The UBA Law School, unfortunaley, has not been properly maintained resulting in it's appearence resembling that of a condemned ancient greek appartment house.
The Floralis Generica, on the other hand, was a gift to the city of Buenos Aires by the architect Eduardo Catalano. The stainless-steel piece, which he describes as "an environmental structure", follows the patterns of the sun, like a real flower. In the morning when the sun rises, it begins to open; while in the evening as the sun sets, the flower too begins to close.
"Floralis Generica: Homage to the city of Buenos Aires. Eduardo Catalano, architect. April 13th, 2002".
The next thing to make mention of is El Centro Cultural Recoleta which is, as it's name says, a cultural center. At this venue many art expos are held, you can often buy tickets for diverse shows being played around the city such as concerts and plays, there is a small shopping area directly underneath and in the back there is a Hard Rock Cafe and a bunch of very large and colorful murals. Lamentably, the facade of the cultural center is directly attached to the Church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar so it blends in and becomes indistinguishable from the rest of the structure.
In front of the church and cultural center there is Plaza Francia. This is a large and beautiful park full of vendors selling excellent quality and reasonably priced crafts, a sculpture or two and a lovely green area where often times people just go and set up a picninc.
Last, but most certainly not least, is the Cementerio de la Recoleta, located behind the church and cultural center. This, more than anything else, is a historical location housing within it some very famous cadavers. Among the names are Evita, Jose Hernandez, Susan Barrantes (mother of the Dutchess of York) and many Argentine Presidents and military officers. What makes this cemetery so special is that it's not composed by mere graves, but by mosoleums. Each one larger and more ornate than the last. Being able to purchase a plot in the Cementerio de la Recoleta is possibly the greatest luxury you'll ever enjoy in your lifetime and after. The demand for a grave in this luxury cemetery is huge and the prices are even huger, reportedly going for over $50,000. There have also been cases in which families have dug up relatives and sold their family plots to other interested parties because: 1. The graves are too large and expensive to maintain, and 2. Because, once again, the offers can go quite high.
At times, the cemetery can seem like a park for within its bowels it holds hundreds of crypts, paved and tree-lined walkways, and an infamous pack of cats that at closing time roams the grounds and are usually fed by visitors. With the intention of preventing redundancy, the cats will not be featured.
These small edifices, beautiful as they may be, can sometimes get a little crazy. How so? Well, I sometimes wonder if these are graves or buildings in which one can conduct after-life parliamentary sessions.
Also, when I say that there is large demand for a plot in this place, I'm not kidding. Everyone is here:
The original Poison Ivy from the Batman cartoons.
Irish People.
X-Men.
The ironically named.
A dude that looks just like JFK in a robe.
People from the sandwich industry.
Characters from J.R.R. Tolkien books.
Apparently, a pope or two.
Oracles.
Pharaohs.
Roman Emperors.
The children of the previous two.
At the end of the day, all that matters is that if you work hard and want it enough you too may be able to be buried in this beautiful city of the dead.
Shit, look at me. Even I got myself a nice studio crypt. I know what you're thinking, but consider this: even here, the rent is still a fraction of what it is in Manhattan.
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