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Author: Robert

337. staircase destruction

As reported by every other blog concerned with saving the architectural heritage of Buenos Aires, the entrance gate staircase for Recoleta Cemetery is currently being demolished. Just like that. No one could have foreseen that repavement of the sidewalk adjacent to the cemetery could have generated such a blatant disregard for the city’s  biggest tourist attraction.

The need for some sort of change of the staircase comes from poor planning. By using thicker, pre-fabricated sidewalk tiles, the new sidewalk level is higher than the original & exceeds the base of the staircase:

Entrance gate destruction, Recoleta Cemeter

As reported by Sergio Kiernan in a mocking article appearing in Página/12’s architecture supplement m2, workers began breaking up the Carrara marble staircase with hammers before Teresa de Anchorena (member of both city & national heritage organizations) found out about the destruction on May 20th. She contacted Jorge Sábato—city Subsecretary for Urban Projects, Architecture & Infrastructure—reminding him of the mistake being made. According to Kiernan, Sábato did not respond to Anchorena’s communiqué. It was too late… several local residents had already taken pieces of staircase marble home with them as souvenirs.

Sábato’s next-in-command Miguel Ortemberg sent a letter six days later to the National Commission of Museums, Monuments & Historical Places requesting advice on how to modify the cemetery’s staircase after the damage had already been done:

Ortemberg letter

Days passed while Sábato & Ortemberg submitted a variety of documents to the city legislature claiming that there would be drainage problems given the new sidewalk level. Only one solution existed & the marble staircase would be removed & stored for any future solution or modification. All lies. Another problem they cited was the lack of a permanent disability ramp for cemetery access. Adding insult to injury, both Sábato & Ortemberg are degree-holding architects. Their solution was destruction over preservation.

Entrance gate, Recoleta Cemetery

With officials like Sábato & Ortemberg in charge, there is little question why so much destruction of the city’s architectural heritage  has happened in recent years. In spite of being listed as a National Historic Monument in 2007, the cemetery entrance gate has lost an irreplaceable part of its foundation & only serves to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of local & national government. At the very least, Sábato & Ortemberg should be removed from their posts & fined for the cost of replacing the staircase… an exorbitant amount given that 5 cm thick pieces of Carrara marble are rarely found these days.

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Update (25 Jan 2010): Six months of inaction & the cemetery entrance remains a construction site. After completion of the ramp, the makeshift barricades pictured above remained in place for several months. Only recently has an attempt been made to hide from plain sight the destruction of the staircase. A scaled photograph of the column bases currently wraps around half the entrance gate until city authorities decide what to do:

Entrance gate, Recoleta Cemetery

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333. cristo redentor

Cristo central, Recoleta Cemetery

This 1914 sculpture by Pedro Zonza Briano occupies the former center of Recoleta Cemetery where a well was once located. Although famous during his lifetime, Zonza Briano has faded from current public memory. Another of his distinctive sculptures is seen by thousands of people every day as they walk from Plaza San Martín to the Retiro train station… an homage to Leandro N. Alem, founder of the UCR political party & one of the leaders of the 1890 Revolution:

Leandro Alem statue, Pedro Zonza Briano

Leandro Alem statue, Pedro Zonza Briano

Leandro Alem statue, Pedro Zonza Briano

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332. pedro inchauspe

Pedro Inchauspe, Recoleta Cemetery

Many people who visit Recoleta Cemetery have heard about Perón’s policy of allowing Nazi war criminals safe haven in Argentina after World War II. But there is another, often neglected part of the story. Argentina could have easily been on the Allied side long before Perón came to power.

Argentina consulted the UK about declaring war on Axis powers in 1939 under the presidency of Roberto Ortiz. England had been Argentina’s chief creditor for decades & one of the major importers of Argentine grain & livestock. But Argentina was advised to maintain neutrality so they could continue to supply food to a nation at war. As a contrast to Ortiz’s willingness to involve Argentina in a conflict in another hemisphere, his government also issued an order to deny visas to any Jewish person trying to escape the Holocaust. His interests were obviously only economic.

Acción Argentina, Recoleta Cemetery

In a response to the horrors of Axis domination in Europe, Acción Argentina formed in 1940 led by ex-President Marcelo T. de Alvear. Although their motives were different than those of Ortiz, they might have been successful in taking Argentina to war if the US had not been attacked in 1941. Dropping their isolationist policy, the US requested at a conference in Rio de Janeiro that all American nations form a united front against Axis powers. To many —including Argentina foreign minister & Nobel Laureate Carlos Saavedra Lamas— the US request sounded like a way to extend their own power to South America & the request was rejected.

Other members of Acción Argentina included Victoria Ocampo, Nicolás Repetto, Alicia Moreau de Justo, & former President Agustín P. Justo. Although total membership was under 500, elite members gave the organization a strong voice.

For more info, check out a book by Andrés Bisso titled “Acción Argentina y las estrategias de movilización del antifascismo liberal-socialista en torno a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, 1940-1946.” Under US pressure, Perón’s predecessor declared war on Germany about 6 months before the conflict was over.

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