La Recoleta: Posh Digs for the Dead and Famous

Yesterday afternoon, we spent a few hours strolling around La Recoleta, the notorious cemetery for which our neighborhood was named... First opened as a public burial ground for former slaves and victims of the notorious yellow fever plague, it slowly evolved over the past 150 years into the final resting place of Argentina’s most famous figures in entertainment, politics, and high society. It is said that per square foot, La Recoleta is BY FAR the most expensive real estate in all of Argentina. Space for the massive ornate mausoleums are no longer sold, but the plots are passed down through families over generations. When a space is rarely vacated, it is said that competition is so fierce that families pay huge bribes are paid to public officials in order to secure it. (not that there is any hint of corruption in Buenos Aires... ahem...) Not even Juan Peron himself was good enough to be buried in La Recoleta; he was dismissed to another cemetery somewhere outside of town in favor of his more charismatic wife. Today, it has the feel of an independent city, the mausoleums laid out on a grid system complete with little avenues, intersections, fountains, and small plazas. The crumbling architecture is morbidly stunning, ranging in style from high Gothic and frilly Baroque, to strange 60´s modern cubes that resemble miniature Bauhaus style bank vaults. Many of the doors have open windows that allow visitors to easily view the elaborate caskets and dusty memorials to people who’s children have long since died themselves. One casket, we noticed, was leaking some sort of dark fluid that had pooled up like a black oil slick on the marble floor of the tomb... Barf! The tourists swam like flies around the Duarte family’s vault in order to line up for a photo with Evita’s grave... We waited around behind a group of Japanese tourists in order to get our own obligatory shot... What trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without it? Sorry I can't post it, but Blogger's inability to upload all my photos is preventing you from enjoying that specific image... you'll just have to wait for our return! More soon. Xxx Jason