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Category: In the press

441. la nación, 16 jan 2010

Hidden history among the tombs of Recoleta

On weekends, hundreds of tourists visit the necropolis to see where various figures in Argentine history rest in peace

La Nación, 16 enero 2010, Pablo De Rosa Barlaro

Saturday, mid-morning. Tourists line up. They are anxious because the guided tour is about to begin. A route through passageways, vaults & tombs. A walk through Argentine history via Recoleta Cemetery.

The scene repeats itself every week. According to official statistics from the city government, some 24,000 tourists visited the oldest necropolis in the city of Buenos Aires in 2008 alone.

Is it a fascination with death? Author María Rosa Lojo maintained: “Without doubt, death is the great mystery of our lives. Those figures found in tombstones, in tombs, represent us. They are our past but also our future.”

Recoleta Cemetery was the first public necropolis in the city of Buenos Aires. It was inaugurated with the name Northern Cemetery on November 17, 1822. One day later, the first people buried were a slave child, Juan Benito, and a woman named María Dolores Maciel.

Afterwards the cemetery in Flores was built in 1867 & another in Chacarita in 1871.

Guided visits consist of groups of 25-30 people, depending on the day & time. There are also organized school visits every week.

According to the city government webpage, cemetery plans were designed by the engineer Próspero Catelin, with the government reserving some plots for outstanding citizens of the nation. This act gave the cemetery its historical character.

But what is it that attracts Argentine & foreign tourists? What do visitors to the cemetery look for when they wander through its tombs & vaults?

“The founding history of the country, the first history, is found in the cemetery,” explained Carlos Francavilla, the necropolis director.

In the cemetery’s tombs & vaults lie historic figures of Argentina like Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Bartolomé Mitre, Hipólito Yrigoyen, Juan Manuel de Rosas, Remedios de Escalada de San Martín, Eva Duarte de Perón y Raúl Alfonsín, whose burial last April 2nd, was witnessed by a multitude of moved people filling the cemetery.

Not only are there political personalities buried in Recoleta Cemetery, but also Nobel Prize winner Luis Federico Leloir, boxer Luis Angel [Firpo], writers José Hernández, Miguel Cané & Marcos Sastre. Also there is a vault where María Marta García Belsunce lies, assassinated in October 2002 in her country house in Carmel.

A YouTube video originally appeared in the article but has since been removed from the newspaper’s server.

There is one vault which attracts Argentine tourists & foreigners like a magnet, especially everyone who comes from Europe. It is the vault of Evita.

“The tourist has a special interest in Evita’s vault. She is a very internationally recognized character, very popular. There are tourists who know many details of Eva Duarte’s life, mainly due to the musical,” claimed Francavilla.

The current area [of the cemetery] is 5.5 hectares & its limits are the streets of Junín, Quintana, Vicente López & Azcuénaga. Visits are not only popular to discover those who are buried inside. It is an attraction for its architecture, expressed in distinct sculptural styles. Some 70 vaults were declared National Historic Monuments.

“The cemetery’s sculptural richness gets the tourist’s attention, so much so that they compare it with other important necropolises in the world such as the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris or the Italian necropolis of Staglieno in Genoa,” added Francavilla.

Currently, according to official information, Recoleta Cemetery does not have lot space available. Vaults were granted for eternity.

The city’s Ministry of Public Space said: “In this moment we are currently in the process of vacating a gallery of niches which were rented for 95 years. All paperwork & admin procedures for those niches which have been abandoned or unclaimed is complete. This way, the city will once again offer niches in its oldest cemetery.”

According to the rate table, 48 pesos per square meter are charged for vault maintenance per year. For enlargement of vaults, mandatory alignment with the cemetery’s layout, acquistion of vacant spaces or permission to construct underneath walkways, the charge is 84 pesos per square meter per year.

End of visit. After wandering through pathways, discovering tombs & vaults, tourists are satisfied. They feel they know more about those who sparked their curiosity.

