Section of the capital city
Neighborhood of Buenos Aires in C2, Argentina
Recoleta
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Location of Recoleta within Buenos Aires
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Country
| Argentina
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Autonomous city
| Buenos Aires
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Comuna
| C2
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Important sites
| La Recoleta Cemetery
,
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
,
National Library of the Argentine Republic
,
National Museum of Fine Arts
,
National Museum of Decorative Arts
,
Alvear Palace Hotel
,
Cafe La Biela
,
Recoleta Cultural Centre
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? President
| Ramiro Reyno (
PRO
-
JxC
)
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? Total
| 5.4 km
2
(2.1 sq mi)
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? Total
| 188,780
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? Density
| 35,000/km
2
(91,000/sq mi)
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Time zone
| UTC-3
(
ART
)
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Recoleta
is a
barrio
or neighborhood of
Buenos Aires
,
Argentina
, located in the northern part of the city, by the
Rio de la Plata
. The area is perhaps best known to be the home of the distinguished
Recoleta Cemetery
. It is a traditional
upper-class
and
conservative
neighborhood with some of the priciest
real estate
in the city, known for Paris-style townhouses, lavish former palaces and posh boutiques.
[2]
[3]
The neighborhood is served by
Line D
and
Line H
of the
Buenos Aires Underground
, as well as by many bus lines in
Avenida Santa Fe
.
Geographical location
[
edit
]
The Recoleta neighborhood is composed of the area limited by Montevideo and Uruguay Streets, Cordoba Avenue, Mario Bravo and Coronel Diaz Streets, Las Heras Avenue, Tagle Street, the
F.G.B.M
railway, Jeronimo Salguero Street, and by the
Rio de La Plata
or River Plate.
Neighboring communities are
Retiro
to the southeast,
San Nicolas
,
Balvanera
and
Almagro
to the south, and
Palermo
to the northwest, and the
River Plate
to the northeast.
History
[
edit
]
The name of the neighborhood comes from the monastery ? the Recollect Convent (
Convento de la Recoleta
)
[4]
? of the
Recollect
fathers, members of the
Franciscan
Order, which was established in the area at the beginning of the 18th century. They founded a monastery and a church dedicated to
Nuestra Senora del Pilar
with a cemetery attached. The Recoleta pathway is nearly the exact geographic center of the neighborhood, and one of its highest points in the city, which, at the end of the 19th century attracted wealthy families from the south of the city who sought to escape from the deadly
yellow fever
outbreak which began in 1871. From that time on, the Recoleta has been one of the most stylish and expensive neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, home to private family mansions, foreign embassies, and luxury hotels, including the
Alvear Palace Hotel
.
The historical center of the neighborhood is the Church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, construction of which was completed in 1732. For that reason, the neighborhood was occasionally called
El Pilar
. The church was originally situated at the edge of the banks that sloped down to the
Rio de la Plata
and Manso Creek. The creek, also known as
Tercero del Norte
, currently flows through an underground pipe, and runs below present-day Pueyrredon Avenue. It formed a type of small
delta
, with channels along the current Austria and Tagle Streets, which flowed into the Rio de la Plata.
When Buenos Aires suffered terrible
cholera
and
yellow fever
epidemics
in the 1870s, the population of the city spread out to avoid the contagion. It was for that reason that, while the underprivileged classes settled in the south-southwest of the city, the most wealthy settled in the Recoleta area, where the height of the terrain reduced the presence of insects which transmitted the diseases.
These families (many of which were members of the ruling national elite, considered of "noble" ancestry (although there were no noblemen in the former Hispanic territories) for having descended from respected historical figures from the period of Argentine independence), built mansions and other notable buildings in several European architectural styles of the period (many of which were demolished towards the end of the 1950s and beginning of the 1960s and once again during the 2000s). Consequently, Buenos Aires has often been referred to as the "Paris of South America". Nowadays, what is left of these traditional buildings coexist with elegant modern constructions.
Together with some sections of the neighboring communities of
Retiro
and
Palermo
, Recoleta forms a part of the area known as
Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires
, a traditional residential zone for the city's most affluent families, where a great portion of the cultural life of the city is concentrated.
