Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The final stop, or resting place if you will....















The last stop we made was in Recoleta- the most wealthy neighborhood in Buenos Aires, and perhaps home to the most dead people....  the most powerful and wealthy families in Buenos Aires and Argentina are buried here.  Including arguably the most famous Argentinean, Eva "Evita" Perón.  

The story of how her body even got to this cemetery is long one but here is the brief overview: after Evita passed away at the young age of 33 from stomach cancer, her body was embalmed.  Thousands and thousands of people came to see her body (which you can find online), and she appears perfectly in tact long after her death.  Then, her husband Juan Perón decided that he wanted her body to be buried in an unmarked grave.  For a while she was in some guys closet who said that he would bury her.... but then it was discovered and she was finally buried in Italy and apparently only a handful of people knew exactly where, one of those people being the Pope at the time.

Finally it was decided that she ought to be buried in Buenos Aires, where she was once considered a Saint (depending on who you ask here they might say otherwise).  Eva is related to the Duarte family which has its own mausoleum.  

This place is unlike any cemetery I have seen in my life.  People actually take walks through the cemetery and its free to get in even though it has the appearance of a museum or something from the outside.

During the day it is quite beautiful but I don't know if I would feel the same way about this area at night.

No comments:

Post a Comment