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Month: April 2011

421. exterior wall maintenance

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, workers restoring exterior wall

While cataloging photos from last year, I ran across an important event that went unposted. Repairs were underway to the exterior brick wall in February 2010 when heavy rainfall damaged the entrance gate. Somehow that story took precedence. But the structure of the perimeter wall had become a haven for pigeons & badly needed repair. Workers went opening by opening, cleared each of debris & nests, & covered each in cement. The very top of the wall was also cemented.

Note: Patchwork cement filling which has been drawn to mimic the original brick layout was done prior to the repairs mentioned above. In fact, since my first visit to the cemetery in 2000 the wall has looked like this… difficult to say when that work was done.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, exterior wall

But that’s not all they did. Instead of making nice new homes for pigeons like in the photo above, they covered each with mesh wire. Well done!

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, exterior wall

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, exterior wall

Finally, much of the interior portion of the wall was covered as well. The work looks professional, makes a visit to this particular section more pleasant & will hopefully protect the wall from the increasingly extreme climate of Buenos Aires. Some pigeons have returned since this work was performed… perhaps rows of spikes will have to be added at a later date to discourage nesting.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, exterior wall

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419. atilio massone ◊

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Atilio Massone

A massive vault with Art Deco reliefs full of emotion & allegory. Circle the entire structure to find representations of all stages of life: birth, adulthood & old age.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Atilio Massone

Atilio Massone (father) arrived from Genoa in 1889, doing much to assist fellow Italian immigrants in his neighborhood of La Boca. He later started a successful pharmaceutical company taken over by his sons, Arnaldo & Atilio (junior). They founded the Instituto Massone, known for research in isolating biochemical compounds such as insulin & producing antibiotics. The institute was closed by the Perón government in 1950 supposedly for poor hygiene when in reality the Massone brothers refused to pay compulsory “donations” to the Eva Perón Foundation. It reopened in 1968 after Perón’s forced exile.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Atilio Massone

This family vault has been recently cleaned & regular readers know that we are big fans of restoration. Not only does it preserve the cemetery for future generations, but it also gives us a look into the past… a glimpse of what tombs were like when first constructed. That said, details fail to stand out like they did prior to restoration. This tomb is good for debate: should tombs be completely restored or should some remain intact, letting the passage of time do its work?

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Atilio Massone

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Atilio Massone

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418. wonder woman #187, feb 2003

Recoleta Cemetery turns up in the most unexpected places. Marcelo discovered a few comic books which use Buenos Aires as the setting, & Wonder Woman #187 from February 2003 highlights the cemetery on pages 13-15.

It’s nice to see artists render the city correctly… Wonder Woman’s invisible jet is blown up over Avenida 9 de Julio, fights take place in Plaza de Mayo, Retiro train station is wiped out & Wonder Woman protects both porteños & tourists from a battle in Recoleta Cemetery:

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Wonder Woman, February 2003

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417. lucio vicente lópez

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Lucio Vicente López

Grandson of the author of the Argentina national anthem, the tomb of Lucio Vicente López is one of few in Recoleta Cemetery paid for by public donations. Regular readers know that the majority of plots belong to families, so something extraordinary must have happened for López to be buried alone here. It’s quite a story.

Already a lawyer & recognized journalist, López began publishing books in the 1880’s. La Gran Aldea (1884) first appeared as a regular magazine section & presented porteños with a clever look at themselves & some of their more absurd customs. A personal favorite is the section where a politician derides the main character for wanting to study. The politicians prides himself on getting ahead without ever opening a book. Hilarious. Project Gutenberg has a complete copy available online for free. Of course there was commentary about Recoleta Cemetery (translation mine):

Mientras depositaban el cajón en la bóveda de la familia, yo me perdí en las calles del cementerio.

¡Cuánta vana pompa!

Cómo podía medirse allí, junto con los mamarrachos de la marmolería criolla, la imbecilidad y la soberbia humanas. Allí la tumba pomposa de un estanciero… muchas leguas de campo, muchas vacas; los cueros y las lanas han levantado ese mausoleo que no es ni el de Moreno, ni el de García, ni el de los guerreros, ni el de los grandes hombres de letras.

Allí la regia sepultura de un avaro, más allá la de un imbécil… la pompa siguiéndolos en la muerte….

While the casket was placed in the family vault, I got lost among the walkways of the cemetery.

So much pompous vanity!

How could one be measured there, a local parade of imbeciles & morons alongside the best of humanity. There, the pompous tomb of a ranch owner… many leagues of countryside, lots of cows; leather & wool constructed that mausoleum which does not belong to Moreno, García, the soldiers, or the great academics.

Here the regal tomb of a miser, there another of an idiot… pomp following them in death…

As most members of the upper class, López soon became involved in politics. Shortly after the 1890 Revolution & under the government of Luis Saénz Peña, López was named Interventor Federal for the Province of Buenos Aires… basically a government inspector or auditor.

Although in the post for less than a year, López uncovered a case of corruption that he would pay dearly for. An unpaid government loan had been issued for a large lot of land… land that was later resold without payment of the original loan & whose resale also violated the loan’s terms. The person in question was Coronel Sarmiento (no relation to Domingo F.), personal secretary to General Luis María Campos then serving as Minister of War. López opened a case against Sarmiento, for which he was detained three months in a provincial prison, but in the end no charges of illicit gain were filed.

Buenos Aires, Recoleta Cemetery, Lucio Vicente López

During these events, López & Sarmiento never saw each other. But afterwards, the only way to clear the air between them was a duel. In the 1890’s, duels were still an occasional event in Argentina but for the most part, they involved firing shots into the air as a way to restore both parties’ honor. Not so for López & Sarmiento. This was to be a duel to the death.

The godparents of both López & Sarmiento—bound to preside over the duel as tradition dictated—tried to dissuade López & Sarmiento. No need to spill blood. But in the end it went ahead as planned. Shots were fired at 12 paces & both missed. Guns were reloaded. In the second round, Sarmiento hit López in the abdomen, causing damage to his gallbladder & liver. López did not survive the night.

Most thought that the death of López was unnecessary & deprived Argentina one of its most respected authors at the age of 44. Old traditions definitely die hard.

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