As President of the Cámara de Diputados (an equivalent to the US House of Representatives) from 1896 to 1901 —as well as brother of President Nicolás Avellaneda— Marco was decidedly not in favor of universal male suffrage & spoke out against the Ley Sáenz Peña. However, his lifetime service to Argentina in public office made him a well-known & recognized figure.
Passing away in 1911, the Art Nouveau sculpture signed “Cardona” has been admired by many… if you can find it!
Update (December 2025): Graciela Blanco has done some fantastic research into the sculpture titled “Lo Dolor” in a 1914 edition of the art magazine “Ilustració Catalana” (Year XII, Nº 596) & attributed to Joseph Cardona:
In 1909, Josep/Joseph Cardona was already a prominent artist in the Catalan community as noted by a two-page feature in the same magazine (Ilustració Catalana, Year VII, Nº 314):
In fact, praise of Cardona would continue even after sculpting the funeral monument for Marco Avellaneda (La Ilustración Artística, Year XXXI, Nº 1572):
Authors Fátima López Pérez & M. Ángles López Piqueras state that Cardona lived in Argentina from 1909 to 1918 (with a brief stay in Barcelona during 1912-13) & was warmly welcomed back to his homeland:
Returning from Argentina and after a few days in Madrid, the notable sculptor Joseph Cardona is in our city […] We give our cordial welcome to the artist, rejoicing in the triumphs achieved in America, which are ultimately triumphs for Catalonia.
However, Blanco notes that Juan José Cardona Morera —Josep Cardona’s nephew & a sculptor as well— came to Buenos Aires & lived with his uncle during the production of the funeral statue. So who was the artist? Uncle or nephew? It’s an odd puzzle with even official websites confusing the two artists.
While we may never know for certain, I’m of the belief that the uncle (who was more established in 1911) was responsible for this beautiful artwork. Blanco did compare signatures & is not convinced, but that characteristic swoop underneath the uncle’s name appears on all of his other work… but decide for yourself 😉
la historia del padre de marcos avellaneda tambien llamado como el es muy interesante esta en este mismo cementerio,ojala y pronto la comenten.felicitaciones
Interesante… la cripta dice Marco, la página del Senado también dice que su nombre fue Marco pero el excelente site de Genealogía Familiar dice que fue nombrado por su padre. O sea, Marcos. Quizas dejó de usar la “s” para no ser confundido con su padre??
Espero tener tiempo para contar la historia de Marcos Avellaneda! Saludos!