The angel has unfortunately lost its wings due to encroaching neighbors, but this continues to be one of the most striking monuments in Recoleta Cemetery.
Leave a CommentDocumenting Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires since 2007
Author: Robert
A cenotaph to Luis Viale proudly sat in Recoleta Cemetery but has since been moved. An Italian immigrant dedicated to business & banking, Viale was best known for his acts of bravery & selfless courage. The last life he saved was during the 1871 sinking of the U.S. paddle steamer “America” off the coast of Montevideo after sailing from Buenos Aires. Seeing friend Carmen Piñedo de Marcó del Pont —pregnant & without a lifebuoy— Viale gave his own away… & later drowned along with 140 other passengers.
Paid for by public subscription, the statue by Italian sculptor Odoardo Tabacchi occupied a prominent location along the back wall of the cemetery from 1893 to 1928. After several changes of location & now called the “Monumento a Luis Viale,” the statue can be found in Costanera Sur, dwarfed by neighboring highrises of Puerto Madero:
As a sidenote, the great-grandson of the unborn child saved by Viale is Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, mayor of Buenos Aires from 2015 to 2023.
Update (30 Nov 2025): We don’t have the source or date for the following photograph, but it’s too interesting not to post… apparently showing the construction & placement of the cenotaph in 1893. Any data concerning this image’s origin is appreciated.
Top photo courtesy of the Archivo General de la Nación. Second photo courtesy of Gabriel Arango.
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Such a diverse family deserves lots of photos… especially since few people ever visit this tomb & not one of the more remarkable structures in the cemetery, surprisingly since a talented architect rests in peace here:
The Noel family arrived in Argentina from the Basque Country in the mid-1800’s. Benito began producing sweets & had immediate success. The company logo played off the family name & its association with Christmas. Benito passed away in 1916, but his children would continue the family business & become famous in other areas. A plaque for Benito reminds the visitor, “Don’t cry for him, imitate him”:
One son, Carlos Noel, managed the chocolate factory located in La Boca. Although recently sold, the building is still standing on Avenida Regimiento de Patricios. However, Carlos is probably best remembered as mayor of Buenos Aires in the 1920s under President Marcelo T. de Alvear… that’s when the President of Argentina had to pick who ran the capital city. No elections were required, so Noel family connections were obviously very good:
Another son, Martín Noel, became one of the most famous architects of the 1920s & 1930s. He trailblazed a new style of architecture which combined Art Deco with design elements from indigenous American cultures as well as Spanish Colonial forms. Known as NeoPrehispanic, his best example in Buenos Aires is the Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Fernández Blanco… formerly the family home. Martín also designed the Argentina pavilion for the 1929 Ibero-American Expo pictured below:
He even designed the decoration on the E Line of the Buenos Aires subway… all tiles depicting different regions of Spain:
Chocolate Noel succumbed to the wave of privatization in the 1990s in Argentina & was purchased in 1994 by Arcor. While Arcor is an Argentine mega-corporation, the Noel brand was discontinued. Just like Terrabusi’s crackers, Noel chocolate is another Argentine classic gone forever.
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The first attempt to create a Recoleta Cemetery guidebook appeared in 1955, ten years after a few tombs were declared historic monuments by the national heritage association. Author Jorge Kaudi worked in the mausoleum business & assembled several lists of noteworthy tombs in Recoleta Cemetery. His goal was to generate interest in a larger, more scholarly project to be used by school teachers… teachers who would ultimately use the cemetery as a big, outdoor classroom for teaching art, architecture & national history. Very cool.
Kaudi’s hopes that the Ministry of Education would continue his project never came to fruition. But his efforts led to a mention in local newspapers & generated demand for new copies of the list. The one appearing in this post was typed by Kaudi in 1956, signed & donated to the library of the Museo de Arte Popular-José Hernández. Apparently it’s the only original left in any of the city’s libraries:
Kaudi recognized the difficulty of designing a cemetery guidebook since passageways inside have no names. Providing written directions to specific loactions is impossible, so he chose to use the cemetery’s official location system instead. Kaudi created categories & listed several entries under each:
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- Various (people not in Recoleta Cemetery) • 12
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- Sculptures • 47
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- Monuments • 42
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- Images of Christ • 10
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- Architecture • 39
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- Doors • 23
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- Stained glass •16
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- Monumental works • 56
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- Professors & teachers • 61
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- Writers, historians, poets • 60
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- Presidents & Vice-Presidents • 23
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- Playwrights • 17
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- Pantheons for associations • 15
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- Army & Navy personnel • 108
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- Public figures & politicians • 60
Fairly extensive (the entire document is 20 pages), the list is an incredible effort for the post-Perón era. But the most interesting section is the introduction, where Kaudi makes a series of observations concerning tourism in Recoleta Cemetery:
As I mentioned before, no guidebook exists for Recoleta Cemetery, not even a bad one. All the artistic treasure it contains, which constitute its rich historical & cultural heritage, remains ignored by many people who visit it.
American & English tourism companies classify this cemetery as monumental & very worthy of being visited. For that reason, one of the first sites for tourists to see in the city of Buenos Aires is this cemetery. Guided by translators who must fulfill their duty according to rigid schedules, [they] abbreviate its visit, barely arriving to the monument to Dr. Carlos Pelligrini situated 100 meters from the entrance.
With little exception, visitors do not make contact with the exciting reality of our history due to the lack of knowledgable guides who do not know our past history, its most glorious traditions, or its valued forefathers. Without doubt, those who should praise our past & take real pride in extolling the virtures of our founders unfortunately fail. And worse, along with this ignorance of history, there are single-minded guides who ignore artistic & esthetic topics… all of which demonstrate the sad fact that they cannot explain to visitors knowledge they do not possess. Tourists return to their own countries without a good art & history lesson… something that anyone has a right to experience who visits a country with interest to see & appreciate something that tourist agencies claim worthy of admiration.
Kaudi cuts right to the point… he could be talking about today! At least a couple of books about Recoleta Cemetery exist today (we will release our own guidebook soon), & there are a few good tour guides. Hopefully this blog fulfills some of what Kaudi considered appropriate over 50 years ago.
Update (18 May 2011): Wandering through the cemetery in Mar 2011, I stumbled upon a mausoleum designed by Jorge Kaudi. The burial place of J. Rodolfo Bernasconi y Familia deserves a post of its own, but this proves there is always something to discover in Recoleta Cemetery:
Update (20 Feb 2024): Fourteen years after my original discovery, a group of three researchers found additional information about Kaudi & republished his original work. Marcelo wrote about their journey in this post.
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