On the Way to Patagonia

On the way to Patagonia, I stopped in Buenos Aires for a rest day after the overnight flight. (I just needed a pause before another 3 hour flight.) There is a lot to take in there, and a bit of research led me to spend the afternoon in Cementerio de Recoleta. It has bountiful memorial statuary plus the crypts of notable personages, including Evita Peron, Nobel Prize winners, military heroes and more.  My visit coincided with a national day of remembrance for those lost in the Malvinas invasion.  So, it was crowded.

A first observation is that no space is wasted. The crypts and monuments are tightly packed with no grassy spaces as we might find in the United States. Most of the spots are for multiple members of a family. It appears that some families have continued to prosper and maintain their crypts, and some have declined such that maintenance has ceased.

The individual spaces reflect a wide range of artistic content. My cell phone recorded this aging vault with a mix of missing glass and reflections of surrounding neighbors. (It was manipulated into a simulated painting style.)

Arguably, the most visited crypt contains the remains of Evita Peron.

 Other names on the plaques were linked to Evita.  Obviously, it still gathers a lot of attention.

 Other family repositories gather simpler recognition - faded marigolds.

Recoleta is also known for the resident cats.  Water and food is left out for them.

The cemetery also has some amazing statuary at the ground level of crypts.  Usually the interments were below ground level.  This one was well-maintained and memorable.

In a few places, the memorial commanded a primary location away from the crowded rows of crypts.

 Capturing the essence of some statuary was a challenge well worth the final result.

You can image that at some point in time, I realized Recoleta was more than an afternoon's exploration.   It also offered small hidden views that were a challenge to render in a single image. I had to balance on stone blocks to align the small window with the stained glass window on the adjacent interior wall.

This was visual candy for the photographer. I've been to the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and the artistic content here rivaled it, and sometimes even surpassed it.  And, time was running out.  This corner of the cemetery surprised me. 

And, this crypt with a military guard closed my exploration.

Yes, I made a mistake setting aside only an afternoon for Buenos Aires.

Paul Schmitt