Buenos Aires - Argentina - page 125

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president in the Casa R osada. In front of the Legislatura, y ou'll see a br onze statue of
Julio A. Roca. He is considered one of Argentina 's greatest presidents and generals, but
one of his legacies is slaughtering tens of thousands of ndians in the name of racial purity
within the pr ovince. He is why Argentina, unlike most of Latin America, is a largely
white society rather than mestizo, at least within Buenos Aires and the surroundings.
Farther down Calle P erú are the Manzanas de las L uces (Blocks of Lights) ,

Calle Perú 272, which ser ved as the intellectual center of the city in the 17th and 18th
centuries. This land was granted in 1616 to the esuits, who built San Ignacio —the city's
oldest church—still standing at the corner of calles Bolív ar and Aslina. S an Ignacio has
a beautiful altar carved in wood with baroque details. It has been recently renovated after
years of neglect and was nearly destroyed in the revolution that took Perón out of power
in 1955, after he sought to r educe the po wer of the Catholic Chur ch. The Colegio
Nacional de Buenos Aires (National High School of Buenos Aires) is also located here.
Argentina's best-known intellectuals have gathered and studied here. The name “block of
lights” r ecognizes the contributions of the N ational School 's graduates, especially in
achieving Argentina's independence in the 19th centur y. Tours, usually led on S aturday
and Sunday at 3 and 4:30pm, include a visit to the J esuits' system of underground tun-
nels, which connected their churches to strategic spots in the city (admission $2/£1.35).
Speculation remains as to whether the tunnels also ser ved a colonial military purpose or
funneled pirated goods into the city to av oid tax es under the S panish, and their full
extent is still unkno wn. P erón and subsequent militar y r egimes had also secr etly
expanded them. Ratearse, the Argentine slang for playing hooky , which literally means
becoming a rat, comes fr om the tunnels, as this is wher e students hid to skip class. I n
addition to weekend tours, the Comisión Nacional de la Manzana de las Luces organizes
a variety of cultural activities during the week, including folkloric dance lessons, open-air
theater per formances, ar t expositions, and music concer ts. Call & 11/4331-9534 for
information.
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero became Buenos Aires's second major gateway to trade with Europe when it
was built in 1880, r eplacing in impor tance the por t at La Boca. B y 1910, the city had
already outgrown it. The Puerto Nuevo (New Port) was established to the north to accom-
modate gr owing commer cial activity, and M adero was abandoned for almost a centur y.
Urban renewal saved the original por t in the 1990s with the constr uction of a riv erfront
promenade, apar tments, and offices. B ustling and businesslike during the day , the ar ea
attracts a fashionable, w ealthy cr owd at night. I t's lined with elegant r estaurants ser ving
Argentine steaks and fr esh seafood specialties, and ther e is a popular cinema sho wing
Argentine and Hollywood films, as w ell as dance clubs such as Asia de Cuba. The entire
area is rapidly expanding, with high-rise luxury residences making this a newly fashionable,
if some what isolated and ar tificial, neighborhood to liv e in. N ote that all the str eets in
Puerto Madero are named for important women in Argentine history. Look for the Buenos
Aires City Tourism brochure “Women of Buenos Aires” to learn more about some of them.
A plaque also exists on A venida Alicia M oreau de J usto at Boulev ard Villaflor, betw een
Diques 3 and 2, with brief biographies. A t sunset, take a walk along the eastern, modern
part of the renovated area, and watch the water shimmer in brilliant reds as the city skyline
and older portions of the port form a dramatic, silhouetted backdr op.
As you walk out from the port, you'll also come across the Ecological Preserve .
This area is an anomaly for a modern city and exists as pr oof that nature can regenerate
from an ecological disaster . In the 1960s and 1970s, demolished buildings and debris

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