La Nación, 16 enero 2010, mapa del cementerio

Credits: Soledad Aznarez, Pablo Cairo, Verónica Chiaravalli, Pablo De Rosa Barlaro, Gabriel Di Nicola & Jorge Rosales

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Nevermind that the article says nothing new, but errors are unforgivable. Especially with such a large group working on a single piece. Firpo’s last name was not included (!) & the cemetery in Flores was not the second built in the city… Flores was incorporated into Buenos Aires in 1888, after the Cementerio del Sur & Chacarita cemetery.

Top photo (1 of 10) credited to Pablo De Rosa Barlaro. Bold & italics not in original article.

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418. wonder woman #187, feb 2003

Recoleta Cemetery turns up in the most unexpected places. Marcelo discovered a few comic books which use Buenos Aires as the setting, & Wonder Woman #187 from February 2003 highlights the cemetery on pages 13-15.

It’s nice to see artists render the city correctly… Wonder Woman’s invisible jet is blown up over Avenida 9 de Julio, fights take place in Plaza de Mayo, Retiro train station is wiped out & Wonder Woman protects both porteños & tourists from a battle in Recoleta Cemetery:

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

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408. clarín, 06 jan 2011

Recoleta Cemetery, main entrance gate

An artisanal restoration for Recoleta Cemetery

The façade & principal building have been recovered. And an unused entrance on Junín Street has opened.

By Romina Smith

THE MAIN ENTRANCE AND ITS NEW LOOK.

It occupies a little more tan five hectares, but in its vaults, mausoleums and streets the nation’s history can be summed up. Today, Recoleta Cemetery receives 500,000 tourists per year & this interest, added to the value of its architecture and history, makes it one of the three most important in the world, along with Pére Lachaise in Paris and Staglieno in Genoa. As of this week, the façade & the cemetery’s main building sport a complete & rigorous restoration. Works lasted for more than 10 months and were done as artisanal as possible, with specialist restoration experts & architects.

“The works were based, above all else, in the refit and recovery of the main building, where there were issues with humidity, among other damage caused by the passage of time. The façade was restored, the chapel, the main access and administration offices, whose walls face Junín & Vicente López, even an old entrance on that last street which was in poor condition was restored so that it looks as it was originally built… even the bell was restored,” explained architect Antonio Costantino, head of the Department of Works of the General Office of Cemeteries.

A variety of works of art were also highlighted. Works were carried out by the Ministry of Public Space with the collaboration of various entities, such as the Department of Historical Heritage, the Department of Urban Interpretation, the National Commission of Museums, Monuments & Historic Places, among others. A total sum of $2,200,000 pesos was invested.

Present for the unveiling of the works was mayor Mauricio Macri, the Minister of Public Space, Diego Santilli & local residents. “In this cemetery lie several of our best men & women, as well as the loved ones of many locals,” expressed Santilli. “For that reason we decided, after eight years without any project, to invest in order to revitalize it,” he added.

The cemetery, unique for its architectural variety—which parallels that of the city of Buenos Aires according to the architect Costantino—was inaugurated in 1822. The principal entrance can be found at Junín 1760 and more than 70 vaults have been declared National Historic Monuments. The most visited, say the caretakers, is the tomb of Eva Perón, who has rested in peace here since 1976 after her embalmed cadaver’s long journey.

But there are also other historic personalities, like Manuel Dorrego & his enemy, General Juan Lavalle, the caudillo from La Rioja province Facundo Quiroga and his rival, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Nobel Prize winner Luis Leloir and even the ghost of Rufina Cambaceres… an urban legend which is repeatedly told in every visit.

Addendum by Robert: Unfortunately the media version does not tell the whole story. Read about the staircase destruction first, then the rain damage, followed by the restoration process.

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402. the return of aramburu ◊

Revista Gente, 21 nov 1974, Devuelven los Restos de Aramburu

The same issue of Gente magazine with the cover story “Los restos de Eva Perón están en Argentina” contained another surprise. Immediately following the Eva Perón article was a short photo essay entitled:  “Devuelven los restos de Aramburu.” What luck!

Pedro Aramburu became de facto President of Argentina after a 1955 military coup ousted Perón. Aramburu was also behind the theft of Eva Perón’s embalmed corpse, her posthumous journey around Buenos Aires & her eventual burial in a Milan cemetery. Kidnapped & killed by the Montoneros (a pro-Perón paramilitary organization), Aramburu was buried in Recoleta Cemetery in 1970. Although Eva’s body was returned to Perón the following year, he did not bring her back to Argentina after his 1973 re-election… Eva remained in the former Perón residence in Madrid. The death of Perón in 1974 sparked the bizarre chain of events reported by Gente magazine.

