Cementerio de la Recoleta

One of the must-see attractions when visiting Buenos Aires is to see the cemetery in Recoleta. While it may seem morbid to search for a cemetery while traveling, this is a special burial ground that is publically viewable. Anyone who is anyone in Argentine history will likely have been laid to rest in the grounds of Cementerio de la Recoleta.

Having discovered the general whereabouts of the cemetery, I found myself in a high end shopping mall and restaurant row wondering where the cemetery was located. As I walked about, I discovered an outdoor artisan fair with vendors selling various handmade wares for tourists to buy. I happened to visit on a Saturday and the weekend is when the fair is open. Strolling about the booths, I decided to enter a gate that would lead me back to the mall. As I looked about at the other side of the gate, I saw columns of small buildings with locked doors. I realized I stepped into Cementerio de la Recoleta.



The Recoleta street fair consists of booths of artisans selling wares.


There must have been hundreds of booths.


These group of Catholic emissaries were from the US.


The street fair can be pretty crowded.

Here is what you see at the entrance of Cementerio de la Recolata.

Many cats can be found in the cemetery. This one is black, which doesn't mean anything at all, right?

Most of the cemetery is secluded which adds to the ominous tone.

But the tomb of Eva Peron is quite crowded even though she was buried in an undescript section of the cemetery.

Here is Evita's tomb.

Other tombs can have elaborate statues built for the deceased person.