ARGENTINA REGION BY REGION - Argentina - page 147

P Centro Cultural Villa
Victoria
Matheu 1851. Tel [phone].
Open 10am-1pm, 5-11pm daily.
& 7 - =
A fine writer, intellectual, and
critic, Victoria Ocampo influ-
enced most of Argentina's
modern literary greats. She was
known as an excellent hostess
and the soirées she organized
at her villa were famous. She is
mentioned in Graham Greene's
dedication to his well-known
novel The Honorary Consul . Built
by her father as a present to her
aunt, the beautiful house was
inherited by Ocampo in the
1930s. The writer lived here inter-
mittently until her death in 1979.
She bequeathed the building to
UNESCO in 1973, although it
reverted to municipal control in
1981 when it came to be
known as the Centro
Cultural Villa Victoria.
Surrounded by a
sprawling park, the
center is well main-
tained. The building
is of architectural
interest, constructed
from Norwegian
wood specially
shipped to Buenos
Aires in 1911. The
wood was then transported by
train to Mar del Plata. The big
house has 11 bedrooms, but
only one of the rooms contains
the original antique furnishings.
The center now holds a large
number of diverse exhibitions,
events, and conferences
throughout the year.

The exterior of Museo Municipal de Arte
Juan Carlos Castagnino

Fishing trawlers at the harbor in Banquina
de Pescadores

E Museo Municipal de Arte
Juan Carlos Castagnino
Colón 1189. Te l [phone]. Open
noon-6pm Mon, Wed-Fri; 2-7pm Sat
& Sun. & free Wed. 8 - =
Built in 1909, this museum is
housed in a striking
mock-Anglo-Norman-
style mansion of
turrets and timbers. Its
collection of 450
paintings is dominated
by the works of local
artist Juan Carlos
Castagnino (1908-72).
Depicting his home-
town in a style that
was influenced by
European expressionism,
while being essentially
figurative, Castagnino also pro-
duced etchings based on
Goya's celebrated “Horrors of
War” series. He achieved great
fame with his detailed illus-
trations for a 1962 edition of
Martín Fierro . The building is
noted for its elegant Art
Nouveau interior, designed by
the famous Belgian decorator
Gustavo Serrurier-Bovy. It is a
work of art in its own right,
packed with playful and
extravagant details such as
carvings of the five flying ducks
over the fireplace. Much of
Bovy's work was destroyed
during World War II and this
museum's collection is one of
the few remaining examples of
his creations. The furniture in the
building is considered some of
the finest in the world. Tempo-
rary exhibitions, which focus
both on local and national artists,
are held here all year round.

P Banquina de Pescadores
South of city center, past Playa
Grande.
This working fisherman's wharf
teems with activity, brightly
painted fishing boats, and the
unmistakable smell of fish. The
best time to go to Banquina de
Pescadores is when the
fishermen return at dusk,
bringing with them packed
crates of bass, squid, and many
other seafood delicacies. The
dock also has a colony of male
sea lions, who have made the
port their home and clamor for
scraps from the fishermen. Their
numbers vary according to the
season and, as they are not shy
of humans, visitors can get near
enough to observe them at
close quarters. The port is also
known for its excellent seafood
restaurants, many of which are
dotted around the wharf.

Castagnino's self-portrait

The famous literary retreat Centro Cultural Villa Victoria, Mar del Plata