Misplaced Pages

#36963

53-488: Recoleta is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires , Argentina , located in the northern part of the city, by the Río 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. The neighborhood

106-502: A Belle Époque 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 eringundín" ("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

159-670: A century ago, and it is located on the corner of Paraguay and Gallo Streets. Although a large portion of Recoleta has been developed, it still possesses many green spaces. Along Libertador and Figueroa Alcorta Avenues, the República Federativa do Brasil Park is located facing the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Law , Plaza Rubén Darío , Plaza República Oriental del Uruguay, Plaza República Chile, Plaza Francia, Plaza Intendente Alvear , Plaza Dante Alighieri and Plazoleta Raúl Soldi. Plaza Vicente López y Planes , recently enhanced,

212-406: A monastery and a church dedicated to Nuestra Señora 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,

265-489: A very active commercial thoroughfare. It is also served by Line D of the subte (subway) and a large number of bus lines. The area around the corner of Santa Fe and Salguero is sometimes known as Villa Freud due to the large number of psychologist offices in the area (with a significant proportion of practitioners of the Freud and Lacan variants of psychoanalysis ). Since the advent of democracy in 1983, Santa Fe has been

318-542: 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 Gutiérrez Children's Hospital. The main wing of this hospital retains the features that it had

371-571: 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. José 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

424-625: Is a sculpture which represents one of the Apostles by the Spanish sculptor, Alonso Cano . 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 “ châteaux ” (often imitating those of the Loire valley in France), as well as Parisian style petits hôtels , almost always designed by architects of French origin. The major portion of

477-448: Is found at the intersection of Montevideo and Paraná 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 Córdoba 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 Monseñor De Andrea , at

530-530: Is roughly equivalent to the Recoleta district, though it generally refers to the portion south of Las Heras Avenue. Barrio Norte also includes northern parts of the Balvanera district, eastern parts of Palermo and the portion of Retiro west of the Nueve de Julio Avenue . Its population exceeds 200,000. The name (which stems from the area's location relative to the city center) took hold when people began relocating to

583-562: Is served by Line D and Line H of the Buenos Aires Underground , as well as by many bus lines in Avenida Santa Fe . The Recoleta neighborhood is composed of the area limited by Montevideo and Uruguay Streets, Córdoba Avenue, Mario Bravo and Coronel Díaz Streets, Las Heras Avenue, Tagle Street, the F.G.B.M railway, Jerónimo Salguero Street, and by the Río de La Plata or River Plate. Neighboring communities are Retiro to

SECTION 10

#1732886880037

636-403: Is the "Balada para un loco" ("Ballad for a Madman"), which cites two of the neighborhood streets, Callao and Arenales: "Salís de tu casa por Arenales... / Ya sé que estoy piantao, piantao, piantao... / ¿No ves que va la Luna rodando por Callao,/ que un corso de astronautas y niños, con un vals,/ me baila alrededor...?" (You leave home down Arenales ... / I know I'm mad, mad, mad../ don't you see

689-532: 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. Several of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the capital are in the Recoleta neighborhood. Among them are

742-507: Is the informal name given to a part of Buenos Aires centering on Santa Fe Avenue and the district of Recoleta . To the east, the area forms a certain architectural unit that resembles it to Paris , a feature that is progressively lost towards the west, bordering Palermo , where modern apartment buildings predominate. Barrio Norte is characterized by its opulence, great cultural life, its architecture, its palaces, residences, museums and large parks. An unofficial neighborhood, Barrio Norte

795-620: The Floralis Genérica 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 Señora del Pilar holds examples of Spanish Colonial art . Particularly noteworthy

848-791: 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 Agustín  [ 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

901-573: 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. A construction in the brutalist style, located on Agüero Street between Libertador Avenue and Las Heras, is home to the new National Library of Argentina. The building

954-869: The Palacio Duhau (former property of the Duhau family), the Nunciature of the Vatican (the Fernández 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 hôtels which contrast with larger and more modern apartment buildings, still grace the neighborhood. Some of

