Toby and Allan in Argentina: Visit to Recoleta Cemetery

Thursday March 21 was the warmest day yet- 26C and sunny. After lunch at the apartment, we wandered around Palermo Soho for a bit and then made our way down to the Cementerio de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery). It has been the burial place for Argentinian elite since the mid 19th century. The cemetery was built in 1822 on what was then the northern limit of the city. The land was confiscated by the government from the Recoleta monks from the adjacent Pilar Church. It became the reserve of the rich from the 1860s onward.

Presidents, Generals, artists and the aristocracy are interred in huge mausoleums of granite and bronze. There are a mix of styles here, from Greek temples to Art Nouveau vaults. The entrance with its Doric columns was added in 1881.

We have visited the two great cemeteries in Paris, but the enormity and grandeur of the mausoleums in the Buenos Aires Cemetery surpass the monuments in Paris. There were many people visiting the cemetery as it really is an attraction. Some come just to visit Eva Peron (buried in the family Duarte vault), but most wander the narrow alleys to see the other tombs.

Outside of the cemetery

An engaging statue

Imposing Entrance to the Cemetery

The view of the top elements of some tombs

Lots of winged creature

Huge statuary and mausoleums

More statues

A more modern vault

The Duarte family vault- always with flowers for Evita

The plaques

This one says "I will return and be millions"

The story of Eva Peron's body is a gory one. She died in 1952 of cancer at the age of 33 and was embalmed. Her funeral lasted 14 days and her body was seen by over two million people. Our guide the other day told us that for a year after she died, government employees had to wear black suits and the radio broadcast a daily message about her immortality at 8:25 p.m., the time at which she died.

After the 1955 military coup against Peron, and his exile to Spain, her body was kidnapped and moved from house to house in BA. Finally the body was taken to Milan, Italy where it was interred under a fake name. In 1971, the body was sent to Juan Peron and his third wife, Isabel, who were living in Spain. The body stayed in their dining room. Peron returned to Argentina in 1973 and was President until 1974, when he died. After Peron's death, Isabel gave the body to the Duarte family (even though as a child, Eva's father had not acknowledged her) and Eva was interred in Recoleta Cemetery .

We also passed a large memorial to Domingo Sarmiento, president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a Freemason and designed his own tomb.

Tomb of Sarmiento

A president of the Jockey Club

Street scene in the Cemetery

One of my favourite shots

Scrawny cemetery cat

We stopped again at La Biela across the square for a coffee. The patio was full of people. The tree in the background is the oldest and largest rubber tree in BA.