Neighborhood of Buenos Aires in C7, Argentina
Flores
(Spanish for “Flowers”) is a
middle-class
barrio
or district in the center part of
Buenos Aires
city,
Argentina
. Flores was considered a rural area of the
Province of Buenos Aires
until 1888 when it was integrated into the city. Flores is the birthplace of
Pope Francis
.
Limits
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The limits of the neighborhood are marked by several streets and avenues: Portela, Cuenca, Av. Gaona, Av. Donato Alvarez, Curapaligue, Av. Directorio, Av. Carabobo, Av. Castanares, Torres y Tenorio, Av. Riestra, Av. Perito Moreno, Av. Castanares, Lacarra, and Av. Luis J. Dellepiane.
History
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Flores was mainly composed of country houses from the wealthy people of the City of Buenos Aires. Today, remains of those houses can still be found, including the house owned by
Juan Manuel de Rosas
, the Governor of the Province around the 19th century.
One of the most prominent of these early homeowners in Flores was the Marco del Pont family, descendants of a former Spanish governor of Chile. Purchasing property facing the new railway station (one of Argentina's first), they had a comfortable yet understated
italianate
property built in 1860. Relocating in 1929, the family sold the property and the estate fell into disrepair. Slated at one time for demolition, it eventually caught the attention of the San Jose de Flores Historical Society, who prevailed on the city to declare it a National Historic Monument, in 1976. Its fate is now secure, as the home became the Marco del Pont Cultural Center.
The neighbourhood's commercial areas are centered on the train station, Rivadavia Avenue, and the nearby parish church,
Basilica de San Jose de Flores
, dating from 1831 which has a
romanticist
architectural style.
A fictitious
mythology
of the neighborhood was created by author
Alejandro Dolina
, centered on the grey angel of Flores. A famous
tango
song,
San Jose de Flores
, centers on the sorrow of a man returning to the
barrio
after a long and tumultuous absence.
The Pueyrredon theatre was a famous ballroom, where
tango
vocalist
Edmundo Rivero
gained fame in the 1930s and was also an oft-used venue by early
Argentine rock
bands such as
Almendra
.
On 13 September 2011, a bus on a
level crossing
at
Flores rail station
was hit by a train traveling on the
Sarmiento Line
, operated by
Trenes de Buenos Aires
, heading for
Moreno
. The train derailed and crashed into a second train, standing at the station, bound for
Once
. The accident, which occurred during the morning
rush hour
, resulted in 11 deaths and 228 injuries. The bus, operated by
Empresa de Transportes Microomnibus Saenz Pena
, was working a scheduled service on route 92, heading for
Retiro
. Video evidence revealed that the bus driver, who was killed in the accident, ignored warning lights and a partly lowered barrier at the crossing.
[2]
[3]
Notable locals
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]
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, later known as
Pope Francis
, was born and grew up in Flores,
[4]
as did
Roberto Arlt
.
[5]
[6]
Author
Cesar Aira
resides in Flores.
[7]
Images
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"The emblems of the 48 barrios of Buenos Aires were presented"
Archived
2016-03-13 at the
Wayback Machine
(
Spanish
) by
ambito.com
August 29, 2011
- ^
"Al Menos Once Muertos y 228 Heridos en la Mayor Tragedia con Trenes en la Ciudad en Casi 50 Anos"
.
Clarin
(in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 13 September 2011
. Retrieved
23 February
2012
.
- ^
"Argentina Bus and Trains Crash Killing at Least 11"
.
British Broadcasting Corporation
. 14 September 2011
. Retrieved
24 February
2012
.
- ^
Claudio Ivan Remeseira:
Pope Francis: A humble and outspoken man, and technically also Italian
Archived
2014-10-27 at the
Wayback Machine
NBCLatino, 14 March 2013
- ^
Jason Wilson,
Buenos Aires: A Cultural and Literary Companion
(Interlink Books, 2000;
ISBN
156656347X
), p. 233: "Roberto Arlt (1900-1942) was born in Flores of a German father and an Italian mother and later lived there in 1926 on calle Yerbal 2000."
- ^
Michele McKay Aynesworth, introduction to Roberto Arlt,
Mad Toy
(Duke University Press, 2002;
ISBN
0822383330
), p. 4: "He grew up in a neighborhood called Flores in the city of Buenos Aires."
- ^
Chacoff, Alejandro (7 May 2024).
"Cesar Aira's unreal magic: how the eccentric author took over Latin American literature"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
9 May
2024
.
External links
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]
34°38′S
58°28′W
/
34.633°S 58.467°W
/
-34.633; -58.467