AfterLife

Born in Trieste, Italy in 1888, Miguel Bencich already had experience in the construction business by the time he immigrated to Argentina in 1909. His brother, Massimiliano, arrived Buenos Aires the following year. Together they began the well-known construction company, Bencich Hermanos, in 1915.

The sheer amount of real estate developed by these brothers is staggering. One building even bears Miguel’s name… its large domes easily stand out along Diagonal Norte in downtown Buenos Aires:

Since the majority of tombs in Recoleta Cemetery are for families & not individuals, it seems odd that both Bencich brothers are not buried together. Miguel passed away first in 1965, then Massimiliano followed in 1972. Latin phrasing plus the company initials on Massimiliano’s tomb implies they would remain together for eternity. How Miguel became separated from his brother is a mystery:

José Clemente Paz founded the newspaper “La Prensa” in 1869 with a commitment to independent journalism & respect for the private individual behind the public persona. Its circulation & influence became so great that there were foreign correspondents in most major capital cities… something uncommon for the 1870s.

Paz used his influence to become a representative, then senator, in Congress. He even served as the Argentine ambassador to France & Spain. He most likely had his eyes set on the presidency but never quite made it. “La Prensa” fell on hard times when Perón came to power. Criticizing the populist hero, “La Prensa” was conveniently shut down. It resumed operation after the Perón years, but readership had shifted elsewhere. Even though it continues to operate, circulation is very limited. However, the Paz legacy lives on in Buenos Aires: his gigantic Plaza San Martín mansion is now used as the Círculo Militar & the Avenida de Mayo newspaper office serves as a city cultural center.

The Paz family tomb is one of the highlights of Recoleta Cemetery. Two larger-than-life angels at ground level focus their attention above. The left angel reaches to the sculpture group while her body wraps around a giant anchor, but there’s no nautical meaning here. The anchor was used as a Christian symbol until around 400 A.D. & bears the signature of the tomb’s artist: Jules Felix Coutan (1904). He was the most important sculptor of the era… head of the École de Beaux Arts in Paris & commissioned for works on the French National Library as well as Grand Central Station in New York City. Paz definitely had some good connections:

Thanks to the angels below, the viewer’s eye is drawn to the sculptures above, best seen from a distance. A woman lies, collapsed, with an oil lamp in her hand. No flame comes from the lamp, representing death. Above her is an enormous open casket with a dove escaping. Some people link that bird with peace, but others suggest that it is the actual moment of death. The soul literally rises out of the casket to be greeted by a third angel. Two actions are present here: the covering the soul with a cloth as protection & pointing to the direction where they are going… up & away:

Whether looking at this image religiously or not, we should all hope our passing generates such beauty & peace.

View second & fifth photo larger on Flickr.

Una familia tan diversa se merece muchas fotos… sobre todo, teniendo en cuenta las pocas visitas que suele recibir su tumba. No es una de las estructuras más notables del Cementerio, lo que es sorprendente dado que aquí descansa un talentoso arquitecto:

La familia Noel llegó a la Argentina desde el País Vasco a mediados del siglo XIX. Benito comenzó a producir dulces y tuvo un éxito inmediato. El logo de la compañía jugaba con el nombre de la familia y su asociación con la Navidad. Benito falleció en 1916, pero sus hijos continuarían con el negocio familiar y se haría famoso en otras áreas. Una placa para Benito recuerda al visitante: “No lo lloréis, imitadle!”:

Uno de los hijos, Carlos Noel, manejó la fábrica de chocolates ubicada en La Boca. Se vendió hace poco, pero el edificio todavía está de pie en la avenida Regimiento de Patricios. De todos modos, a Carlos se lo recuerda más por haber sido intendente de Buenos Aires en los años ’20, durante la presidencia de Marcelo T. de Alvear… en la época en que el Presidente tenía el privilegio de elegir al conductor de la Capital. No hacían falta elecciones, así que las conexiones de la familia Noel eran, obviamente, muy buenas:

Otro hijo, Martín Noel, se convirtió en uno de los más famosos arquitectos de los años ’20 y ’30. Le abrió el camino a un nuevo estilo de arquitectura, que combinó el Art Déco con elementos de diseño de las culturas americanas, como también formas coloniales españolas. Este estilo, llamado NeoPrehispánico, tiene como su mejor ejemplo en Buenos Aires al Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Fernández Blanco… que anteriormente fue el hogar de la familia Noel. Martín también diseñó el pabellón argentino para la Exposición Ibero-Americana de 1929, que se ve aquí:

Chocolates Noel desapareció con la ola privatizadora de los años ’90 en Argentina, y fue comprada en 1994 por Arcor. Aunque Arcor es una megacorporación argentina, la marca Noel fue descontinuada. Al igual que las Lo mismo que las galletitas Terrabusi, el chocolate Noel es otro clásico nacional desaparecido para siempre.