Culture
[
edit
]
The Recoleta neighborhood is distinguished by its great cultural spaces. In addition to historical monuments, it is home to the National Fine Arts Museum or
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
, the
National Library of Argentina
, the
Recoleta Cultural Center
, and other exhibition venues.
Recoleta Cemetery
[
edit
]
The
Recoleta Cemetery
is one of the main tourist attractions in the neighborhood. It was designed by the French architect
Prosper Catelin
, at the request of President
Bernardino Rivadavia
, and was dedicated in 1822.
Museums and cultural centers
[
edit
]
Next to the cemetery is the former General
Juan Jose Viamonte
Shelter, administered in the past by the Recollect Fathers. When it ceased functioning as a shelter for the indigent, it was acquired by the city and converted into the
Centro Cultural Recoleta
, one of the most important exhibition halls for the plastic arts in the city. 150 meters away, across
Libertador Avenue
, is the el Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (
MNBA
), which holds in its permanent collection works of art by Argentine artists such as
Berni
and Segui, as well as works by European masters such as
Titian
,
Goya
,
Rembrandt
,
Gauguin
, and
Manet
. To the east, along Posadas Street, is the
Palais de Glace
, which was, at the beginning of the twentieth century, an
ice skating
rink. It has since been turned into a multimedia exhibition center. Behind
Carlos Thays
Park is located the
Centro Municipal de Exposiciones
, which houses a wide variety of exhibitions and cultural events.
Education
[
edit
]
Several of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the capital are in the Recoleta neighborhood. Among them are the
Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini
, the
Escuela Argentina Modelo
, the
Scuola Edmundo de Amicis
, the
Colegio Champagnat
, the
Colegio Mallinkdrodt
, the
Colegio San Agustin
[
es
]
and Normal School 1, the oldest portion of which has been declared a
National Monument
.
Many university schools are also found in Recoleta, including several
University of Buenos Aires
faculties such as the
Law
,
Medicine
,
Dentistry
and
Pharmacy and Biochemistry
faculties, and the Las Heras branch of the
Faculty of Engineering
, an annex building in the
neogothic
style building characterized by the cold, humid air typical of gothic structures.
[
citation needed
]
A construction in the
brutalist
style, located on Aguero Street between Libertador Avenue and Las Heras, is home to the new National Library of Argentina. The building was completed in 1992, after 20 years of construction work. It contains more than four million volumes, including twenty priceless editions, such as a rare copy of
Dante
's
Divine Comedy
.
Recoleta and tango
[
edit
]
Several
cabarets
in the neighborhood served as locales for tango music and dance. The
Pabellon de las Rosas
, on Libertador Avenue and Tagle Street, like the
Cafe de Hansen
in the Palermo neighborhood, maintained a
Belle Epoque
atmosphere, where the so-called
atorrantes
("vagabonds", but also "scoundrels", "spoiled brats") spent their evenings. At this, and at other cabarets such as the
Armenonville
, a "p
eringundin"
("dance hall") where
Carlos Gardel
was known to appear, fights?occasionally bloody?would break out between
"malevos"
("ruffians"), "
compadritos"
("tough-guys") and
"jailaifes"
("high-lifes” or high society boys) according to the florid contemporary slang (
lunfardo
). In the 1910s, when the Palais de Glace no longer served as an ice skating rink, it became a dance venue, and it is there where the
tango
finally became accepted by the upper classes of Buenos Aires, especially since it had already become a fad in Paris.
Many
tango
lyrics reflect life in the Recoleta neighborhood. One song, by
Horacio Ferrer
, set to music by
Astor Piazzolla
, is the
"Balada para un loco"
("Ballad for a Madman"), which cites two of the neighborhood streets, Callao and Arenales:
"Salis de tu casa por Arenales... / Ya se que estoy piantao, piantao, piantao... / ¿No ves que va la Luna rodando por Callao,/ que un corso de astronautas y ninos, con un vals,/ me baila alrededor...?"
(You leave home down Arenales ... / I know I'm mad, mad, mad../ don't you see the moon rolling down Callao? / how a carnival of astronauts and children /dance a vals around me...?")
Sculpture
[
edit
]
The neighborhood has numerous statues and sculptures in its parks and plazas. Among the statues are
El ultimo centauro
("The Last Centaur"),
El Arquero
("The Archer") and the
equestrian statue
dedicated to
Carlos Maria de Alvear
. Additionally, there are works by the sculptor
Antoine Bourdelle
, the
Floralis Generica
by
Eduardo Catalano
, and the
Torso Masculino Desnudo
("Nude Male Torso") by
Fernando Botero
. The Recoleta Cemetery also possesses many exquisite works of art, obscured by their funerary location: the sculpture known as the
Cristo Muerto
by
Giulio Monteverde
, for example. Furthermore, the neighboring Basilica of Nuestra Senora del Pilar holds examples of
Spanish Colonial art
. Particularly noteworthy is a sculpture which represents one of the
Apostles
by the Spanish sculptor,
Alonso Cano
.
Architecture
[
edit
]
From the end of the nineteenth-century to the start of the 1920s, the Recoleta neighborhood has witnessed the construction of a great number of “
chateaux
” (often imitating those of the
Loire
valley in France), as well as Parisian style
petits hotels
, almost always designed by architects of French origin. The major portion of the building materials (
boiseries
, slate roof tiles, marble for staircases, bronze and iron work,
chandeliers
with lead crystal prisms, glass lamp shades, ornate gilded mirrors, and beveled lead crystal window panes,
mosaics
, etc.) were brought from Europe. But just as it occurred in other neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, these grand buildings, in large part, have been demolished since the 1960s due to the realities of the real estate market: on the land that held an extraordinary private mansion, several ordinary modern buildings could be erected. Currently several neighborhood groups which organize marches, meetings, and other events are working to halt further destruction of existing landmarks.
In spite of the demolitions, Recoleta still displays a rich architectural legacy. Outstanding examples are on
Alvear Avenue
, where such buildings as the
Palacio Duhau
(former property of the Duhau family), the
Nunciature
of the
Vatican
(the
Fernandez Anchorena Palace
), the French Embassy (former
Ortiz Basualdo Palace
), the Brazilian Embassy (former
Pereda Palace
), the Jockey Club, and the luxurious
Alvear Palace Hotel
. All over Recoleta,
petits hotels
which contrast with larger and more modern apartment buildings, still grace the neighborhood.
Some of the work of the noteworthy architect,
Clorindo Testa
, is in Recoleta. Of importance is the National Library, the
Buenos Aires Design
center, and the building of the new
Colegio de Escribanos de Buenos Aires
(School of Legal Notaries of Buenos Aires) on Las Heras Avenue.
Additionally, on the side streets of the neighborhood, there is a large number of rental properties of more practical design, whose compact structure and austere appearance contrast with the predominantly neoclassic style of much of Recoleta.
One particular area of Recoleta, bounded by
Aguero
,
Cordoba
, Mario Bravo, Soler, Sanchez de Bustamante, and Mansilla streets, is not normally considered to be a part of the Recoleta neighborhood, but rather belonging to the Palermo area. This may be due to fact that it displays a more recent design style than the average area of Recoleta, and of a visibly inferior quality of construction. For that reason, it is one of the more economical areas of the neighborhood, although some residents may not realize that they do in fact reside in Recoleta.
Unlike other areas of Recoleta, the only historic structure in this particular portion of the neighborhood is the Ricardo Gutierrez Children's Hospital. The main wing of this hospital retains the features that it had a century ago, and it is located on the corner of Paraguay and Gallo Streets.
Green spaces
[
edit
]
Although a large portion of Recoleta has been developed, it still possesses many green spaces. Along Libertador and Figueroa Alcorta Avenues, the Republica Federativa do Brasil Park is located facing the
University of Buenos Aires
Faculty of Law
, Plaza
Ruben Dario
, Plaza Republica Oriental del Uruguay, Plaza Republica Chile, Plaza Francia,
Plaza Intendente Alvear
, Plaza
Dante Alighieri
and Plazoleta Raul Soldi.
Plaza Vicente Lopez y Planes
, recently enhanced, is found at the intersection of Montevideo and Parana Streets.
