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50-481: República Cromañón ( Cro-Magnon Republic ) was a venue that held concerts and events, on 3060-3066-3070 Bartolomé Mitre street in the Balvanera neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. It was operated by Omar Chabán , and opened on 12 April 2004 with a concert by the band Callejeros , the same band that played on the night of the fire. The club was in a two-story building, with a main entrance with six doors behind it leading into

100-535: A gentrification process from the mid-1990s that was slowed by the 2001 economic crisis ; but has resumed at a record pace, since. Being close to the downtown district, Balvanera has access to diverse transportation options. Balvanera has access to five out of the six Subte lines. The downtown area is a short subway trip from anywhere in Balvanera. All intercity train stations are accessible from Balvanera by Subte . Many bus lines go through Balvanera, including

150-694: A Spaniard known by the nickname of Miserere. In 1799 the priest Damián Pérez, received a plot of land, where years later was built the Parish Nuestra Señora de Balvanera . During the British invasions of the River Plate , the town of Balvanera was the scene of the battles between the Spanish troops under Santiago de Liniers and the English, commanded by William Beresford . The Battle of Miserere , occurred during

200-403: A busy bazaar-like commercial area known as La Recova . The Abasto shopping mall was the city's wholesale produce market until the late 1980s; its history is closely associated with the life and career of tango singer Carlos Gardel . The area around the market used to contain produce warehouses and low-rent housing for the laborers; with its conversion to a high-end mall, the area experienced

250-533: A fence was erected around it, its state of repair has improved markedly. The University complex on the northern edge of Balvanera is home to many faculties of the University of Buenos Aires , including Medicine, Odontology, Economics, Pharmacy, and Social Science, as well as the Clínicas University Hospital . Many private universities have facilities in Balvanera. The Ramos Mejía general hospital and

300-552: A message sent to officials in Argentine churches. The parents of many of the victims have worked to keep the victims' memories alive, by planting 194 trees in honor of the deceased, and creating a traveling exhibition of the victims' photographs. A ceramics factory donated memorial plaques to be dispersed across the country. It later became known that República Cromañón had been overdue for a fire hazard inspection since late November 2004. Although Buenos Aires Mayor Aníbal Ibarra blamed

350-438: A permit although it lacked basic fire safety measures such as fire extinguishers, working emergency exits and nonflammable walls and ceilings. The defendants were sentenced as follows: The band members of Callejeros were absolved in the 2009 trial, but the 2011 appeals court ruled that they shared responsibility for the fire: witnesses said that the band had encouraged the audience to fire flares. Balvanera Balvanera

400-444: A strong presence in several fields of commerce (see Asian-Argentines ). Balvanera is located to the west of downtown Buenos Aires ( el centro , which comprises San Nicolás and Montserrat ). The elegant northern neighbourhood of Recoleta (part of the area known as Barrio Norte ) is located north of Balvanera, crossing Córdoba avenue. Most dwellers of Balvanera live in apartment buildings erected on small lots. Population density

450-413: Is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires , Argentina . The official name, Balvanera , is the name of the parroquia ( parish ) centered around the church of Nuestra Señora de Balvanera , erected in 1831. The zone around Corrientes avenue is known as Once after Plaza Once de Septiembre , the alternative name of Plaza Miserere (the square in which president Bernardino Rivadavia 's mausoleum

500-479: Is located). The south-eastern part of Balvanera is often called Congreso , as it contains the Congress building and the neighboring Plaza del Congreso ( Congressional Plaza ). The north-western part of Balvanera is referred to as Abasto after the landmark Abasto market (now a shopping mall; see below). Towards the middle of the 18th century the lands of the current Balvanera belonged to Antonio González Varela,

550-401: Is very high, and the amount of green space is deemed insufficient. The meager green space of Plaza Miserere is usually taken up by illegal peddlers, people queuing for their bus, and preachers of all stripes. As in most of Buenos Aires, the streets are laid out in a checkboard pattern. Most streets and avenues are one-way. The main streets of Balvanera are arguably Rivadavia , which crosses

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600-799: Is where the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have congregated with signs and pictures of desaparecidos , their children, who were subject to forced disappearance by the Argentine military in the Dirty War , during the National Reorganization Process . People perceived to be supportive of subversive activities (that would include expressing left-wing ideas, or having any link with these people, however tenuous) would be illegally detained, subject to abuse and torture, and finally murdered in secret. The Mothers of

650-517: The Argentine cumbia scene of the 1990s revolved around dance halls near the Once train station. North of Once station, many former warehouses have been recycled into lofts, offices, or entertainment venues. One of these, the República Cromagnon concert hall (formerly a mini-stadium and dance hall), caught fire on 30 December 2004. 194 people were killed and over 600 were injured. The street outside