Nacido en Italia en 1883, Agustín Zamboni estudió en Milán y aceptó un puesto como Director General de la compañía eléctrica estatal en Montevideo, Uruguay, en 1907. Ocho años más tarde, cruzó el Río de la Plata y ocupó la misma posición en la Compañía Ítalo-Argentina de Electricidad (CIAE). Cuando el Presidente de CIAE, Juan Carosio, murió en 1959, Zamboni tomó la posta. En 1964 renunció al cargo de Director General, pero continuo siendo Presidente hasta su muerte, en 1969.

La compañía eléctrica más grande de la ciudad dejó una marca única en Buenos Aires; cubrieron sus subestaciones con un poco de la Italia medieval… grandes y pequeños castillos de ladrillo llegaron a la mayoría de los barrios, a menudo encerrados entre casas, o desintegrándose en silencio mientras la gente camina por allí sin saber de su existencia.

Buenos Aires se hizo eléctrica en 1887 gracias a una compañía alemana (CATE), pero su monopolio fue frenado por la CIAE en 1914. La empresa suizo-italiana tuvo una concesión hasta 1962, pero muchas cosas pasaron en el entretiempo. Otras empresas llegaron y se fueron, su contrato fue extendido; ni Perón ni Frondizi las nacionalizaron, pero Isabel comenzó el proceso. Incorporada a SEGBA en 1978, lo que quedó de las estructuras de la CIAE fue donado al Gobierno de la ciudad en 1987. El generador ubicado en Puerto Nuevo —el más grande de todos— fue privatizado en 1992.

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For further exploration, a 12-part series about the history of the CIAE is linked below, found on Robert’s blog Line of Sight:

Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

A single plaque states that Alfredo Giusti was the director & president of the Droguería de la Estrella for almost half a century, from 1906 to 1950:

As the oldest surviving business in Buenos Aires, the Droguería de la Estrella sits one block from Plaza de Mayo on the corner of Alsina & Defensa. The shop also has the distinction of being the first pharmacy in the city when it opened in 1834. Then known as the Farmacia de la Estrella, its location across the street from the Iglesia de San Francisco began a trend… all early pharmacies were placed near churches so patrons could use their bell towers as beacons.

In 1969, the building was saved from demolition & pharmacy murals restored to their original condition. Currently, the Museo de la Ciudad occupies the upper floor & uses some of the storefront for window displays about life in Buenos Aires:

As happens so often, if an important person did not establish a family vault during their lifetime, their children usually take on the responsibility. Alberto J. Beláustegui married into the family of one of Argentina’s most famous Merchant Marines: Baron Nicolás Mihanovich.

Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mihanovich arrived in South America in 1867. Deciding to establish a river navegation company, by 1900 the business had a fleet of 200 ships, their own drydock facilities & hundreds of employees. But vessels are expensive to maintain & in order to remain profitable, the company became a public corporation with Mihanovich & his family retaining the majority of shares & control.

Growth continued at a wild pace. With the acquisition of more second-hand vessels as well as new ships from England, the Mihanovich fleet served half of South America. Local banks were unwilling to deal with such large investment needs, so Mihanovich created a branch in England to keep the cash flowing. The Argentine Navigation Company (Nicolás Mihanovich), Ltd. had approximately 25% British shareholders in 1909… an important fact when World War I began five years later.

By that time, the business had expanded to 5,000 employees & 324 vessels, including trans-Atlantic passenger ships. But Mihanovich had never officially become Argentine, & his company became the subject of aggression in London. His Austro-Hungarian nationality (plus a recently added title of Baron) made investors uneasy dealing with “the enemy.” At the age of 72, Mihanovich was forced to liquidate a large portion of his company, but the ongoing war made that easy due to a high demand for ships.

The entire company was eventually acquired by Alberto Dodero & continues to function today, albeit after many name changes & mergers. Several vestiges of the Mihanovich shipping empire remain in Buenos Aires; one very visible example is the company’s main office. Built on Avenida Alem with a direct view to Puerto Madero, the 1912 building stands out for its interesting architecture:

The main entrance at the intersection of Perón & 25 de Mayo still displays the Mihanovich logo: