AfterLife

Es el único ocupante del Cementerio de la Recoleta cuya tumba está señalizada. Sarmiento, como se ha reconocido ampliamente, ha sido una de las figuras más importantes en la historia argentina:

Nacido en 1811, mientras Argentina luchaba por su independencia, Sarmiento pasó sus primeros años leyendo y estudiando con voracidad. Esto marcaría toda su vida. A los quince años fundó una escuela en San Juan, su provincia natal… todos los estudiantes eran mayores que él.

En parte debido a la guerra civil, y en parte por el caudillo local Facundo Quiroga, Sarmiento se exilió en Chile en 1831, donde continuó con sus actividades educativas. Ese período discurrió entre su casamiento, la fundación de la Universidad de Chile, poner en marcha un periódico y ser enviado por el gobierno del país andino a los Estados Unidos para estudiar su sistema de educación primaria.

Sarmiento volvió a Argentina 20 años después, ya convertido en una autoridad en educación. Antirrosista hasta la médula, más tarde se alineó con Bartolomé Mitre, mientras cumplía funciones como senador. Acompañando al general Wenceslao Paunero a Cuyo, Sarmiento gobernó su provincia natal y luego volvió a los EE.UU. como embajador argentino. Desafortunadamente, su hijo adoptivo murió en la Guerra de la Triple Alianza mientras él estaba fuera del país. De vuelta en 1865, y sin estar embanderado en ningún partido político, Sarmiento fue elegido presidente con Adolfo Alsina como su compañero de fórmula. Después de un período en la Casa Rosada, continuó sirviendo a Argentina en un gran número de puestos, tanto gubernamentales como educativos.

Hacia el final de su vida, Sarmiento se mudó a Asunción, Paraguay, por razones de salud. Falleció el 11 de septiembre de 1888, y ese día se conmemora en Argentina el Día del Maestro. Su retrato más conocido es el que figura en los billetes de 50 pesos, pero Sarmiento también figura en uno de los más famosos “retratos de la muerte” de la historia argentina. Habitualmente, esos retratos marcaban sucesos importantes, y se enviaban a los diarios. Sarmiento “posó” para esta foto unas pocas horas después de su muerte, rodeado por objetos de su vida cotidiana… incluyendo su orinal:

Luego Sarmiento fue traído a Buenos Aires en barco y enterrado en el Cementerio de la Recoleta. En una cripta diseñada por el escultor italiano Victor de Pol, la base del obelisco contiene dos relieves: uno de Mercurio (dios romano de las comunicaciones, que le dio nombre al diario que el ex presidente fundó en Chile) y otro de Sarmiento rodeado de niños con libros. La frase francesa “on ne tue point les idées” fue escrita por Sarmiento en una roca en los Andes, cuando huía hacia Chile: “Uno no puede matar las ideas”:

Alguna vez, las placas cubrieron todo el obelisco, como se ve abajo, pero más tarde fueron ubicadas en la pared lateral cuando sobrepasaron el espacio disponible. El busto también fue removido. Oculto tras un macetero hay un recuerdo de que Sarmiento fue parte de la Gran Logia de Argentina:

Un cóndor, ave nativa de los Andes y símbolo de las contribuciones que Sarmiento hizo a Chile y Argentina, corona el obelisco. A los pies del pájaro hay un texto apenas legible, en letra cursiva. Dice Civilización y Barbarie, el título del libro definitivo de Sarmiento contra Quiroga:

Por supuesto, Sarmiento no fue un santo, y mostró rasgos negativos de su época: racismo y algo de adicción al poder. Pero los historiadores, naturalmente, han elegido enfocarse en lo positivo. Su tumba fue declarada Monumento Histórico Nacional en 1946.

Vean la primera foto más grande en Flickr.

A little bit of Egypt in Argentina, several members of the Arata family are buried here but none as recognized as Pedro Narciso Arata. The unfinished pyramid implies the same symbolism as a truncated column: a life ended with many tasks undone. Freemason fanatics shouldn’t get too excited; Arata died the same year that Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered (1922) & Egyptian design had become fashionable.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1849 & related to the wealthy Unzué clan, Arata’s early years of school were in Paris. Naturally. He returned to Argentina for high school & university, tutoring many of his classmates in science including future President Roque Sáenz Peña. Arata quickly became part of the scientific elite & enrolled in medical school while teaching at the Faculty of Exact Sciences. Combining his knowledge chemistry & medicine in the improvement of city hygiene, Arata created the Municipal Chemical Office in 1883:

