The Best Weekend Ever: Saturday

On Saturday I spent most of the day in Recoleta, a gorgeous and slightly upscale neighborhood near the city center. My first destination was the Recoleta cemetery, a huge city of tombs where the city’s rich and famous are buried. On the way there from the hostel (about a twenty minute walk), I saw lots of restaurants, boutiques and (regrettably) a Hard Rock Café. The cemetery is situated in the middle of a large grassy park, where an artisan fair had been set up for the weekend in dozens of little tent-booths.

The cemetery itself was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. It is a veritable city of tombs, all decorated with elaborate façades and huge statues of angels or the person who resides inside. It is surrounded by high walls, and the tombs stretch as far as the eye can see in any direction, with cupolas and towers each a story high. As soon as I stepped into the cemetery, I was completely wrapped up in all of the gorgeous tombs and the sheer magnitude of it all. Most of the tombs were about the size of a bathroom, and many had glass doors that revealed the caskets still inside, or stairs leading down to more graves underground. The tombs ranged from simple to elaborate decoration, in all different architectural styles, from the mid-1800s until the late 20th century. There were a few specific tombs I had set out to see, and luckily the cemetery had a giant map that identified the location of the more famous tombs in its endless streets. The Paz family tomb had three separate statues of angels mourning from all sides of the tomb, built for one of the richest families in Buenos Aires’ history. I also got to see Evita’s tomb, which I learned is incredibly special because her body was missing for several decades after her death but now is finally laid to rest. My favorite tomb was that of Rufina Cambaceres, a young woman who was buried alive (apparently after some time in a coma). When workers heard screams and pounding noises coming from her tomb, they opened it up, but too late, seeing scratches on her face and the lid of the coffin. After this terrible event, Rufina’s mother built an elaborate tomb in her honor. At the front of the tomb stands the figure of Rufina herself, pulling on the handle to open the door but taking one last look at the world before she enters. It was so creepy and beautiful, and looking into the story of her death only made it more interesting.

It was hard to tear myself away from the cemetery but some other Stanford girls and I spent some time checking out the artisan fair before walking to the nearby MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) museum. We crossed a curvy footbridge over the Avenida del Libertador to a giant stone building that we assumed was the museum. Once inside, we knew it was not the museum, but rather the university building for political science and law. On Friday I had seen an identical building on the other side of the city which housed the sciences and engineering classes. On the way to the real museum we also passed a park with a beautiful silver sculpture of a flower. My friend told us that the flower’s giant metallic petals opened during the day and closed at night. Sure enough, when we returned on our way to go clubbing later that night, we saw that the flower had closed.

The MALBA museum was another one of my favorite experiences of the weekend. We got to see a general exhibit of Latin American art which spanned several decades and featured famous works such as a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo. My favorite painting was “Los Viudos” by Botero, who is famous for his rotund figures. “Los Viudos” or “The Widowers” is a family portrait without a mother, who is represented by a photograph on a table. Each family member was painted with Botero’s signature style, with large, round bodies and adult faces. I especially liked how Botero painted several tiny tears on each of the family members’ faces, which looked real and stood out from the rest of the painting. We also got to see two temporary exhibits at MALBA. One was a progression through the works of Brazilian painter Volpi, famous for his “Banderitos” (little flags) series. The other was an exhibit of David LaChapelle photographs and music videos. I am fascinated with David LaChapelle’s celebrity portraits, advertising campaigns and live shows (he designed the Elton John show I saw in Las Vegas), so it was incredible to see his over-the-top style in full-size photographs.

We were pretty wiped out after the museum, so we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the MALBA museum café. I was so excited to have caprese salad and mushroom risotto, especially because it was quite inexpensive. The exchange rate really did us well, and we got a nice break from the now ordinary Chilean foods. After MALBA we decided to walk to the Evita Museum, clear across the city’s biggest park in another neighborhood. It was great to be able to see the park, which was of course filled with porteños (Buenos Aires citizens) enjoying the sunshine in every way possible—renting boats, riding bikes, riding in carriages, rollerblading, and taking impromptu exercise dance classes. We, of course, had to join in the dancing for just a few minutes. The park also houses the botanical gardens, zoo and a Japanese garden, which we were able to catch a quick glimpse of. On the way to the Evita Perón museum (which was a lot harder to find than we thought), we also passed the US Embassy and the Plaza Italia, like most plazas decorated with an enormous statue in the middle of a busy intersection. The Evita museum was very interesting. The exhibits were laid out in an old mansion, and as we walked through the rooms we learned about different stages of her life. We got to see a lot of her personal effects, including her gorgeous dresses and accessories, as well as propaganda materials from the Peronista party, which I found fascinating. At the end of the exhibit we watched a video of her funeral and heard about the saga of finding her body and returning it to her family and to Argentina.

We took the subway back to the hostel (much older and much less crowded than in Santiago) and I took a quick nap before dinner. A few of us went back to San Telmo to an old pizza parlor, where we enjoyed some excellent pizza and pasta. After dinner we planned out our night, determined to have a proper night out without staying in the hostel until the clubs opened. We checked out a couple of bars in the Las Cañitas neighborhood, settling on Jackie O, which blared british pop music videos (my favorite) and was decorated with pictures of Jackie herself, which didn’t really fit in with the noisy, crowded bar. After enjoying drinks and music there for a while, we headed to Opera Bay, one of Buenos Aires’ biggest and most beautiful clubs. Opera Bay is situated right across the bridge that leads to the Madero Port, and designed after the Sydney Opera House’s distinct roof. Inside the club is huge and modern, with large outdoor decks for taking in some fresh air. The bar was also surrounded by dozens of comfortable couches for those who wanted to take a break from dancing. Most of the hostel was also at the club, so I danced with a group of Stanford kids as well as some Brazilians and Israelis I had met earlier that day. We ended up staying out until 8am and I saw a beautiful sunrise over the city as I was returning to the hostel.