Among the bars and restaurants that surround the area and attract tourists, the Recoleta neighborhood stands out for its famous Cemetery, which is visited by hundreds of tourists every day to admire its architecture and the tombs where the remains of prominent personalities lie.
In 1822 it opened its doors and became the first public cemetery in the City of Buenos Aires. It currently occupies five and a half blocks and concentrates about five thousand vaults whose architectural designs attract the attention of visitors.
More than 70 of those vaults were declared National Historic Monument and since 1946 the Recoleta Cemetery itself is considered a National Historic Museum, because of the illustrious people who rest there, its architecture and its striking sculptures.
The main entrance to the Cemetery is a large portico in Greek Doric style from which one can see, on the outside, the message from the living to the dead in Latin that says rest in peace. While on the inside it reads, also in Latin, we wait for the Lord.
The Cemetery is organized in blocks, with tree-lined streets and side alleys where mausoleums are lined up, each one with the name of the family to which it belongs engraved on the facade. To learn about the history of the personalities that rest in Recoleta Cemetery, the public can take guided tours and learn more about the history.
Among the personalities buried there, the vault of Eva Duarte de Perón, Juan Domingo Perón’s second wife, who promoted the recognition of workers’ rights and to whom we owe the law establishing women’s suffrage. For this reason, it is usually one of the most crowded vaults with visitors who stop to leave messages and flowers.
On the other hand, many former presidents are buried there, such as Sarmiento, Roca, Mitre, Alvear and Illia, among others. Among the national heroes, Rosas, Lavalle, Dorrego and Quiroga and sportsmen such as Martín Karadagián stand out.
There are many stories behind the mausoleums in Recoleta Cemetery. One of the most famous is that of Liliana Crociati, a young woman who died during her honeymoon in a tragic accident.
At the time of her burial, her parents decided to build a vault just like the one that used to be her bedroom in which they placed her sculpture dressed as a bride. Next to her, the figure of Liliana’s dog that has accompanied her forever stands out.
On the other hand, the Cemetery also keeps stories of ghosts such as the Lady in White. She is Luz María, daughter of playwright Enrique García Velloso, who died of leukemia in 1925, at the age of 15. One night a young man saw a girl dressed in white crying in the street behind the cemetery.
After having a cup of coffee, and him lending her his coat, the young woman ran out screaming that it was late. He followed her into the Cemetery and was surprised to find a vault with the marble figure of Luz Maria and her sack resting on it.
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