700-552: The Colectivo 60 line, venerated by locals as el internacional , because its route passes many city landmarks. Other important lines include Colectivo 19 , which has been the subject of a composition by Lito Vitale . Around Plaza Once, numerous long-distance bus depots provide service to major locations in Argentina and neighboring countries. Since its opening in 1980, most long-distance and international bus lines have their terminals at

750-556: The Pirámide de Mayo (English: May Pyramid ) was inaugurated in the square's hub, becoming Buenos Aires' first national monument. It is located in the financial district known as microcentro , within the barrio (English: neighborhood ) of Monserrat . It is bounded by Bolívar, Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce and Avenida Rivadavia streets; and from its west side three important avenues are born: Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca , Avenida Roque Sáenz Peña and Avenida de Mayo . In

800-583: The Retiro bus station , accessible via subte or bus lines such as Colectivo 6 . The Once de Septiembre train station provides commuter service to the western neighbourhoods and suburbs. During peak hours, most of Balvanera's streets are congested, some of them heavily. Most streets carry bus traffic; the main avenues have special lanes for buses and taxis. Entre Ríos and Jujuy avenues have on-ramps and off-ramps to Autopista 25 de Mayo es:Autopista 25 de Mayo , an elevated toll road that provides rapid access to

850-415: The 1960s, the same café was one of the birthplaces of Argentine rock , to the point that the early hit " La balsa " starts with a reference to the washroom of La Perla (in author Tanguito 's version). Many actors (such as Dringue Farías ) lived in Balvanera within walking distance of the theater district. In the 1980s, Cafe Einstein was a hub of alternative art, featuring acts such as Sumo . Much of

900-589: The Fire Department of the Argentine Federal Police (responsible for the inspections), several flaws in the city's inspection system soon surfaced. In addition to the city's poor planning for a disaster of this magnitude, critics pointed to Ibarra for failing to reorganize Buenos Aires' inspection system. A few days after the fire, Ibarra reshuffled the entire Buenos Aires security and emergency administration. The City Legislature announced that Mayor Ibarra

950-531: The Plaza de Mayo took advantage of the symbolic importance of the Plaza to open the public's eyes to what the military regime was doing. Protests have continued taking place, with the major last one being during the December 2001 riots when five protesters were killed and several others injured by police as they rioted around the Plaza de Mayo. Today, Plaza de Mayo continues to be an indispensable tourist attraction for those who visit Buenos Aires. Several of

1000-520: The Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas , by that time known as Plaza de la Victoria and Plaza 25 de Mayo, respectively. The city centre of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo has been the scene of the most momentous events in Argentine history , as well as the largest popular demonstrations in the country. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the May Revolution in 1811,

1050-531: The Ricardo Rojas cultural center are two of the best-known venues. For most of the 20th century, Once had a lively Yiddish theater scene; the IFT theater still stands on Boulogne Sur-Mer street, where mural paintings celebrate its rich history. Author Macedonio Fernández resided in Balvanera for most of his adult life, and held court, together with Borges, in café La Perla across Miserere Plaza ("Plaza Once"). In

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1100-593: The Santa Lucía ophthalmology hospital are located in southern Balvanera. Many private health-care institutions are located in Balvanera, mostly around the Faculty of Medicine complex. Among the architectural features in Balvanera are the neo-classical Congress building and the statue group in neighboring Plaza Congreso. The El Molino coffeehouse is located across the street in a building that has seen several rounds of restoration since its heyday. The café Los Angelitos in

1150-420: The band's lead singer had told the patrons not to use flares inside the building. Four of the six doors, some of which were fire exits , were chained shut so that "people would not enter without paying", according to Mayor Aníbal Ibarra . Most of the victims died from inhaling poisonous gases and carbon monoxide . After the fire the technical institution INTI found that, due to the materials and volume of

1200-482: The bloodiest terror attack ever on Argentine soil). The southern part of Balvanera is home to some traditional institutions of the Galician community, and features a lively furniture trade along Belgrano avenue . In the late 1970s, Balvanera became a favored location for electronics import shops which co-exist with the more traditional fabrics and garment shops. Newly arrived Korean and Chinese immigrants have become

1250-421: The building, the concentration of cyanide in the air would have been about 225  ppm , sufficient to cause death within minutes of inhalation. Many of the victims were identified to be in their teens and 20s, but rescue workers clearing the club also found children and babies. Survivors reported that a bathroom in the nightclub had been used as a nursery, where parents could leave their children while watching