1007-407: The autonomous city and capital of Argentina , is composed of 48 neighbourhoods (locally known as barrios ). Since 2008, the city is also legally divided into communes ( comunas ), each one including one or more barrios . Among the most visited and populated barrios are Palermo , Recoleta , Puerto Madero , Belgrano , San Telmo , La Boca , Monserrat and Caballito . Sectors of

1060-609: The gentrification process that Palermo and its peripheral areas are undergoing. Parque Centenario is sometimes used to refer to the area around Centenario park, at the limit of Almagro, Caballito, and Villa Crespo. The southern parts of Flores were reclaimed from swampland, and the names Bajo Flores and Bañado de Flores are used for these areas. Within Belgrano , there are Belgrano "C" and "R" (widely and incorrectly believed to signify "commercial" and "residential", respectively) and Bajo Belgrano ("Belgrano lowlands"), which since

1113-404: 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

SECTION 20

#1732886880037

1166-465: 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

1219-578: 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 Señora del Pilar, construction of which was completed in 1732. For that reason, the neighborhood was occasionally called El Pilar . The church

1272-469: The area from the San Telmo and Montserrat districts following the 1871 yellow fever epidemic. An area of comfortable rowhouses during the early 20th century, it became a focus of highrise apartment development as early as the 1930s. Santa Fe Avenue became the preferred venue for upscale shopping in Buenos Aires during the 1950s and '60s, and the profile of the area surrounding it grew in popularity among

1325-410: 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

1378-523: The city are also traditionally known as neighbourhoods by the inhabitants of Buenos Aires, but not officially by the authorities of the city; some examples include Barrio Chino , Barrio Norte and the Microcentro . In alphabetical order, with the corresponding population and the commune they are grouped in. The name Barrio Norte refers to the area around Avenida Santa Fe , encompassing parts of Retiro , Recoleta , and Palermo . The name Barrio Sur

1431-598: The city is concentrated. 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. The Recoleta Cemetery is one of the main tourist attractions in the neighborhood. It

1484-551: The emerging Argentine upper middle class, particularly after the 1961 demolition of the National Pentitentiary for the creation of the 8-hectare (20 acre) Las Heras Park . Real estate agents started touting "Barrio Norte" as a distinguishing feature in their advertising, expanding its reach into Balvanera and Old Palermo . With the advent of popular indoor shopping malls in the 1980s, Santa Fe lost some of its allure, especially with theater-goers, even though it remains

1537-578: 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. The artisans, led by the organization, Interferias , must pass an evaluation process and be registered. Visitors to

1590-451: 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. Of the important residents of the Recoleta neighborhood, the writers Adolfo Bioy Casares and Silvina Ocampo stand out. Perhaps even better known

1643-429: The financial district, while Catalinas Sur is used (quite rarely) for the lowlands south of San Telmo (notably the area around Cosme Argerich hospital and at the bottom of Parque Lezama). Palermo is the largest barrio by area and has several informal subdivisions; Palermo Viejo is the name usually given to the area between Coronel Díaz, Córdoba, Scalabrini Ortíz and Güemes; Palermo Chico and Barrio Parque ,

Recoleta, Buenos Aires - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-530: 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 Ástor Piazzolla ,

1749-407: 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

1802-524: The intersection of Córdoba and Jean Jaurés 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

1855-444: The late 1990s includes a small Chinatown . A tango song named "Cien barrios porteños" ( transl.  The 100 barrios of Buenos Aires ), sung by Alberto Castillo , is sometimes invoked (informally) to support the claim that there are indeed a hundred neighbourhoods in the city. This number may be reached by including some suburbs in the tally. Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires Barrio Norte (English: Northern neighborhood )

1908-411: The moon rolling down Callao? / how a carnival of astronauts and children /dance a vals around me...?") The neighborhood has numerous statues and sculptures in its parks and plazas. Among the statues are El último centauro ("The Last Centaur"), El Arquero ("The Archer") and the equestrian statue dedicated to Carlos María de Alvear . Additionally, there are works by the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle ,

1961-402: 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 Seguí, as well as works by European masters such as Titian , Goya , Rembrandt , Gauguin , and Manet . To the east, along Posadas Street,

