BUENOS AIRES AREA BY AREA - Argentina - page 68

t Avenida 9 de
Julio and Obelisco
City Map 3 D4. Carlos Pellegrini,
9 de Julio. @ 39, 59, 67.

This 460-ft- (140-m-) wide
thoroughfare runs half a mile
to the west of the Río de la Plata
waterfront and has six lanes in
each direction. It was blasted
through the center of the city
in the 1930s, creating a fitting
backdrop for the towering
223-ft (68-m) Obelisco that
stands at the intersection with
Avenida Corrientes.
The magnificent Obelisco
was designed by Argentinian
architect Alberto Prebisch and
was erected in 1936. Each of the
monument's four faces
illustrates an important event
in Argentina's history:
the first foundation of
Buenos Aires in 1536; the
second, more successful,
foundation in 1580; the
creation of the federal
capital in 1880; and the first
hoisting of the national
flag in San Nicolás church,
which once stood at the
same spot. The monument
is one of the main icons
of the city and a venue
for cultural activities. It
also serves as a gathering spot
for sports fans celebrating a win
by their favorite team.

Display of costumes at Museo del Instituto Nacional de Estudios de Teatro

Israelita de la Argentina (CIRA),
a community organization
created by a group of German,
French, and British Jews in
1862. The imposing
architecture of the
building copies the
Byzantine-influenced style
of 19th-century German
synagogues. It is still very
much a working temple,
and daily services as well
as regular bar mitzvahs
and marriage ceremonies
are held here. The temple
also houses, in its
administrative office, the
Museo Judío de Buenos
Aires Dr. Salvador Kibrick ,
which is named after the
museum's founder. The displays
tell the story of the arrival and
settlement of Argentina's sizable
Jewish community through
paintings, religious art, and
artifacts such as altar cloths,

menorahs, manuscripts, and
letters, including one sent by
Albert Einstein in 1925 to the
Argentinian Jews.

i Teatro Nacional
Cervantes
Libertad 815. City Map 3 D4.
Te l [phone]. Tribunales.
@ 29, 39. Open Feb−Dec:
10am−9pm Wed−Sun. Closed Jan.
8 2pm Tue (Spanish only). ∑ teatro
cervantes.gov.ar Museo del Instituto
Nacional de Estudios de Teatro:
Te l [phone] ext. 179.
Open noon-6pm Mon-Fri.
8 same as the theater. -

Old Torah at
Museo Judío

The only “national” theater to
bear that name in the country,
the Teatro Nacional Cervantes
was once a grand structure.
Heavy traffic and pollution has
discolored the façade and given
the ornate cornices and bas-
reliefs an unsightly black sheen.
Yet the building still manages to
impress - it is built in the Spanish
Habsburg Imperial style and
takes a cue from the University in
Alcalá de Henares in Madrid with
its Plateresque elements (a 15th-
to 16th-century Spanish art form
characterized by much orna-
mentation). The interior is
decorated with materials
imported from Spain, including
mirrors from Seville, exquisite
tapestries and drapes from
Madrid, and tiles from Valencia
and Tarragona. The building was
given to the city by Spanish
actor María Guerrero and her
husband Fernando Díaz de

y Teatro Colón
See pp76-7 .

u Templo de la
Congregación
Israelita
Libertad 769. City Map 3 D4.
Te l [phone]. Tribunales.

@ 29, 39, 109. Open 3−5:30pm Tue &

Thu. Services: 8am & 6:15pm Sun-Thu,
8am, 6:15pm, & 7:30pm Fri.
∑ templolibertad.org.ar Museo

Judío de Buenos Aires Dr. Salvador
Kibrick: Te l same as the synagogue.
Open 11−6pm Tue-Thu, 11am-5pm
Fri. & 8 call ahead for details.

The foundation stone for this
beautiful synagogue was laid in
1897 by the Congregación

View of the magniicent altar of the Templo
de la Congregación Israelita

For hotels and restaurants see pp278-83 and pp288-99