cementerio recoleta

The cemetery in Recoleta is possibly my favorite place to visit in Buenos Aires. The who's who of Argentina politics, culture, and business rest here.

Each tomb is unique and the architectural styles usually reflect the period in which they were built. Underground are additional storage spaces two or three levels deep. What we see on the surface represents only a fraction of the dead in Recoleta.

The most exclusive and expensive property in Argentina, probably in the world, is in this cemetery. (In 2004, a plot sold for about $300,000.) Space rarely opens up because most plots have a perpetuity clause. This means that the land is in the family for eternity. Neither the city, the state, nor the country have any claims to that land. Families who own the plot contract caretakers to clean and maintain the tombs. Unfortunately, when family lines end, it also means that there is no one left to care for the tombs and they often fall into disrepair and there is nothing anyone can legally do about it.

Ironically, Recoleta was originally settled by the Recoleto branch of the Franciscan order who practiced poverty and extreme mortification. They built their church on the outskirts of town, some miles north of the center of Buenos Aires. When plague struck in the late-1800s, wealthy families moved north, permanently transforming Recoleta into the most exclusive and opulent neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

Thanks to Evita, starring Madonna, Eva Peron's tomb is the most visited in the cemetery. Actually, she did not wish to buried in Recoleta because of its association with the rich and powerful. For security reasons (at some point, her body went missing for 17 years and was eventually discovered under a false name in Italy) her coffin is sealed in concrete and buried four levels deep in the family tomb.

Like the fascinating lives they lead as rich and famous people, there are fascinating tales of death here too. An 18-year-old woman from a wealthy family suffered an cataleptic episode. Her doctor pronounced her dead and ordered her entombed. When the girl woke from her trance, she found herself sealed inside her coffin. The girl's grandmother, who always had her doubts, eventually was able to arranged for the body to be exhumed. They found scratch marks inside the coffin and an autopsy revealed that the girl had died of asphyxiation.