Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip
You have to know your stuff here. It re-
minds us of an antique shop sign we
once saw in Singapore - “We buy junk
and sell antiques.”
Just beyond Independencia, you'll find yourself
at
Calle Chile
, which was once a stream and
the traditional border of San Telmo. The small
area between Chile and the Plaza de Mayo is
alternately called
Catedral al Sur
or
Montserrat
. In fact, these traditional lines
have blurred and the entire area from the Plaza
de Mayo south to Lezama Park is considered
San Telmo.
The corner of Calle Defensa and Calle Vene-
zuela is known as “Death Corner” because of
the vicious fighting that took place here
between the British and the
criollos
. The build-
ing at Defensa 628 has the dubious distinction
of being the very spot from which Argentineans
poured pots of boiling water and oil on the
heads of the passing British troops in the early
1800s.
The
Santo Domingo Church
, also called the
Basílica Menor del Santísimo Sacra-
mento
, is located at the intersection of Calles
Defensa and Belgrano. This church's past has
been severely marked for posterity by the Brit-
ish. During the second invasion in 1807 they
used it as a fortress; and if you look up at one of
its two towers you can see the pockmarked sur-
face, created by the bullets shot in the battle for
