AfterLife

Born in Buenos Aires in 1840, the first Ángel de Estrada came from a long line of wealthy landowners & helped found the Sociedad Rural Argentina at the age of 26. His family connections plus large amounts of cash helped Ángel become a successful businessman. In 1869, he established a publishing house, the Editorial Estrada, which still exists today as part of the Macmillan Group. Many of his later ventures would have to do with publishing, including the first paper factory in Argentina & the production of elements for printing presses. Eventually, De Estrada would provide many of the educational materials needed for the rapidly growing nation. Ángel de Estrada passed away in 1918.

Perhaps his son, also named Ángel de Estrada, is better known because of the body of work he left behind. De Estrada (hijo) was born in 1872 in Buenos Aires & became a recognized novelist & poet… very fitting given his father’s legacy. He often traveled to Europe & was inspired by classic Greek & Roman literature as well as works of the Renaissance. In 1923, a boat accident just off the shore of Rio de Janeiro ended his career prematurely. The son’s upper-class connections would be remembered by a plaque from the Liga Patriótica Argentina:

One of the tallest mausoleums in Recoleta Cemetery, its placement among the long rows of the southeast section makes it difficult to appreciate & to photograph:

Two separate entrances, one to the altar & another to the crypt below, are gated & prevent visitors from appreciating the interiors:

But keen observers will note that the decoration was inspired by the cemetery’s entrance gate… almost a carbon copy:

Eugenio Cardini was an immigrant from Piemonte, Italy who arrived in Buenos Aires around 1860. He eventually founded a factory which produced iron bedframes. Other types of furniture were made as well, & his market was mainly other immigrants… those with less resources, not the upper class. In 1898, some 2,000 bedframes per month were produced! The source for this info is the online Diccionario Biográfico Italo-Argentino compiled by the Asociación Dante Alighieri in Buenos Aires.

The plaque mentions the “establishment” founded by Cardini & confirms his date of death as 08 Jan 1910:

Just as interesting, Art Nouveau architect Julián García Núñez designed this vault. While not as elaborate as some of his apartment buildings, it represents one of the few constructions in Recoleta Cemetery with elements of modernisme… the Catalán take on Art Nouveau. García Núñez also built the family’s vacation home in Mar del Plata, unfortunately demolished today. Cardini faces boxer Luis Ángel Firpo & unfortunately is often overlooked.

Update (10 Dec 2012): The great-granddaughter of Cardini discovered this post & provided a bit more info (see comments below). Cardini liked photography so much that he purchased a Lumière camera during a trip to France. A brief clip of Plaza de Mayo—that’s the Cabildo in the background—from 1902 is short but very sweet. Thanks, Louise!!

Like Art Nouveau? Get to know the architects of the era, their individual styles & what makes Art Nouveau in Buenos Aires so unique with a 33-page guide from Endless Mile. This tomb is listed in the guide.

In spite of being on a major walkway, this discrete, Neo-Byzantine mausoleum is easy to dismiss… perhaps because there is no way to peer inside. The surrounding tombs capture our attention quicker. Most people move on, unaware of the beauty inside.

Mauro Herlitzka was one of many Italian professionals who made the move to Argentina at the end of the 19th century. Born in Trieste in 1871, he graduated from the University of Turin with a specialty in industrial/electrical engineering—a new & promising field at the time. Herlitzka then moved to Germany to work for Siemens & AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft), constructing a number of large electrical plants in Europe.

Arriving in Buenos Aires in 1897 as a rep for AEG, Herlitzka saw that the time was right to electrify Argentina. Although not the first electric company in the city, the CATE (Compañía Alemana Transatlántica de Electricidad, logo below) soon became the major provider… directed by Herlitzka. They negotiated a 50-year contract with the Buenos Aires city government & built an enormous complex in Dock Sud to provide for increased demand.

Herlitzka remained in Argentina for the rest of his life & became one of the country’s great industrial giants. Besides electricity, he developed telephone & telegraph lines for most of Argentina. Much of Herlitzka’s infrastructure survives today even though companies & holdings have changed hands several times since then. He passed away in 1960.

Herlitzka’s wealth funded the construction of this family vault & no expense was spared… probably why it isn’t openly visible to visitors. But if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s a way to get a look. Make sure no one is watching—you didn’t hear this from me—and blindly take some photographs through the hole above the door. It’s quite a reach, so don’t drop your camera inside!!! Or just look at thespectacular interior here:

The glass is supposedly from Murano & the tiles are gold leaf. No way to confirm that these days. But when the sun enters either in early morning or late afternoon, the interior is bathed in golden light. Definitely one of the most heavenly in the entire cemetery.