1300-400: The ceiling. The fireworks accident quickly spread as the materials used in the building for decoration were flammable: mostly wood , styrofoam , acoustic panels and a plastic net ( media sombra ). The net was hung from the ceiling and caught fire first, melting into a rain of fire. In some parts of the building, teddy bear stuffing was used as a cheap alternative to wool fiber. The owner and

1350-884: The city's major landmarks are located around the Plaza: the Cabildo (the city council during the colonial era), the Casa Rosada (home of the executive branch of the federal government ), the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires , the May Pyramid , the Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano , the current city hall or municipalidad , and the headquarters of the Nación Bank. The Buenos Aires financial district ( microcentro ), affectionately known as la City (sic) also lies besides

1400-462: The colonnade separating the Plaza de la Victoria and the Plaza del Fuerte was demolished. Its origins, however, can be traced back to Juan de Garay 's foundation of Buenos Aires itself, in 1580. Newly arrived to the dusty riverbank settlement, Jesuit clergymen in 1608 secured a title to much of the 2 hectares (4.9 acres) lot, on which Garay's earlier plans for a central plaza had been abandoned. In 1661,

1450-533: The colonnade's demolition and the creation of the modern Plaza de Mayo. The Plaza de Mayo has traditionally been the focal point of political life in Buenos Aires. Its current name commemorates the May Revolution of 1810, which started the process towards the country's independence from Spain in 1816. On October 17, 1945, mass demonstrations in the Plaza de Mayo organized by the CGT trade union federation forced

1500-584: The conviction of Omar Chabán, and a more efficient inspection system. Some of these marches ended with incidents between protesters and the police. On 14 November 2005, an impeachment jury formed by the Buenos Aires Legislature suspended Mayor Ibarra for four months, pending an investigation of his performance that could lead to his removal. He accused the opposition of manipulating the families of República Cromañón's victims in order to ruin his career. On 7 March 2006, after four months of deliberations,

1550-476: The corner of Rivadavia and Rincón was a meeting point for poets and musicians. It features a relief of angels in its façade [1] , which is one of the landmarks of the barrio . After extensive restorations, it was reopened in 2007 [2] [3] , with plans to offer live tango and become a tourist landmark much like the Tortoni and Ideal cafés. There are many theater and concert halls in Balvanera. The Liceo theater and

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1600-556: The entire city from East to West (North-South streets change their name when crossing Rivadavia), and Corrientes , which is the main thoroughfare of commerce and entertainment in Buenos Aires. The kilómetro cero reference, from which all Argentine routes count the distance to Buenos Aires, is marked by a monolith in Plaza Congreso. The mausoleum of President Rivadavia in Plaza Miserere (Once) used to be covered in graffiti; after

1650-456: The fifteen fire extinguishers were unusable, with no pressure. The nightclub's fire safety license had run out the month before the fire. The venue was hosting rock group Callejeros , with an audience of around 4,000 people, almost three times the venue's capacity of 1,500. The fire started when a pyrotechnic flare, a popular device in New Year's Eve celebrations, was set off and ignited foam in

1700-478: The flare. The guilty parties could face eight to twenty years in prison . President Néstor Kirchner decreed three days of national mourning , and city authorities forbade concerts and closed all nightclubs in Buenos Aires during the mourning period, only to open again, one by one, after they had been checked and approved by the fire department. Pope John Paul II expressed his condolences to victims families in

1750-409: The impeachment jury voted to remove Ibarra from office. A trial started on 19 August 2008 and lasted a year. The judges heard from over 300 witnesses, who said that young fans had lit a flare that struck the ceiling. It was revealed that the band was in charge of the concert's organization, security and entry into the club that night. It was deemed that the band was not at fault for the club being given

1800-468: The local governor purchased the eastern half for inclusion into the grounds of the city's new fort; this section soon became the Plaza de Armas . Following over a century of overuse and neglect, the local colonial government attempted to give a semblance of order to the plaza by having a colonnade built across it from north to south. Completed in 1804, the Romanesque structure became the plaza's market and

1850-462: The lot to the west of the colonnade became the Plaza de la Victoria . The area continued divided between these two plazas until 1883 and with only minor changes in landscaping, chief among them the 1811 addition of the May Pyramid , a monument put up to commemorate the newly independent "Provinces of the Rio de la Plata". That year, however, Mayor Torcuato de Alvear ordered the space modernized, resulting in

1900-407: The main area of the nightclub. On the night of the fire, four of the six doors were locked. There was also a connection to a nearby hotel, an emergency exit that was locked, and another emergency exit that was blocked by a fence in front of the stage. There were hardly any fire safety measures, with no reports of a fire detection or alarm system, emergency lighting, or fire suppression equipment; ten of