On closer inspection, the left side reveals a faint image of a woman & child doing some sort of chemistry with a snake eager to participate. Crudely etched on the the bottom is a Latin phrase “Alii quidem equos am ant, alii oves, alii feros; mihi vero a puerulo mirandum acquirendi et possidendi libros insedit desiderium.” Fourth century Roman emperor Julian placed this quotation over every library he opened & obviously refers to Arata’s work to expand the University of Buenos Aires:

Arata became Dean of the School of Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences (Facultad de Agronomía) in 1904. His massive library of 60,000 books eventually became part of the university’s collection & a train station named after him greets students today. The campus occupies a huge section of the city, complete with horses & llamas:

For all his accomplishments, Arata’s political beliefs tended toward the conservative as evidenced by a dedicatory plaque from the Liga Patriótica Argentina… maybe there is a bit of Masonic influence in the design after all:

Vean la última foto más grande en Flickr.

Born in 1845 to a rural family who had supported Rosas & later participated in the Conquista del Desierto, Aristóbulo del Valle was sent to Buenos Aires for a university education. While studying law, the devasting war with Paraguay erupted. Del Valle dropped everything to participate then returned to complete his degree.

With recognized literary & debating proficiency, it didn’t take long for del Valle to select a cause—universal male suffrage—& move into national politics. Surrounded with friends like Leandro Alem, Dardo Rocha & Carlos Pellegrini, his beliefs became increasingly radical for the time. With Alem, del Valle founded the Unión Cívica political party & participated in the 1890 Revolution against President Juárez Celman… while serving as Senator. A strong sense of duty forced him to resign since he had taken part in anti-government actions while serving as an elected official, but the public absolved any guilt by re-electing him. Two plaques commemorate his political acts of the time:

Three years later under the presidency of Luis Sáenz Peña, del Valle was asked to serve as Minister of War & propose cabinet changes. From this position he tried to incorporate Alem & others into the government so they could officially institute changes denied by the earlier, failed revolution. But Alem refused & another revolution in 1893 was planned… without the participation of del Valle this time. Del Valle passed away soon after in 1896 in his office at the School of Law.

This tomb was one of the first two ever to be declared a National Historic Monument in 1945. Without many windows & tinted door glass, it appears to be yet another neglected tomb. But glancing inside reveals one of the most beautiful statues in the cemetery… preserved from the elements (although a bit dusty) & missed by almost every visitor [see comments for more info about the statue]:

As a descendant of Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, Petronila inherited four centrally located city blocks in Buenos Aires. On her death in 1882, she willed the entire lot to the city government with very specific instructions. A church should be built as well as an attached Catholic school & a separate, 3-story school for 700 girls complete with a museum, library & other rooms decided to teaching art, music & science.

The wishes of Petronila were fulfilled & all the requested buildings constructed. The enormous girls’ school was occupied briefly by the Supreme Court until becoming the Ministry of Education in 1903. Not far from the busy intersection of Avenidas Córdoba & Callao, the Ministry became popularly known as the Palacio Pizzurno for 3 brothers who improved education in Argentina:

Petronila’s school eventually found a home in the distant neighborhood of Parque Chas in 1934 where it continues to function today:

One of the most under-investigated periods of Argentine history—fundamental to its growth as a nation—may receive more attention thanks to a book recently published by Julio Crespo. “Las Maestras de Sarmiento” recounts the story of US teachers who were given grants to come to Argentina & found schools, give women the opportunity to be educated & train others to follow in their footsteps.

Prior to Domingo Sarmiento’s election as President, Mitre nominated him to represent Argentina in the US in 1865… just after the assassination of Lincoln. Sarmiento’s contact with the intellectual elite, most notably Horace Mann, inspired him to replicate American system of free, public education in Argentina. When he became President in 1868, Sarmiento encouraged US teachers to help him make his dream a reality.

Although he wanted 1,000, only 65 teachers arrived (61 of which were women). Among them was one of Polish descent, Emma Nicolay de Caprile. Arriving in 1870, de Caprile became the first director of the Escuela Normal de Maestras de la Provincia de Buenos Aires located in Barracas on the Cambacérès estate. By 1880, the school had a new location in Recoleta on Avenida Córdoba & Riobamba, just opposite the Palacio de Aguas Corrientes:

When de Caprile passed away in 1884, even Sarmiento attended her funeral & this crypt was declared a National Historic Monument in 1982. She helped introduce modern education methods & trained a generation of respected teachers. The sculpture by Lucio Correa Morales is particularly evocative:

For more info about how US teachers shaped Argentina’s future, a synopsis of Crespo’s work can be found in the newspaper Página/12 (in Spanish).

As if the first & second Dellepiane weren’t enough, a third vault with an Art Deco-inspired door can also be found… plaques mention a Luis F. Dellepiane who worked in the Colegio Nacional Central: