During a recent trip to Mar del Sur, I found a new brand of alfajor… using the Iglesia de Pilar as its logo. Definitely not the best tasting, but a few questions ran through my head: why would anyone choose a church/cemetery complex to name a food product, & would it be recognizable outside of Buenos Aires? Bizarre.
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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José Clemente Paz founded the newspaper “La Prensa” in 1869 with a commitment to independent journalism & respect for the private individual behind the public persona. Its circulation & influence became so great that there were foreign correspondents in most major capital cities… something uncommon for the 1870s.
Paz used his influence to become a representative, then senator, in Congress. He even served as the Argentine ambassador to France & Spain. He most likely had his eyes set on the presidency but never quite made it. “La Prensa” fell on hard times when Perón came to power. Criticizing the populist hero, “La Prensa” was conveniently shut down. It resumed operation after the Perón years, but readership had shifted elsewhere. Even though it continues to operate, circulation is very limited. However, the Paz legacy lives on in Buenos Aires: his gigantic Plaza San Martín mansion is now used as the Círculo Militar & the Avenida de Mayo newspaper office serves as a city cultural center.
The Paz family tomb is one of the highlights of Recoleta Cemetery. Two larger-than-life angels at ground level focus their attention above. The left angel reaches to the sculpture group while her body wraps around a giant anchor, but there’s no nautical meaning here. The anchor was used as a Christian symbol until around 400 A.D. & bears the signature of the tomb’s artist: Jules Felix Coutan (1904). He was the most important sculptor of the era… head of the École de Beaux Arts in Paris & commissioned for works on the French National Library as well as Grand Central Station in New York City. Paz definitely had some good connections:
Thanks to the angels below, the viewer’s eye is drawn to the sculptures above, best seen from a distance. A woman lies, collapsed, with an oil lamp in her hand. No flame comes from the lamp, representing death. Above her is an enormous open casket with a dove escaping. Some people link that bird with peace, but others suggest that it is the actual moment of death. The soul literally rises out of the casket to be greeted by a third angel. Two actions are present here: the covering the soul with a cloth as protection & pointing to the direction where they are going… up & away:
Whether looking at this image religiously or not, we should all hope our passing generates such beauty & peace.
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Following the rain damage in February 2010, access to Recoleta Cemetery through the main entrance gate was restricted. Urgent repairs were necessary, & at the closing of this blog in March some restoration had begun. Returning 3.5 months later, the city government seems to have taken advantage of events to undertake a larger project.
A few details are available on an infopanel located outside. In the space of 45 days, the city will pay Naku Construcciones about 225,000 pesos (currently U$S 57,000) for restoration under the supervision of architect Santiago Jorge Bayazbakian. Of Armenian descent, Bayazbakian has done a number of works for the city under Macri’s administration. What’s unclear is how the final project will look. Sketches show day & night representations of the cemetery, but as it appeared before the staircase destruction in May 2010… no handicapped ramp to be found:
Covering the entire gate is the following text:
Aquí se encuentra el peristilo de acceso al Cementerio de la Recoleta, obra del arquitecto Juan Buschiazzo. La construcción del peristilo le fue encomendada en 1880 por el primer Intendente de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, Torcuato de Alvear, en el marco de la remodelación integral del Cementerio. Consiste en un pórtico de entrada con doble hilera de columnas dóricas y escalones de mármol de Carrara blanco. Fue declarado Monumento Histórico Nacional por Decreto 1.289/07. La obra actual busca readecuar el acceso al peristilo del Cementerio de la Recoleta, recuperando su diseño y características al momento de ser declarado Monumento Histórico, resguardando y poniendo en valor este destacado icono del Cementerio y de la ciudad.
Here can be found the peristyle entrance of Recoleta Cemetery, the work of architect Juan Buschiazzo. The peristyle’s construction was commissioned in 1880 by the first mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, Torcuato de Alvear, as part of a remodel of the entire cemetery. It consists of an entrance gate with double rows of Doric columns & white Carrara marble staircases. It was declared a National Historic Monument by Decree 1,289/07. Current works seek to refurbish the peristyle entrance, recovering its design & characteristics at the moment it was declared a historical monument, saving & recognizing this well-known icon of the cemetery & of the city.
It is interesting how the text alludes to the staircase destruction for those in the know & how it provides a cryptic message for those who don’t. There is no mention of rain damage. If the staircase is to be replaced, where will the marble come from? Seems like such a large project would take more than 45 days.
Given current works, the main entrance has been under construction/destruction for over one year:
Until completion of the project, the only access to Recoleta Cemetery is via a service entrance to the left of the main gate:
Update (07 Nov 2010): Works on the entrance gate appear to be almost complete. New bathrooms are installed, but the project has taken considerably longer than the original plan. Hopefully the main entrance will be open by the end of the year:
Update (29 Nov 2010): Scaffolding has been removed, the paint has dried, office space has been added & new restrooms have been installed. But most impressive is that the marble staircase of the entrance gate has been restored. Yea! No more handicapped access ramps & the symbols above are no longer the sickeningly sweet, Sevilla-inspired ochre yellow. They now have a mottled, aged effect which looks quite nice. The gate should be open to the public soon:
For a first-hand look at what archaeologists uncovered during the entire process, Daniel Schávelzon & his team wrote this article: “El pórtico central del cementerio de la Recoleta: estudio de su escalinata frontal”. Enjoy!
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