Documenting Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires since 2007
AfterLife Posts
One of 17 children—four destined to occupy high-ranking positions in the military—Manuel Jorge Campos participated in many of the major events of his day. Breaking from the influence of older brother General Luis María Campos & establishing a distinguished career of his own, the current condition of Manuel’s tomb suggests that history has perhaps forgotten his many contributions to Argentina… just compare with Luis María five mausoleums away.
As a young man, Manuel fought & was injured in several battles during the War of the Triple Alliance against Paraguay. Plaques at the mausoleum’s base depict those struggles:
He also helped squash the several rebellions of Buenos Aires against the national government as well as assisted Julio Argentino Roca in the fight to acquire land from the indigenous population in 1879. But his most historic claim to fame is a still-unconfirmed conspiracy which made the 1890 Revolution against the national government fail. Manuel Campos conspired with revolutionaries, gained their trust & became their military leader. Arrested & jailed shortly before the day of attack, President Roca visited Campos in his cell… historians believe some sneaky plans formed as a result of that meeting.
From his cell, Campos ordered the revolution to continue & fighting broke out in Buenos Aires. Only lasting four days, hundreds of people died including another Campos brother, Julio. Many believe that Campos made bad tactical decisions on purpose, throwing the revolution so Roca & his elite allies could remain in power. In spite of leading a rebellion, Campos never received any punishment. In fact, he spent the rest of his life in politics as either a Representative or Senator, supporting modernization of the military as proposed by fellow general Pablo Riccheri. On the back wall, a large plaque given by the legislature of the Province of Buenos Aires commemorates that service:
Of artistic merit is one of the few surviving works in Buenos Aires by Spanish painter & sculptor José Llaneces. Contemporary of Joaquín Sorolla & favored by the Spanish royal family at the beginning of the 20th century, Llaneces painted a series of murals for the Jockey Club… all destroyed in the 1953 fire set by Peronistas. A monument to Hipólito Vieytes by Llaneces sits in the neighborhood of Barracas, unseen & forgotten. The cemetery’s sculpture depicts a shrouded woman guiding a fallen soldier to heaven, perhaps Campos himself. The mausoleum received a write-up in a 1912 edition of the Spanish magazine Mundo Gráfico:
Occupying a prime piece of cemetery space —a wide, main axis close to the central Cristo Redentor statue— this mausoleum also attracts lots of attention thanks to an interesting design. Unfortunately its first occupant no longer resides here; you’ll have to go to the cathedral on Plaza de Mayo to pay your respects. Read on…
Born in 1788, Tomás Guido witnessed or participated in almost every major event during the creation of Argentina as an independent, new nation. He started young, defending Buenos Aires from both British invasions in 1806 & 1807 at the age of 18. Guido later accompanied Mariano Moreno on a diplomatic mission to the UK & was on board when Moreno passed away at sea. During independence wars, Guido traveled to Tucumán where he became a secretary & befriended both José de San Martín & Manuel Belgrano. Memoirs of his time with San Martín became an invaluable historic document, published in 1816. Over time, he would advance in rank & participate in the liberation of what we know as Chile & Perú.
Returning to Buenos Aires, Guido worked with the Rivadavia government during the war with Brazil. He continued to be appointed by successive leaders such as Manuel Dorrego, Juan Lavalle, Juan José Viamonte & surprisingly by both Juan Manuel de Rosas & Justo José de Urquiza at different moments. Usually involved in diplomacy & international relations, Guido passed away in 1866 in Buenos Aires after negotiating a peace agreement between Paraguay & the United States just a few years prior. His last wish was to be buried in the Andes, in remembrance of his time fighting for South American independence.
