Category: Art + Architecture

392. familia de luis a. huergo

Published by Robert on 19 February 2010

Luis Huergo, Recoleta Cemetery

Born in Buenos Aires in 1837, Luis Huergo completed his high school education in Maryland, USA then went on to become the first civil engineer to graduate from an Argentine university. He coordinated the construction of bridges throughout the Province of Buenos Aires with British assistance, built sections of new railroad, & improved the infrastructure of a growing nation.

Although he served as a Senator in the 1870’s as well as Dean of what eventually became the Engineering faculty, Huergo is most remembered for a project he never completed: a new cargo port for Buenos Aires. He had already deepened the exit for the shallow Riachuelo, allowing transatlantic liners to enter directly. It was only natural for Huergo to be part of a design contest for the new port.

Luis Huergo, Recoleta Cemetery

Huergo had some tough competition & an alternative plan was proposed by local merchant Eduardo Madero. Madero’s design was accepted over Huergo’s with ships entering through the southern canal, loading & unloading goods in any of four dykes, then exiting north. By the time Puerto Madero was inaugurated in 1897, it was obsolete. Madero’s design did not allow expansion of any kind… much needed when ships were growing larger & larger. Congestion was a considerable problem during Puerto Madero’s heydey with an amazing 32,000 embarkations made in 1910 alone:

Port designs, Luis Huergo & Eduardo Madero

To add capacity to Puerto Madero, Huergo’s design was reworked in 1907 & completed by 1919. The in-and-out design of Puerto Nuevo is more efficient & continues to function as the current port for Buenos Aires. All cruise & container ships dock there, & a gigantic plaque to Huergo highlights his biggest BA contribution:

Luis Huergo, Recoleta Cemetery

Huergo’s son, Eduardo, also became an engineer & was responsible for the rectification of the Riachuelo. Those curves were replaced by a straight line in Eduardo beginning around 1927:

Eduardo Huergo, Recoleta Cemetery

At the age of 73, Luis Huergo formed part of a national commission dedicated to petroleum exploitation in Patagonia. He advocated government control to avoid the emergence of monopolies like Standard Oil while Dr. Pedro Arata, also part of the five-member board, thought private companies would be a better option. Huergo won in the end as the commission transformed into Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, remaining a state-run company until 1991. Huergo passed away in 1913 & left a legacy which remains apparent even 100 years after his death.

391. marco avellaneda ◊

Published by Robert on 17 February 2010

As President of the Cámara de Diputados (an equivalent to the US House of Representatives) from 1896 to 1901 —as well as brother of President Nicolás Avellaneda— Marco was decidedly not in favor of universal male suffrage & spoke out against the Ley Sáenz Peña. However, his lifetime service to Argentina in public office made him a well-known & recognized figure.

Passing away in 1911, the Art Nouveau sculpture signed “Cardona” has been admired by many… if you can find it!

Update (December 2025): Graciela Blanco has done some fantastic research into the sculpture titled “Lo Dolor” in a 1914 edition of the art magazine “Ilustració Catalana” (Year XII, Nº 596) & attributed to Joseph Cardona:

In 1909, Josep/Joseph Cardona was already a prominent artist in the Catalan community as noted by a two-page feature in the same magazine (Ilustració Catalana, Year VII, Nº 314):

In fact, praise of Cardona would continue even after sculpting the funeral monument for Marco Avellaneda (La Ilustración Artística, Year XXXI, Nº 1572):

Authors Fátima López Pérez & M. Ángles López Piqueras state that Cardona lived in Argentina from 1909 to 1918 (with a brief stay in Barcelona during 1912-13) & was warmly welcomed back to his homeland:

Returning from Argentina and after a few days in Madrid, the notable sculptor Joseph Cardona is in our city […] We give our cordial welcome to the artist, rejoicing in the triumphs achieved in America, which are ultimately triumphs for Catalonia.

However, Blanco notes that Juan José Cardona Morera —Josep Cardona’s nephew & a sculptor as well— came to Buenos Aires & lived with his uncle during the production of the funeral statue. So who was the artist? Uncle or nephew? It’s an odd puzzle with even official websites confusing the two artists.

While we may never know for certain, I’m of the belief that the uncle (who was more established in 1911) was responsible for this beautiful artwork. Blanco did compare signatures & is not convinced, but that characteristic swoop underneath the uncle’s name appears on all of his other work… but decide for yourself 😉

Look for Cardona’s signature at the bottom right of the pedestal/base.

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386. luz maría garcía velloso ◊

Published by Robert on 5 February 2010

Luz María García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

Close to the entrance gate, the Art Nouveau effigy of Luz María García Velloso draws a lot of attention. Beautiful & in a highly visible location, it only seems natural that an urban legend would develop around her death.

