Another Egyptian-inspired Art Deco mausoleum, albeit a little less decorative than the Barris family vault:
Documenting Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires since 2007
Author: Robert
A small gallery of niches holds the remains of Pastor Obligado, a key player in national politics after gaining independence from Spain. Born in 1818 in Buenos Aires, Obligado studied law & received his degree in 1845. Juan Manuel de Rosas ruled the new nation with an iron fist at that time, & Obligado was a firm supporter due to his upper-class background. But as time passed, he made allies with the anti-Rosas faction but continued to defend the rights of Buenos Aires above that of the nation. Obligado associated with fellow cemetery residents Adolfo Alsina, Valentín Alsina, José Mármol, & Carlos Tejedor. He also made friends with future presidents Bartolomé Mitre & Domingo Sarmiento.
All the above alliances paid off for Obligado in 1853 when Rosas was forced into exile. Obligado became the Governor of Buenos Aires & maintained the province’s separation from the Confederación Argentina. In 1857, he presided of the inauguration of the first train line in the city of Buenos Aires & made major improvements in providing basic utilities such as water & gas.
Remaining active in national events after his term as Governor ended in 1858, he later served in Congress as well as in the military. Obligado died in Córdoba while on vacation in 1870. He forms part of a long list of historical figures that were very important in their day but unfortunately have faded away from public memory.
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A few months later in November 2003, the hand-drawn map had been replaced with a more professional version. 89 locations (4 more than the first map) were marked to visit:
By either being lucky or a regular enough visitor, one day I was given a free handout which was a tri-fold reproduction of the map at the entrance gate:
Initially pleased at having a free guide to the cemetery, the design was remarkably amateur… for example, the map had been scanned at a very low resolution & enlarged. Pixels were glaringly obvious & angles were badly rendered. Note that there are two sets of three photos each on the map. The two sets are exactly the same. Could they not come up with six original photos for the brochure?
Design issues aside, the map turned out to be less than useful. In the pic below, what spot does #31 belong to? On the map it overlaps three squares, but in reality some of those blocks are subdivided. It took a bit of work to use the free handout:
A brief history was poorly translated on the back of the pamphlet. Read for yourself:
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not trying to slam the city government’s efforts. The problem is that at the same time they were producing wonderfully designed brochures to promote other areas of development within the city. Cutting-edge design & attention to detail was what I’d come to expect. So for the most-visited tourist site in Buenos Aires, I expected something much better than what was produced.
Only a few months before this map was issued, I began my walking tours in Buenos Aires. One of the walks offered was of the Recoleta neighborhood, & we ended with a quick stroll through the cemetery. I wasn’t sure if the tours would be successful, but I was certain that Recoleta Cemetery could be better promoted.
Read the complete story in the following posts titled “map development”: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 & Part 7. Good news! The PDF guidebook is now available.
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