Recoleta was the site of an
amusement park
,
Italpark
, from 1960 until its closure in 1990. The current
Parque Thays
stands on the land that it once occupied. Along
Cordoba Avenue
, the western edge of the neighborhood, are two parks:
Plaza Bernardo Houssay
, filled with university students, artisans, and resellers of academic textbooks, and
Plaza Monsenor De Andrea
, at the intersection of Cordoba and Jean Jaures Street, is a neighborhood area distinctive for its more everyday feel, where petits-hotels and grand buildings leave space for small homes, grocery stores and shops.
Of particular note, in the Plaza Francia facing the cemetery is an enormous
rubber tree
; its huge tentacle-like lower branches cast shade over La Biela's popular terrace. Known as the
Gran Gomero
, it was planted in 1791 by Martin Jose Altolaguirre, the owner of these lands back in that time, and is 50 meters wide.
Plaza Francia
[
edit
]
Facing the cemetery and the cultural center, is the Plaza Intendente Alvear, mistakenly, but commonly known as
Plaza Francia
. The plaza became famous in the 1960s for its street fair, popularly called the “feria
hippie
.” Over time, in addition to genuine artisans and craftspeople, the fair has attracted street vendors and merchants of a wide variety of merchandise.
At present, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires has reorganized the fair, encouraging the participation of those artisans whose work is original and authentic, and discouraging those whose merchandise is of low quality or those who simply sell mass-produced items.
[
citation needed
]
The artisans, led by the organization,
Interferias
, must pass an evaluation process and be registered. Visitors to the fair may find all kinds of handicraft items, many of them of high quality:
leather
goods, book restoration,
sandals
and
espadrilles
, carved
mates
, ethnic
jewelry
,
incense
, essential oils,
spices
,
satchels
,
candles
, indigenous
musical instruments
,
photography
, and much more.
Famous residents of Recoleta
[
edit
]
Of the important residents of the Recoleta neighborhood, the writers
Adolfo Bioy Casares
and
Silvina Ocampo
stand out. Perhaps even better known is
Jorge Luis Borges
, who lived on Quintana Avenue and was, for many years, the Director of the
Biblioteca Nacional
. He is, arguably, the single most influential and world-renowned Argentine writer.
Jose Ortega y Gasset
also lived for a time on Quintana Avenue. In the 1930s, Cardinal
Eugenio Pacelli
, later known to the world as Pope
Pius XII
, lived in a sumptuous residence on
Alvear Avenue
.
The American actor
Guy Williams
lived and died in the neighborhood.
In the past, the Argentine president's residence was located at the intersection of Aguero Street and Libertador Avenue. After the overthrow of President
Juan Peron
in 1955, the luxurious residence was demolished, and today, where it stood, now stands the National Library, work of the Italo-Argentine
Clorindo Testa
.
Other contemporary residents who have lent local color to the neighborhood are the comedian
Carlos Bala
, the iconoclastic musician
Charly Garcia
and the Italian-Argentine designer
Gino Bogani
.
Businesses and restaurants
[
edit
]
The neighborhood is well known for its shopping opportunities. The most important French and Italian designers have shops in Recoleta.
Recoleta is also a distinctive gastronomic area of the city. Its restaurants, many having earned international awards,
[
citation needed
]
are located along Ortiz Street, closed to motor traffic. Here, the renowned chef
Gato Dumas
has had several restaurants. A classic in the neighborhood, and the preferred locale of the Buenos Aires cultural elite, is the literary cafe,
Clasica y Moderna
, located on
Callao Avenue
at
Paraguay Street
.
Walking tour
[
edit
]
-
Junin street
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Buenos Aires Design Centre
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Nuestra Senora del Pilar Church
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Las Heras Avenue
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The Pizzurno Palace
(Ministry of Education)
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-
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Faculty of Engineering (Las Heras Ave. branch)
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Plaza San Martin de Tours
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References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Public and
historic buildings
and structures
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Precincts and
neighbourhoods
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Nature and parks
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Cultural
Institutions
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Sport
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Transport
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Shopping and
entertainment
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Streets
and avenues
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34°35′26″S
58°23′26″W
/
34.59056°S 58.39056°W
/
-34.59056; -58.39056