January 13, 2007
Lara Heskestad and Cristal Reyes
Today we went to three cemeteries , Chacaritas, The British Cemetery and the Recolecta.
During our visit to Chacaritas, in our search for the grave/monument of Carlos Gardel, we found a section dedicated to famous athletes, musicians, and artists. Although we ran out of time and were not as lucky as our fellow students who found Gardel´s grave, we came across the grave of Benito Quinquela Martin, a painter whose artwork we have studied and admired for so long. His gravestone was detailed with a replica of the village he so famously depicted in his pieces, La Boca. It was colorful and truly representative of his artwork, further, it stated that Martin was ¨Ël Hombre que invento un puerto¨ (translation= The man who created a port, aka, La Boca). There were other famous individuals buried there as well, such as sports athlete Adolfo Pedernera, but we focused on those who we knew best. We noticed quite a contrast between the graves of non-famous Argentines and the wealthy, well-known. The ones pertaining to the wealthy were more aesthetically pleasing while the others were meager and simple, depicting to us a prominent socio-economic statement.
This observation was evident once again in the British Cemetery. It was explained to us that many Jews were removed from this cemetery and placed in neighboring cemeteries allowing that location to be predominantly non-Jewish. After walking around for a brief period of time, we noticed several tombstones with common Jewish names and Stars of David. We then realized that the Jewish tombstones were for the most part, on the outer sides of the cemetery, giving the British and other Protestants a bigger emphasis.
During our lectures we have heard various comments over the lack of the preservation of Argentine history. We found a veracity to those statements when comparing and contrasting the British Cemetary to Chacaritas. We noted that the British Cemetery was named, ¨El Jardin de los Recuerdos¨ (translation= Garden of Remembrance) and featured stately, marble graves with intricate etches and dedications. The average (for lack of a better term) graves in the Chacaritas cemetery were not as well kept and decorated- supporting the idea that maybe the Argentines have not shown such a concern for their past….
The last stop of our day was La Recolecta cemetery which is popular for the graves of Evita, Sarmiento and other well known individuals. Walking through this cemetery was overwhelming due to the size and quantity of graves, as well as the abundance of people visiting that day. The tombs, although beautiful, were crowded together in rows – creating a tunnel sensation when walking through. In a way, this overcrowding made the graves seem less important and more of a tourist attraction.
At night, we had the feast of our lives… well in Argentina, at the Gourmet Porteño, a buffet with everything you could ever imagine.. sea food, steak, chicken, sea food, pasta and even sushi!! It was a delicious, much needed break after walking around in the fierce Argentine sun. We all gladly headed out, fully fed, satisfied and eager for our next adventure.
Today we went to three cemeteries , Chacaritas, The British Cemetery and the Recolecta.
During our visit to Chacaritas, in our search for the grave/monument of Carlos Gardel, we found a section dedicated to famous athletes, musicians, and artists. Although we ran out of time and were not as lucky as our fellow students who found Gardel´s grave, we came across the grave of Benito Quinquela Martin, a painter whose artwork we have studied and admired for so long. His gravestone was detailed with a replica of the village he so famously depicted in his pieces, La Boca. It was colorful and truly representative of his artwork, further, it stated that Martin was ¨Ël Hombre que invento un puerto¨ (translation= The man who created a port, aka, La Boca). There were other famous individuals buried there as well, such as sports athlete Adolfo Pedernera, but we focused on those who we knew best. We noticed quite a contrast between the graves of non-famous Argentines and the wealthy, well-known. The ones pertaining to the wealthy were more aesthetically pleasing while the others were meager and simple, depicting to us a prominent socio-economic statement.
This observation was evident once again in the British Cemetery. It was explained to us that many Jews were removed from this cemetery and placed in neighboring cemeteries allowing that location to be predominantly non-Jewish. After walking around for a brief period of time, we noticed several tombstones with common Jewish names and Stars of David. We then realized that the Jewish tombstones were for the most part, on the outer sides of the cemetery, giving the British and other Protestants a bigger emphasis.
During our lectures we have heard various comments over the lack of the preservation of Argentine history. We found a veracity to those statements when comparing and contrasting the British Cemetary to Chacaritas. We noted that the British Cemetery was named, ¨El Jardin de los Recuerdos¨ (translation= Garden of Remembrance) and featured stately, marble graves with intricate etches and dedications. The average (for lack of a better term) graves in the Chacaritas cemetery were not as well kept and decorated- supporting the idea that maybe the Argentines have not shown such a concern for their past….
The last stop of our day was La Recolecta cemetery which is popular for the graves of Evita, Sarmiento and other well known individuals. Walking through this cemetery was overwhelming due to the size and quantity of graves, as well as the abundance of people visiting that day. The tombs, although beautiful, were crowded together in rows – creating a tunnel sensation when walking through. In a way, this overcrowding made the graves seem less important and more of a tourist attraction.
At night, we had the feast of our lives… well in Argentina, at the Gourmet Porteño, a buffet with everything you could ever imagine.. sea food, steak, chicken, sea food, pasta and even sushi!! It was a delicious, much needed break after walking around in the fierce Argentine sun. We all gladly headed out, fully fed, satisfied and eager for our next adventure.
The End. (For now) :)
posted by Sandra Jamieson @ 7:09 PM
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