Recoleta

Now that I've resolved the problem of where to live, I can get onto really seeing this city. Today is a holiday here, so I've been wandering around Recoleta, taking in the big craft fair that takes place on weekends here. The grassy knolls that surround the craft stalls are filled with people sun bathing, hanging out, and drinking mate.

I also took a walk through the Recoleta Cemetery, where the who's who of Argentine politics and society is buried. But unlike any cemetery I've seen, instead of everyone being buried in theground and the grave marked with stones, every plot is actually a little mausoleum, with the coffins inside. Eerything's organized into aisles and rows, so the effect is like walking through this mini town, the mausoleums resembling mini houses seperated by narrow little streets.

The mausoleums vary in levels of ornateness and decoration, some being quite simple and somber and some decked out with crosses, statues, and domed roofs. Not being that familiar with Argentina's historical figures, what clued me into the fact that the people buried here are important are the last names, which are the names of streets not just in Buenos Aires but in every town in Argentina. Just like every town in Quebec has it's Rue Laurier or Rene Levesque, every town here has a Caseros, Sarmiento, San Martin, and the list goes on. they must have done something important.