to names on city str eet signs).
Most tourists who come her e visit only Evita's tomb and leav e, but among the many
tombs, two are worth singling out and should not be missed while exploring her e. One
is the tomb of the Paz family, who owned the newspaper
La Prensa,
as well as the palatial
building on Plaza San Martín now known as the Círculo Militar. It is an enormous black
stone structure covered with numerous white marble angels in turn-of-the-20th-centur y
dress. The angels seem almost to soar to the heav ens, lifting up the spirit of those inside
with their massiv e wings. The sculptur es w ere all made in P aris and shipped her e.
Masonic symbols such as anchors and pyramid-like shapes adorn this as w
ell as many
other Recoleta tombs.
Another tomb I recommend seeing while here is that of Rufina Cambaceres, a young
woman who was buried alive in the early 1900s. She had perhaps suffered a coma, and a
few days after her interment, workers heard screams from the tomb. Once the tomb was
opened, there were scratches on her face and on the coffin fr om trying to escape. H er
mother then built this Ar t Nouveau masterpiece, which has become a symbol of the
cemetery. Her coffin is a Carrara marble slab, carved with a rose on top, and it sits behind
a glass wall, as if her mother wanted to make up for her mistake in burying her and make
sure to see her coffin if she were ever to come back again. Adorned by a young girl carved
of marble who turns her head to those watching her, she looks as if she is about to break
into tears, and her right hand is on the door of her o wn tomb.
The dead are not the only residents of the cemetery—about 86 cats roam among the
tombs. The cats here are plumper than most strays, thanks to a few women from the area
who come to feed them at 10am and 4pm. The cats gather in anticipation at the
entrance, and this is a good time to bring children who might otherwise be bored in the
cemetery. Weather permitting, fr ee English guided tours take place ev ery Tuesday and
Thursday at 11am from the cemetery's Doric-columned entrance at Calle Junín 1790.
Adjacent to the cemetery, the
Centro Cultural Recoleta
(p. 145) holds permanent
and touring art exhibits along with theatrical and musical performances. Designed in the
mid-18th century as a Franciscan convent, it was reincarnated as a poorhouse in 1858,
serving that function until it became a cultural center in 1979. The first floor houses an
interactive children's science museum, wher e it is “ forbidden not to touch. ” Next door,
Buenos Aires Design Center features shops specializing in home decor.
5
Plaza de Mayo
Juan de G aray founded the historic cor e of B uenos Aires, the P laza de M ayo, in 1580.
The plaza's prominent buildings create an architectural timeline: The Cabildo, Pirámide
de M ayo (P yramid of M ay), and M etropolitan Cathedral ar e v estiges of the colonial
period (18th and early 19th c.), while the seats of national and local go vernment reflect
the styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I n the center of the plaza, you'll find
palm trees, fountains, and benches. Plaza de Mayo remains the political heart of the city
and as such, serves as a forum for protests. In recent years which have seen considerable