2014-561: The most upmarket part of Palermo, is on Palermo's north-eastern edge, includes the National Museum of Decorative Arts and the Museum of Latin American Art , and many of the wealthy and famous old homes some now used as Ambassador's residences; Palermo Soho , the city's fashion district, refers to Plaza Julio Cortázar and its surroundings; Palermo Hollywood is a distinctive quarter located in

2067-523: The neighborhood are the comedian Carlos Balá , the iconoclastic musician Charly García and the Italian-Argentine designer Gino Bogani . 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, are located along Ortiz Street, closed to motor traffic. Here,

2120-586: The neighborhood. In the past, the Argentine president's residence was located at the intersection of Agüero Street and Libertador Avenue. After the overthrow of President Juan Perón 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

2173-541: The northern edge of the barrio where radio and television stations, movie producers and workshops have settled in the late 1990s. Las Cañitas refers to a few blocks around the Campo Argentino de Polo , crowded with trendy bars, fancy restaurants and nightclubs. Palermo Queens is used sometimes to refer to the parts of Villa Crespo close to Palermo Viejo. Other than Palermo Viejo and Palermo Chico, these names are of recent vintage (1990s and later) and are related to

Recoleta, Buenos Aires - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-460: The predominantly neoclassic style of much of Recoleta. One particular area of Recoleta, bounded by Agüero , Córdoba , Mario Bravo, Soler, Sánchez 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

2279-532: The preferred street for gay pick-up, even though no part of it has morphed into a distinctly gay village . The area has seen hundreds of belle époque apartment buildings demolished to make way to modern high-rises, particularly since 1990. This had led to the creation of numerous societies devoted to their protection; thanks in part to their efforts, a number of exemplary buildings from the era have been refurbished, instead. José Hernández wrote his poem El gaucho Martín Fierro while living in an inn located in

2332-456: 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

2385-414: 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 café, Clásica y Moderna , located on Callao Avenue at Paraguay Street . 34°35′26″S 58°23′26″W  /  34.59056°S 58.39056°W  / -34.59056; -58.39056 Barrios of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ,

2438-625: The southeast, San Nicolás , Balvanera and Almagro to the south, and Palermo to the northwest, and the River Plate to the northeast. The name of the neighborhood comes from the monastery – the Recollect Convent ( Convento de la Recoleta ) – of the Recollect fathers, members of the Franciscan Order, which was established in the area at the beginning of the 18th century. They founded

2491-526: 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

2544-471: The zone around the Abasto market (now a shopping mall), many times in association with the life of singer Carlos Gardel . It encompasses north-western Balvanera and north-eastern Almagro . Congreso is the area around Congress square , encompassing southeastern Balvanera, northern San Cristóbal and western Monserrat . Catalinas Norte is the high-rise district next to Retiro transportation center and to

2597-455: 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 . Several cabarets in the neighborhood served as locales for tango music and dance. The Pabellón de las Rosas , on Libertador Avenue and Tagle Street, like the Café de Hansen in the Palermo neighborhood, maintained

2650-579: Was designed by the French architect Prosper Catelin , at the request of President Bernardino Rivadavia , and was dedicated in 1822. Next to the cemetery is the former General Juan José 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

2703-505: Was originally situated at the edge of the banks that sloped down to the Río 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 Pueyrredón Avenue. It formed a type of small delta , with channels along the current Austria and Tagle Streets, which flowed into the Río de la Plata. When Buenos Aires suffered terrible cholera and yellow fever epidemics in

SECTION 50

#1732886880037

2756-470: Was planted in 1791 by Martín José Altolaguirre, the owner of these lands back in that time, and is 50 meters wide. 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,

2809-519: Was used in the past to encompass the southern neighbourhoods. This name has mostly fallen out of use, but survives in the lyrics of the tango Sur , which refer to specific places in Nueva Pompeya and Boedo , and in the short story " The South " by Jorge Luis Borges , where the conventional wisdom is recalled that "the South begins when crossing Rivadavia Avenue ". Abasto is sometimes used to refer to

#36963