In my visit to Buenos Aires last year, our hotel was directly across one of BB.AA.’s most famous sites: the Recoleta Cemetery. Why is it famous? Well, that crazy woman, Evita, is buried there. Hence, tons of tourists and Evita lovers (domestic or international) flock to the cemetery to see her tomb. I am one of those tourists. (Admitting one has a problem is the first step to recovery…) In any case, I first visited that cemetery as a young pup in 1991 and returned last year, not because I had to see it, but because, well, it was there… right across my hotel room window!
The Recoleta Cemetery with the church to the right
The Recoleta Cemetery is next to the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar and its history is tied to the church back when it had a convent associated with it. The church dates from 1732 but the cemetery is a century younger. Evita is not the only notable buried there but, likely, the most famous of them; others include Presidents, poets, Nobel laureates, etc. Now, if you want to look for Evita’s tomb in the cemetery ‘guide,’ do not look under Perón (her married last name) – look for Duarte, her maiden name…
SPOILER ALERT: The family mausoleum where Evita’s remains rest
I’d recommend walking around aimlessly and absorbing the different mausoleum styles. It is artwork for sure.
Typical scene at the Recoleta cemetery
One thing I will say is that staying so close to it allowed me to see the area at different times and what seemed just like a cemetery with star power became a part of town with a healthy dose of local life. Of course, I may be swayed by the Freddo‘s located a few storefronts down from my hotel but their gelato is just so good that I can’t have just one (my fellow trekkers quickly realized how crazy I was about Freddo’s gelato!).
Freddo’s – I could not wait to take a bite…