Luz María García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

Supposedly a victim of leukemia at the age of 15, Luz María’s mom spent several night vigils at the cemetery… actually sleeping inside the vault. Much later, men walking near Recoleta Cemetery reported an encounter with a young woman dressed completely in white. The most common version claims this woman would accompany them to a bar, get a chill then ask to borrow her date’s jacket. Next she would accidentally stain it with whatever they were drinking & take the jacket with her when they said goodnight.

The following day the man somehow contacts her mother to get the jacket back, & she explains that the young woman is already dead! In desperation, he goes to the cemetery & finds his jacket draped over the effigy. While none of the above has been confirmed, it makes for an interesting story… probably one of the most common urban legends in the world.

Luz María García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

Fortunately some factual information about the rest of the family —also buried here— is available. Luz María’s father, Enrique García Velloso, was of Basque descent & heavily involved in the arts at the beginning of the 20th century in Buenos Aires. He directed the first movie version of Amália by José Marmol in 1914. Two years later he wrote Mamá Culepina about the barracks following the troops of Lucio V. Mansilla.

Enrique García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

All this artistic activity led Enrique to be named the first President of the Casa del Teatro—an actors association/retirement organization based on Avenida Santa Fe. Still possessing a popular theater, the fantastic Art Deco building was designed by Alejandro Virasoro… the same architect who built the Defferrari family vault.

Enrique’s cultural connections expressed their sorrow for the death of Luz María with poetic plaques on the left side of the family vault:

Luz María García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

Unfortunately the elaborate interior painting is missing these days, but the ceiling’s stained glass remains intact:

Luz María García Velloso, Recoleta Cemetery

Second to last photo courtesy of the Archivo General de la Nación. Like Art Nouveau? Learn about the architects of the era, their individual styles & what makes Art Nouveau in Buenos Aires so unique with a 33-page guide from our sister site, Endless Mile.

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382. tombstone recycling

Published by Robert on 27 January 2010

Tombstone, Recoleta Cemetery

As Recoleta Cemetery slowly grew in status, its layout changed from grassy plots with simple tombstones to one of ornate mausoleums & vaults. Leftover from early days, a number of modest tombstones still dot the grounds… usually of Irish Catholic origin. Other tombstones were incorporated into the walls of family mausoleums. Most examples of this bizarre form of recycling are found in the section immediately to the left of the entrance gate, a few rows over from General Alvear:

Tombstone, Recoleta Cemetery

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360. familia de ramón a. lópez lecube

Published by Robert on 7 December 2009

López Lecube, Recoleta Cemetery

Like so many other occupants of Recoleta Cemetery, the López Lecube family owned large tracts of land in Argentina —theirs happened to be in the Province of Buenos Aires near the town of Puan. The remarkable thing about this tomb is its sculptures by Dolores “Lola” Mora… the only ones she ever did for a cemetery.

Dolores Mora, born in the province of Tucumán in 1866, received a grant from Congress to continue her art studies in Rome. By 1898 her most famous professor was Giulio Monteverde who did the crucifixion statue in the cemetery’s chapel:

Capilla, Giulio Monteverde, Recoleta Cemetery

Lola Mora returned to Buenos Aires with her first public commission in 1903—a fantastic fountain depicting the birth of Venus titled “Las Nereidas.” Unfortunately the fountain was installed in a poor location for such a monumental work & was moved to Costanera Sur six years later. Some say that the naked figures on the fountain caused a scandal, but it was more likely a personal attack on Mora who had fallen out of official favor. She supervised the move, & the fountain continues to impress over 100 years later:

Las Nereidas, Lola Mora

Moving the fountain was only the first of a series of public snubs Lola Mora suffered. The government refused to pay her for commissions, statues already in place on the steps of Congress were moved to faraway province, she was forced to sell her studio in Rome to pay debtors & project after project was denied her. Times & styles had changed, plus the affiliation with President Roca did her little good in later years. Lola Mora died in 1936 with no fortune or fame.

The statues for the López Lecube vault were commissioned in 1912 already after her luck began to turn. At least they are a significant addition to the artistic heritage of the cemetery. Signed by Mora during her brief marriage to Luis Hernández Otero, she was 15 years older than him & later discovered he was cheating on her. Obviously it didn’t last. The statues have been recently cleaned, making the signature almost invisible. Sometimes a bit of grit adds character:

López Lecube, Lola Mora, Recoleta Cemetery

Update (24 Oct 2011): During a recent visit to San Miguel de Tucumán, I was able to visit the crypt of Lola Mora in the Cementerio del Oeste:

Argentina, Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Cementerio del Oeste, Lola Mora

For more info about the fascinating life of Lola Mora, watch this episode of bio.ar produced by the government-sponsored Encuentro channel (in Spanish).

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