On Monday March 18, we got up early to rendezvous at the National Congress building to take a free tour of BA. It was the warmest day since we arrived- getting to a high of 22C and sunny. Our guide was Gaston, a native Porteno (from BA) who had lived in the United States for a short while. He has modelled BA Free tours on the European free tours (a number of which we have taken in Paris, London, Berlin and Edinburgh). There were 30 people in the tour from all over the world including Germany, London, Brazil, Canada, U.S. and Holland.
Argentina's government is modelled on the U.S. structure with a separation of the legislative, executive and judicial functions. The Congress has a House and Senate. Gaston told us that the big black doors at the front of the building are only used once a year when the President comes to visit Congress. The politicians enter by side doors. The building was constructed from 1898-1906, but the final aesthetic details only completed in 1946. Congress was shut down during the military dictatorship from 1976-1983.
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| National Congress building |
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| Detail on top of building |
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| Dome on Congress building |
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| Gaston our guide |
Gaston also pointed out an impressive building across from the Congress building that housed the elegant Confiteria El Molino coffee shop from 1917-1997. It was a place where politicians gathered. It was named for the Moulin Rouge-style windmill turret. The building is shuttered now and in a state of decay. Apparently, there are squatters living there in abysmal conditions, but no one will remove them.
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| Former El Molino coffee shop |
We then walked down Avenida de Mayo towards the Pink House. While Alano and I had walked there the other day, Gaston brought our attention to a number of buildings we hadn't focused on.
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| Palacio Barolo (1923) on the left and the Edificio la Immobiliaria (1910) in the foreground |
The most amazing building was the Palacio Barolo, built in 1923, designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti, which is modelled after Dante's Divine Comedy. It is 100 m high, which matches the number of cantos. Its 22 stories match the number of verses in most cantos. The basement and ground floor represent hell, floors 1-14 purgatory, and floors 15-22 heaven. It is presently an office building. Each room is unique.
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Palacio Barolo-- working in Purgatory could be interesting
We walked past the mural of Evita which was installed in 2011 by President Kirchner on a government building.
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| Evita broadcasting |
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| Street art on Avenida de Mayo |
We arrived at Plaza de Mayo and heard more stories about the buildings in the square. The white building which is painted every few weeks to remove graffiti is an old colonial government building built in 1725 called El Cabildo, which now houses a few relics relating to the revolution of 1810, which established Argentinian independence.
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| El Cabildo |
The large neoclassical building below is the main cathedral which was consecrated in 1836. It houses the mausoleum of General Jose de San Martin, Argentina's liberator, and according to our guide, the one and only politician that all Argentinians admire.
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| La Catedral Metropolitana 1836 |
The square was being prepared for the new Pope's first mass today (Tuesday). It was going to be broadcast live at 5:30 a.m.
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| Screen being tested |
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Lots of Pope souvenirs
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Our guide talked about the Madres' marches and how they started. Early on the dictatorship passed a law that no more than 3 people could meet together. In April 1977, 14 mothers of the disappeared gathered in Plaza de Mayo and spread out into groups of 3 and 2. That was the beginning of the weekly marches.
The group split into two factions in 1986 with different goals- one group more radical than the other. There is also the Abuelas (grandmothers) group that focuses on locating the stolen children. Our young guide was more sympathetic to the Abuelas group that the more radical Madres group. However, he was very clear that Nunca Mas (never again) was an important message of the weekly marches.
Our tour ended at El Obelisco on Avenida 9 de Julio. In 2005, the obelisk was covered in a giant pink condom to commemorate World Aids Day. Our guide also pointed out a house built on a roof on the Avenida. Only in BA, he said.
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| El Obelisco- 1935 (68 m tall) |
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| House on top of roof |
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| Gaston at the end of the tour showing us Buenos Aires hand signs |
Our tour ended at around 1:30 p.m. Our guide recommended nearby Guerrin as having the best pizza in BA. What a scene! The place was buzzing with the locals eating slices at counters. I took some lactaid pills and we indulged. A real "slice" of BA life.
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| Sign outside- the Best Pizza in the World |
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| Preparing the pizza |
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| Our pizza |
We then headed down Calle Lavalle into the garment district and older Jewish neighbourhood in Once. Buenos Aires's Jewish population is around 250,000 making it the 6th largest in the world.
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| Blocks and blocks of textiles spilling out into the streets |
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| Colour everywhere |
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Another street scene
We passed by the two largest synagogues in the area- both heavily guarded after the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the Israeli Embassy and Jewish Welfare Centre. The Yesod Hadat synagogue was founded by Jews from Aleppo, Syria in 1932.
Yesod Hadat- a Moorish-style Sephardic synagogue (1932)
We went around the corner and saw the Ashkenazi Templo de Paso, also heavily guarded.
Templo de Paso (1930)
We then went to visit the Museo Casa Carlos Gardel, home of the renowned Tango singer, Carlos Gardel. The museum opened in 2002 and is housed in the home which he purchased in 1927 and where he lived with his mother until his untimely death in a plane crash in Columbia in 1935. Gardel was born in Toulouse, France in 1890 and came to Buenos Aires at age 3 with his mother, Berthe. His birth name was Charles Gardes. The museum has a collection of pictures, albums, films and rooms with artifacts. He revolutionized tango music with his hit Mi Noche Triste in 1917. He never married, preferring to remain single for his fans, but had a number of serious girlfriends during his life. The house is located in the barrio of Abasto, a working class neighbourhood next to Once, the old Jewish neighbourhood.
Outside of the Museum
View inside from second level
Gardel- extremely good looking
Inside the museum
Here lived Carlos Gardel
The neighbourhood was full of very colourful houses. Here is one just down the street from the museum.
We continued our long walk back to the apartment. A very full day.
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