Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tions of the Podestá family - Italian immigrants who popularized the
gauchesca
(gaucho
literature) drama
Juan Moreira
. Items include a gaucho suit worn by Gardel in his Holly-
wood film
El día que me quieras
and the
bandoneón
belonging to Paquita Bernardo, the
first Argentine woman to play the accordionlike instrument (she died of tuberculosis in
1925 at the age of 25).
There's also a photo gallery of famous Argentine stage actors.
AVENIDA 9 DE JULIO
It's one Buenos Aires landmark that all visitors to the city will have to cross, in one way or another -
Avenida 9 de Julio, hailed as the world's widest avenue and named after Argentina's independence
day. It's only one kilometer long but 16 lanes wide (140 m) - and takes a walking pedestrian at least
two traffic-light cycles to cross, via raised islands.
If
they don't dillydally.
When the widening construction started in 1935, the avenue was considered a patriotic symbol of
the city's modern aspirations. Designers modelled it on Paris' Champs-Élysées, but made it twice as
wide as a way to one-up its predecessor. For the construction, dozens of blocks of traditionally-styled
European buildings had to be demolished through the city's center, and thousands of residents dis-
placed. It was an epic destruction of glorious architecture - all in the name of progress. But one signi-
ficant building refused to be touched; the original French Embassy. It still stands today, as the lanes of
9 de Julio forcefully curve around it.
It took until 1980 to fully complete the widening of Avenida 9 de Julio. Today, several landmark
buildings and monuments dot the thoroughfare. At its southern end lies Plaza de la Constitución,
home to a Beaux-arts train station (but not a safe place to hang out, day or night). At Av de Mayo is a
statue of Don Quixote astride his horse. A bit further north, the 67m-high white Obelisco punctuates
the sky, while nearby is the beautiful neoclassical facade of the Teatro Colón opera house. And finally,
at the northern end of the avenue, you'll find the French Embassy - which stuck to its guns and won
the right to remain.