For more on the history of electricity in Buenos Aires from the perspective of the CATE’s largest competitor—the CIAE—I have researched & written a series of 11 posts on my other blog, Line of Sight.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1877, Enrique Mosconi spent a couple of years during childhood in Europe but his family eventually returned to Argentina. After finishing elementary school, Mosconi enrolled in the national military academy & graduated at the age of 17. Typical of the era, the military was becoming more professional & Mosconi decided to study in civil engineering. Graduating in 1903, he was sent to learn about energy & communications in Europe & brought the best technology back to Argentina.

In spite of his early contributions, Mosconi would be most remembered for his next assignment beginning in 1922: General Director of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF)… Argentina’s state-run petroleum company. Although not an expert in the field at first, Mosconi did his best to improve working conditions in Comodoro Rivadavia where the first discoveries had been made in 1907. Becoming highly influential & respected, Mosconi had the ear of President Marcelo T. de Alvear & usually received anything he requested. As a result, YPF grew as a company & demonstrated that Argentines had the capability to manage every aspect of the petroleum industry… from perforation to refinement.

Early during his gestion, conflicts rose between Mosconi & companies such as Standard Oil & Royal Dutch Shell. He was determined to keep Argentine oil out of the hands of foreign trusts. Mosconi traveled to many countries in Latin America, where several state-run companies similar to YPF eventually formed, much to his credit. One plaque reminds visitors of Mosconi’s defiance:

A few days after the military coup which ousted President Hipólito Yrigoyen in 1930, Mosconi resigned from YPF. Several key government positions were filled with people friendly to foreign oil trusts, & some historians think the coup could have been partially supported by Mosconi’s enemies. Perhaps because of this, Mosconi disappeared from the scene. Despite a stroke which left him partially paralyzed, he traveled extensively & wrote influential books about the petroleum industry, winning many awards abroad for his ideas.

Mosconi passed away in 1940 while living with his older sisters & had only a few pesos to his name. His crypt is a wonderful monument to mid-20th century art, built with YPF funds. Although Mosconi may not have increased production to the extent he projected, he took a marginally run company & made it a source of national pride. No doubt Mosconi would have been horrified if he could have seen into the future when YPF was purchased for U$S 15 billion in 1999 by the Spanish company Repsol.

So big that it’s almost impossible to photograph… now that’s a final resting place. Intermarried, wealthy landowners built one of the largest mausoleums in the cemetery; very fitting since their former residence is now the French Embassy:

Two major elements stand out among the decoration, a phrase in Latin & the large sculpture group at eye level. “O crux ave spes unica” is the first verse of a 6th century Roman hymn & translates to: O hail the cross, our only hope.

The sculpture depicts the Parable of the Ten Virgins as told in Matthew 25: ten women diligently wait for the arrival a bridegroom to celebrate his marriage. He is unexpectedly delayed & half the women’s lamps ran out of oil. Five left to search for more oil, but the remaining five had brought extra… note the large jar to the left of the lamp. When the groom finally arrived, he excluded the five who had not come prepared to wait.

The story is a rather roundabout way of saying that Christ’s second coming will likely be delayed, & the faithful must always be ready. When the time arrives, there will be no second chance. Don’t miss the stained glass window on the reverse side or the luxurious interior, worthy of any church in town.

First photo can be viewed larger in Flickr.

Born in the town of Bad Camberg in the Duchy of Nassau (later annexed to Prussia) in 1843, the parents of Jacobo Peuser arrived in Argentina in 1855 when he was 12 years old. Instead of settling in the capital, they moved to the province of Santa Fe. Young Jacobo inclined toward graphic arts & all aspects of book production, founding one of the most successful publishing companies in Argentina. From 1867 until the beginning of the 20th century, the Peuser empire continued to expand with several production plants in Buenos Aires & branches in most major cities in Argentina. Peuser passed away in 1901 just before his 58th birthday.

During the company’s long existance, Peuser became best known for guidebooks. The predecessor for the modern day Guía T, the little red Guía Peuser contained numerous, invaluable listings for Buenos Aires: street names, transportation timetables, business directories… no household was without one. Peuser also expanded into national tourism, making an equivalent of the Michelin Guide in Argentina. Although the guides do not exist today, copies can be found easily in Mercado Libre (source for photos below):

As a compliment to their guidebooks, Peuser produced a series of postcards which showcased the beauty of Argentina at the end of the 19th century. Valued by collectors, the photos give us a view of the entire nation… not just Buenos Aires: