Walking among the graves: this is La Recoleta Cemetery [ENG|ESP]

A couple of days ago, when I posted about the [Evita Museum](https://hive.blog/hive-163772/@cristiancaicedo/buenos-aires-museums-chapter-04-museo-evita-eng-or-esp), I mentioned that the remains of this memorable figure in Argentine history rest in her family's tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. It was then that I realized I hadn't yet posted anything about my visit to that historic place. Today's post aims to remedy that incredible fault. >Hace un par de días cuando subí un post sobre el [Museo Evita](https://hive.blog/hive-163772/@cristiancaicedo/buenos-aires-museums-chapter-04-museo-evita-eng-or-esp) mencioné que los restos mortales de ese recordado personaje de la historia argentina reposan en la tumba de su familia en el Cementerio de la Recoleta en Buenos Aires. Fue entonces cuando caí en cuenta de que todavía no había publicado nada sobre mi visita a ese histórico lugar. El post de hoy pretende remediar esa increíble falta. In her book _Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys_, Argentine writer Mariana Enríquez shares her love of cemeteries and calls herself a "connoisseur" of these types of places. The author of _Our Share of Night_ has visited cemeteries in the United States, Australia, Chile, England, Italy, Mexico, Scotland, Cuba, France, and, of course, Argentina. At the end of the book, she mentions the famous Recoleta Cemetery, the most visited in Buenos Aires. I don't consider myself a cemetery enthusiast like Mariana, but I do feel a certain attraction to visiting these types of places, of which I've seen quite a few in recent years. So, during my visit to Buenos Aires, I couldn't miss this place. The Recoleta Cemetery was built in 1822 and was the city's first public cemetery. At the end of the 19th century, a yellow fever epidemic ravaged the city, and many upper-class residents left neighborhoods like San Telmo and Montserrat to move a little further north, to Recoleta. Once there, they began to use the cemetery as their primary resting place for their deceased relatives. That's why, inside, you can see mausoleums, pantheons, and ornate tombs of famous figures from Argentine history. A fact of no less importance is that ninety of the tombs found in this place have been declared a National Historic Monument, as has the cemetery, which received this designation in 1946. Bartolomé Mitre, Facundo Quiroga, Juan Manuel de Rosas, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Macedonio Fernández, Victoria and Silvina Ocampo, Corina Kavanagh, and the legendary Eva Duarte de Perón, the remembered Evita, are some of the figures buried here.  |  |  --- | --- | ---  |  |  >En su libro _Alguien camina sobre tu tumba: Mis viajes a cementerios_, la escritora argentina Mariana Enríquez comparte su afición a los camposantos y se autodenomina una _catadora_ de este tipo de lugares. La autora de _Nuestra parte de noche_ ha visitado cementerios en EEUU, Australia, Chile, Ingleterra, Italia, México, Escocia, Cuba, Francia y por supuesto Argentina. Allí, al final del libro menciona el insigne Cementerio de la Recoleta, el más visitado de Buenos Aires. >Yo no me considero un catador de cementerios como Mariana, pero sí siento cierto tipo de atracción a visitar este tipo de lugares de los que he conocido no pocos en los últimos años, así que en mi paso por Buenos Aires no podía no visitar este lugar. El Cementerio de la Recoleta fue construido en 1822 y fue el primer cementerio público de la ciudad. A finales del siglo XIX hubo una epidemia de fiebre amarilla que asoló la ciudad y muchos residentes de clase alta salieron de barrios como San Telmo y Montserrat para mudarse un poco más al norte, a Recoleta y una vez allí comenzaron a ocupar el camposanto como principal morada para sus familiares fallecidos; por eso, en su interior se pueden apreciar mausoleos, panteones y tumbas muy ornamentadas de personajes célebres de la historia argentina. Un dato no menor es que noventa de las tumbas que se encuentran en ese lugar han sido consideradas Monumento Histórico Nacional, al igual que el cementerio que recibió esa calificación en el año de 1946. Bartolomé Mitre, Facundo Quiroga, Juan Manuel de Rosas, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Macedonio Fernández, Victoria y Silvina Ocampo, Corina Kavanagh y la mítica Eva Duarte de Perón, la recordada Evita, son algunos de los personajes sepultados en este lugar.  |  |  --- | --- | ---   |  |  --- | --- | --- --- By those misyerious things in life, I was able to pay my respects at the grave of the Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares, author of the book I had with me that day and a personal friend of fellow writer Jorge Luis Borges, who, although he expressed his desire to be buried in the Recoleta Cemetery in a poem, was finally laid to rest in Geneva. >Por esas cosas de la vida pude presentar mis respetos al sepulcro del escritor argentino Adolfo Bioy Casares, autor de la lectura que llevaba conmigo aquel día y amigo personal del también escritor Jorge Luis Borges, quien si bien manifestó en un poema su deseo de ser enterrado en el Cementerio de la Recoleta, finalmente fue sepultado en Ginebra. At just over five hectares in area, the cemetery isn't as large as others, but it has a large number of mausoleums and beautiful sculptures. Angels, crucifixes, statues of women, men, and animals adorn the final resting places of these people, who are visited each year by thousands of nationals and foreigners. In my opinion, the cemetery entrance fee is a bit steep (almost $18 USD), especially considering the lack of gardens, shaded benches, or green areas to mitigate the encounter with so many stones and concrete. From that perspective, the cemetery isn't as pretty as others. But what it lacks trees, it makes up for with its history and the legends surrounding the people buried there, such as Liliana Crociati, depicted in her wedding dress (because she died on her honeymoon) and accompanied by her dog; Rufina Cambaceres, buried alive after a fit of catalepsy; or the story of Luz María García Velloso, the Lady in White, a legend echoed in other cemeteries around the world, where the story is almost always told of a man who, after having a drink with a beautiful young woman, sees her disappear as he enters the cemetery. Even if you don't believe in the supernatural, I think Recoleta Cemetery is worth a visit, as it's a small piece of Argentine history and the work of several of its most famous figures. Do you like visiting cemeteries? Have you heard of this one?  |  |  --- | --- | ---  |  |