1950-565: The neighbourhood into the city. During the 1910s and 1920s, the area around Corrientes avenue became the center of Buenos Aires's Jewish community and the hub of the garment trade, which in turn attracted segments of the Arab and Armenian communities. A number of Jewish institutions are located in Balvanera, including the Gran Templo Paso and the AMIA community center ( bombed on July 18, 1994, in

2000-491: The plaza was bombed during one of the populist leader's many rallies there on 16 June 1955, killing 364. Years later, in 1974, Perón, then president for the third time, expelled from the Plaza members of the Montoneros , an armed organization on the far left that had contributed to the aging leader's return from exile the previous year and had since demanded influence within the national government. Perón's final appearance at

2050-578: The plaza, on 12 June, was marked by an acrimonious break with the far left, leading to two years of violence and repression and, ultimately, a coup d'état . Crowds gathered once again on April 2, 1982, and several occasions thereafter to hail de facto President Leopoldo Galtieri for Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands , which launched the Falklands War ( Spanish : Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur ). The plaza, since 1977,

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2100-571: The release from prison of Juan Domingo Perón , who would later become President of Argentina; during his tenure, the Peronist movement gathered every October 17 in the Plaza de Mayo to show their support for their leader (and October 17 is still " Loyalty Day " for the traditional Peronists). Many other presidents, both democratic and military, have also saluted people in the Plaza from the Casa Rosada's balcony. In an attempt to overthrow President Perón,

2150-592: The second invasion, took place in the current Miserere square on July 2, 1807. In 1833 the Cemetery of the Dissidents was installed in Balvanera, a resting place for Protestants of English , German and US-American origin. The Protestant cemetery closed in 1892, the bodies that were buried there were transferred to the British Cemetery of Chacarita . This cemetery, also known as the "Cementerio de la Victoria "

2200-423: The show. Following the disaster, an Argentine judge issued a national and international arrest order against Omar Chabán , local businessman and owner of República Cromañón and other nightclubs, including one called Cemento that had been closed by court orders many times before. Chabán was arrested at one of his houses in the neighbourhood of Montserrat . Police are still seeking those responsible for setting off

2250-718: The square's surroundings are several significant monuments and points of interest: the Cabildo , the Casa Rosada (seat of the President of Argentina ), the Metropolitan Cathedral , the Buenos Aires City Hall , and the Bank of the Argentine Nation 's headquarters. Underneath its lands are the Underground stations of Plaza de Mayo ( Line A ), Catedral ( Line D ), and Bolívar ( Line E ). The modern plaza took form in 1884 when

2300-467: The venue was closed on and off for several years to serve as a memorial, severely disturbing car and bus traffic. Currently, more than 25,000 shops are registered in Balvanera, where zoning regulations favor commerce. Many apartment buildings host one or more shops at ground level. The plot of the 2004 movie El abrazo partido revolves around one of Balvanera's many shopping galerías (galleries). The block of Pueyrredón avenue across Plaza Once features

2350-409: The western suburbs and to Ezeiza airport. 34°36′38″S 58°23′51″W  /  34.6105°S 58.3976°W  / -34.6105; -58.3976 Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplasa ðe ˈmaʃo] ; English: May Square ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires , Argentina . It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of

2400-421: Was going to face a questioning session, but failed to achieve the necessary votes to force his questioning. Shortly thereafter, Ibarra voluntarily submitted to a questioning session, and announced a recall referendum to decide whether he would remain in office or not. Relatives and friends of the dead organized several marches to Plaza de Mayo demanding the resignation of Aníbal Ibarra as Mayor of Buenos Aires,

2450-439: Was located in the current Plaza Primero de Mayo , and among its illustrious residents was Elizabeth Chitty Curling de Brown (wife of William Brown ), whose tomb was never found. Until the 1860s, Balvanera was considered an outskirt of Buenos Aires proper. In 1836, a census set its population at 3,635. Most inhabitants lived in quintas (small estates), and the zone was known as las quintas . The Camino Real (now Rivadavia)

2500-556: Was the main road from the city to the west. In the late 19th century, Balvanera had a strong political tradition, identifying first with Adolfo Alsina and then with UCR leaders Leandro Alem and Hipólito Yrigoyen . By 1900, Balvanera was associated mostly with violently contested elections—and with the brothels in the Junín y Lavalle area where, according to Borges , the tango dance acquired its notorious erotic overtones. Natural growth and railroad development eventually assimilated

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