South America ’23

The impressive Recoleta Cemetery. Unlike anything I've seen before this holds 5 hectares of some of the most impressive family crypts and mosoliums. Generations of members share these giant structures which house pioneers, doctors, political figures and military leaders. We spent a good hour here doing a lap around the entire site and still saying wow all the way to the exit.

Some of the interesting tombs were:
* Duarte, where Eva Peron lies. The wife of the president who broke all the rules as a first lady to fight for the rights of the working class. There is a rumour in my family history that we are related to her, given my great grandfather's last name was Duarte too. But from the research I've done, it's impossible to confirm that.

* 19-year-old Rufina Cambecéres, who was a socialite and the only daughter of a famous Argentine writer, died suddenly in 1902. It was raining on the day her casket arrived at Recoleta so it was left in the Chapel overnight. Legend has it that a cemetery worker noticed the casket lid had been shifted, and since Rufina was from a wealthy family, they thought someone might be after her valuables and have robbed the grave. However, when her casket was opened and closely examined, the truth was much worse. None of her jewelry was missing but instead, they found scratch marks on her and all over the inside of the casket: she had been mistakenly presumed dead and was buried alive! Later thought that she had collapsed from an attack of cataplexy, which caused several doctors to believe that she was dead. When she woke up and found herself sealed in a casket, the fright, the terror and the failed attempt of escape eventually gave her a heart attack which became the real cause of her unfortunate death. But no one is sure this story is true.

* Among other famous graves in Buenos Aires's great Recoleta Cemetery is one unusual tomb that stands out from its neighbors, looking more like a natural cave than a grave. Carlos Guido Spano, an acclaimed Argentinean poet, built this tomb for his father, General Tomás Guido.
General Guido was a close friend of famed General José de San Martín, and had served with him during the War of Independence. Together they crossed the Cordillera de los Andes, an extremely perilous quest, and were able to combat the Spanish armies and help free Chile and Perú.

When he returned, General Tomás Guido served as a diplomat in Argentina. He requested to be buried under the mountains that his troops had crossed with great sacrifice to liberate their neighbor countries. His son, Carlos, fulfilled his wishes. The younger Guido had all the rocks for the tomb brought from the Cordillera de los Andes and built the vault with his own hands.Read more