Cementerio de la Recoleta by junge1

Photography • Historical • posted on Nov 03, 2016

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Description

The cemeteries of Recoleta and Chacarita are windows into Argentine society. To be put to rest here not only takes enormous sums of money, but also status. Anybody that has been somebody, be it president, military leader or other notables with surname such as Anchorena, Alvear, Aramburu, Aveilaneda, Mitre, Martinez de Hoz or Samiento. The remains of Evita Peron, a commoner with a nebulous background, secured in a subterranean vault, are an exception that irritates the presumptive aristocracy. Argentina declared its independence from Spain in 1816, and during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century many immigrants arrived from Europe, such as Italians, Spaniards, Basques, Irish, Germans and many other European countries. The descendants of these immigrants form today's Argentine society. According to Argentine novelist Tomas Eloy Martinez, Argentines are 'cadaver cultists' who honor their most revered national figures not on the date of their birth but of death - Dia de la Bandera (Flag Day) takes place on the date of designer Manuel Belgrano's death. Enormous sums are spent on mausoleums and crypts by the families of the deceased, often exceeding the cost of villas, to maintain status. It may be testifying to the partial truth of the common aphorism that 'an Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish, wishes he were English, and behaves as if he were French' (Source: Lonely Planet, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, 2nd ed., 1996). This picture was taken on 26 November 2006, Sig...