The Montoneros presented an unresolved issue to Isabel Perón after she became President: they wanted Evita back in Argentina. To make sure their demands were heard, they broke into Recoleta Cemetery, broke through the bronze doors of Aramburu’s crypt & stole his casket. Isabel acquiesced & arranged for Eva to be brought back to Buenos Aires. Aramburu’s casket was returned to Recoleta Cemetery after being discovered in an abandoned truck, & his crypt was supposedly filled with concrete to prevent any possible desecration in the future. As of 2004, the damage inflicted by the Montoneros on Aramburu’s tomb could be easily seen… notice the broken hinge in the photo below. Don’t expect to see this today; it has since been repaired:

General Pedro Aramburu, Recoleta Cemetery

The article in Gente provides hard-to-find photographic evidence of the events described above. The police found Aramburu’s casket alongside Parque Las Heras in Palermo, & the location looks pretty much the same today as it did in 1974. Following is the complete text of the article with some comparison photos taken in July 2010.

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Revista Gente, 21 nov 1974, Devuelven los restos de Aramburu

Less than two hours before the plane with the remains of Eva Perón would arrive in Argentina, the cadaver of Pedro Eugenio Aramburu was returned. The coffin was found in an abandoned pick-up truck on Salguero Street, where the National Penitentiary was once located.

The discovery. In this pick-up truck, abandoned in front of 2410 Salguero Street, at 08:30 on Sunday, the remains of the provisional ex-President Pedro Eugenio Aramburu were found. His cadaver had been stolen on the evening of October 15th from his mausoleum in Recoleta by an extremist group which broke the padlocks of his vault after having hidden inside the cemetery after the normal closing time of the main gates.

Revista Gente, 21 nov 1974, Devuelven los restos de Aramburu

Buenos Aires, Parque Las Heras, Calle Salguero

Amplio operativo. Luego de anunciada anónimamente la devolución del cadáver la camioneta fue rodeada por policías y patrulleros. El vehículo tenía en el lado izquierdo del parabrisas una cruz verde, distintivo que usan los médicos. La devolución del cadáver fue anunciada mediante llamados anónimos a las redacciones de los diarios.

Revista Gente, 21 nov 1974, Devuelven los restos de Aramburu

Buenos Aires, Parque Las Heras, Calle Salguero

Arrival of the police. Uniformed & plainclothed agents arrived rapidly on the scene. The casket was taken to the Mounted Police headquarters, where Aramburu was identified by General Bernardino Labayru & Mr. César Noguera, friends of the assassinated provisional ex-President.

Details. The pick-up truck had shaded windows & lacked a tailgate. [Obviously a reporter’s mistake. See photo below.] To cover the casket, the extremists used two sheets of styrofoam and wrapped it with sheets of brown plastic sewn together. On the lid of the casket, intact, were the crucifix & bronze plaque with the name of Lieutenant General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu.

Revista Gente, 21 nov 1974, Devuelvan los restos de Aramburu

Remember: The complete story of Eva Perón’s postmortem journey can be found in the Recoleta Cemetery PDF.

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380. life magazine, dec 1974

Life magazine, Eva & Juan Perón caskets

Found in the fantastic Life magazine archive; photo credited to Keystone/Getty Images & taken on 10 Dec 1974.

The bodies of Argentinian President Juan Domingo Peron (1895 – 1974) and his first wife Eva Peron, known as Evita, (1919 – 1952) at the Presidential Residence in Buenos Aires where they could be viewed by the public. The body of Eva Peron had been brought from a tomb in Italy.

This photo was taken about one month after the procession (see previous post), & the caskets could not have been on display for long… too much of a security risk. But the Montoneros got what they wanted —Evita back in Argentina.

After Isabel was ousted by the 1976 dictatorship, Eva’s next stop was Recoleta Cemetery. Perón went to his family vault in Chacarita. Although Perón was transferred to his San Vicente country estate in 2006, the (in)famous couple has never been reunited again.

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