Category Archives: Daily Journal

Cementario de la Recoleta in Buenos Aires is as close as I’ve ever seen a cemetery meet the description of “City of the Dead”. The cemetery includes wide, paved streets and narrow alleyways bordered by mausoleums that often look like miniature houses. Here and there are green spaces punctuated by monuments and statues. The first image below looks down one of the wide avenues. Occasionally, one of the tombs includes interesting and sometimes frightening artwork, such as the skull seen on the tomb of the Family of Doctor Alexo Castex. Unfortunately, I was not able to learn much about Doctor Castex, which frustrates me as a genealogist! Finally, the tomb of Martin Rodriguez (1771-1845) shows a sculpture of this Argentine politician and soldier who participated in the resistance to the British Invasion of the Rí­o de la Plata during the Napoleonic Wars and the subsequent May Revolution. Rodriguez later became governor of Buenos Aires. Continue reading →

Eva Perón (1919-1952), is buried in Cementerio de la Recoleta, along with many other famous Argentines. However, her body was not always laid to rest there. After she died on 26 Jul 1952, her embalmed body was displayed in her former office in the CGT Building (Building of the General Confederation of Labor), awaiting the construction of a permanent memorial. Unfortunately, her husband, President Juan Perón, was driven out of office in a military coup in 1955, and the new authorities removed Evita’s body to an unknown location. Sixteen years later, in 1971, the military revealed that Evita’s body had been buried in a crypt in Milan, Italy under the name Marí­a Maggi. In 1971, the body was exhumed and flown to the Perón home in Spain. Evita’s body was kept in Spain until after Juan Perón’s death, and was then returned to Argentina so that the bodies of Juan and Eva Perón could be displayed together. Eventually Evita’s body was interred in the Duarte Family Tomb in Recoleta Cemetery. To ensure that Evita’s body would be secure, it was buried two levels underground. Shown below are two views of the tomb, and details of three of the plaques that adorn the tomb. Continue reading →

In Buenos Aires there is a saying that “It’s cheaper to live extravagantly all your life than to be buried in Recoleta.” Cementerio de la Recoleta is the final resting place for the wealthiest and most prestigious of Argentina’s citizens. The cemetery is, indeed, a city of the dead. Wide streets and narrow passages crisscross through Recoleta Cemetery where it seems that everyone is buried in a mausoleum to spend eternity in a house of granite. Among the rich and famous buried here are Bartolomé Mitre (1821-1906), a soldier, journalist, and the sixth president of Argentina. Mitre has been described as one of the Argentina’s best writers and is well known for chronicling South America’s wars of independence. Marco Avellaneda (1813-1841) was the son of a prominent Argentine politician. He, himself, became governor of the Province of Tucumí¡n. He was put to death by the dictator Rosas who displayed Avellaneda’s head on a pike in the Plaza of Tucumí¡n. Valentine Alsina (1802-1869) was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He served as governor of Buenos Aires and as a member of the Argentine senate. Continue reading →

By the time I reached Jardí­n Japonés (the Japanese Garden) in the Palermo nieghborhood of Buenos Aires, it was closed for the day. Nonetheless, I snapped some photos through the fence. Perhaps I’ll be able to visit the Japonese Garden on some future visit. Continue reading →

A stroll through the Recoleta and Palermo neighborhoods in Buenos Aires reveals many delights, too many to fully appreciate in a single day. The Facultad de Ingenieria (Engineering School) is described by my travel guide as a “decrepit neo-Gothic” building. With scraggly plants sprouting high on its crumbling structure, the decaying appearance still has a certain charm and allure. The postcard-perfect Floralis Genérica with its aluminum and steel petals that open with the day and close at night is a popular sight in the Plaza Naciones Unidas (United Nations Plaza). Further along in Plaza Irí¡n (Iran Plaza) is La columna del Templo Persa (Column of the Persian Temple), in impressive monument, indeed. Continue reading →

While sightseeing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I spotted this rower in the diques. I took several pictures and thought they would make an interesting photo essay. Continue reading →

Adjacent to the Plaza de Mayo stands the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the seat of the executive branch of Argentina’s federal government. The structure was completed in 1898 after the State House and Central Post Office were connected with an Italianate archway. The balcony where Evita Perón addressed the public can be seen in the first view below. Not far from Casa Rosada stands a monument to Christopher Columbus which was constructed in Italy, disassembled, and reassembled in Buenos Aires. The base of the monument included figures representing Civilization, Science, Genius and the Ocean. East of Casa Rosada stands the Edificio Libertador (Liberator Building) completed in 1938 and housing the Ministerio de Defensa (Defense Ministry). And yes, this is still Christmastime and even the Defense Ministry displays a nativity scene. Continue reading →

I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 30 in plenty of time to celebrate the coming of the New Year. On my first day, I explored the Plaza de Mayo and the Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires). Plaza de Mayo is named for the date when Argentina declared its independence from Spain, May 25, 1810. The cathedral was built on the site of the original colonial church and was completed in 1827. Continue reading →