Recoletas

On Saturday I went to visit the neighbourhood of Recoletas. On weekends they have a large craft fair in Plaza Francia and the sun was finally out. I was told to take the subte, but I would reccomend the bus (68 from my area). Lots of small stands filled the park with things like wooden puzzles, silver earrings, leather (belts, purses, book covers), woolen shawls, mate cups, and this list could go on and on.

Also in the park is the Recoleta cemetary and I joined the 2pm Spanish tour. The guide´s name was Alfredo and after about 30 minutes we were about 2 feet into the cemetary. He wanted to explain the history of the cemetaries in Buenos Aires, the different kinds of monuments, the history of Argentina, its families, and on and on. He knew all sorts of little anecdotes and would ask us to guess why a certain type of sculpture was used and this led to more tangents. At some points I got a little lost like when he explained had the importation of certain cattle breeds and the arrival of refrigeration changed the value of land in Argentina and this in turn affected the size and shape of tombs. He also explained how some of the masoleums had doors and families would come and spend the afternoon, share special events, and keep the person part of their lives. Then he asked us about death today? The idea that people try to disappear in cemetaries on the outskirts of cities. It was one intensive Spanish lesson and I actually left around the two-hour mark saturated with Spanish cemetary vocabulary. On my way out I followed the crowds to visit Uarte family´s tomb to see the beloved Eva Perron´s grave.

In a lot of ways I feel like I am in Spain, but at the same time the history is fairly recent like Canada and the tour reminded me of that.