Legend claims that Guido’s second youngest child, Carlos Spano y Guido, felt so committed to his father’s final wish that he had stones brought from the Andes to build this mausoleum. We’ve yet to see any hard proof, but it’s a wonderful story. Some even insist that Carlos built the tomb himself by hand. Again, unlikely but hey… sounds great! The design of the tomb fits an era when romantic ideas were combined with images of nature, & the pintoresco style was born:
Also check out a nearby tomb to Gregorio Torres with an almost identical wrought-iron door:
On the 100th anniversary of his death, descendants of Tomás Guido authorized the national government to transfer his remains. Guido keeps company once again with San Martín in the cathedral of Buenos Aires:
An important figure in his own right, Carlos Spano y Guido & his descendants remain buried here. Guido y Spano wrote well-received romantic prose & became director of the National Archive (plaque below dedicated to his passing). He also worked to found the Sociedad Protectora de Animales with José Pérez Mendoza. In 1946, this tomb was designated a National Historic Monument by the Perón government.
Beautiful panel signed by M. Pla y Vilar. Remember that morning & sunset are the best times to peek inside mausoleums to find these gems. To see more examples, type “stained glass” into the search bar. Happy holidays to everyone, & thanks very much for all the support this year. Hope you’ve enjoyed Recoleta Cemetery as much as we do!
Leave a CommentOn 14 Nov 2018 around 17:15 —less than an hour before closing time— a bomb went off inside Recoleta Cemetery. Marcelo immediately sent me a message via WhatsApp & within seconds I watched the story unfold on TN’s live YouTube broadcast from my living room in Spain:
The explosion occurred in the far left corner of the cemetery at the tomb of Ramón Falcón, & initial reports mentioned one of five home-made pipe bombs exploding… severely injuring one woman who was being attended by an EMT crew onsite. Forensic police arrived to investigate the scene as well as assess any potential threat from unexploded devices. Later that day, the following photos were released via the national news agency, Télam:
The story wasn’t difficult to put together. The injured woman, 34-year old Anahí Esperanza Salcedo, had been responsible for the bombing & suffered facial damage as well as the loss of three fingers when the device exploded early… apparently while taking a selfie.
Salcedo entered the cemetery with Hugo Alberto Rodríguez, both disguised with wigs & sunglasses. They identify as anarchists & wanted to destroy the tomb of Falcón, who had been assassinated by an anarchist 109 years ago. In the end, the tomb survived while Salcedo remains in critical condition.
Police officials consider this crime linked to another pipe bomb thrown into the front patio of the home of judge Claudio Bonadio later that same day. Bonadio is currently investigating charges of bribery & money laundering involving members of the previous government, including former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The following day federal police raided the anarchists’ base of operations in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Cristóbal & arrested 10 individuals after finding material used to make pipe bombs.
Marcelo went to Recoleta Cemetery to assess the situation two days after the bombing occurred. The first change he noticed is that bags are now being inspected at the entrance gate. While we aren’t sure if this checkpoint will become permanent, be prepared to have your belongings searched until further notice. Marcelo also confirmed the correct time of the bombing, misreported in local media as around 18:00… impossible since the cemetery promptly closes at that time every day. Forensic police were still working the scene during his visit:
Marcelo also heard people ask in several different languages where the explosion had taken place. Word had quickly spread about the incident. He’ll return next week for an update, so stay tuned! In the meantime, tombs that are located inside the orange dashed line on the map below cannot be visited. This corresponds to locations numbered 41 to 44 in the PDF guide:
During 19 years of visiting & documenting Recoleta Cemetery, neither Marcelo nor I ever imagined this kind of violence taking place inside. Some speculate that it may be an attempt to disrupt an otherwise calm city preceding the G-20 summit. Whatever the reason, one lesson that Recoleta Cemetery demonstrates through almost 200 years of history is that violence is never the means to an end. And you can’t kill someone twice!
Update (22 Nov 2018): Apparently all cemeteries in Buenos Aires—Recoleta, Chacarita & Flores—will not allow visitors to enter with bags or backpacks, & handbags will be inspected by security. Photo courtesy of Susana Gesualdi:
