I don't see dead people...

It is very, very humid and 27 degrees today.  Cloudy and muggy...what a perfect day to view the Recoleta Cemetery.  There are almost 5000 crypts and mausoleums that make up the cemetery.  Each mausoleum can hold up to 30 family members.  That's a lot of dead people!

Recoleta Cemetery



Narrow lanes in between mausoleums of beautiful marble, granite and bronze sculptures.  Very crowded.

This cemetery is famous as this is where Evita rests.  When Evita passed, her body was stolen and was hidden in Spain, and then Italy.  16 years later, a group of Argentine rebels stole the body of a prior Argentine president from the cemetery.  The rebels would not return the president's body to the cemetery until Evita's body was returned to Argentina.  What an amazing woman to inspire so many Argentinians.

Duarte was Evita's maiden name.

There was one tomb of a young girl who died on her honeymoon.  The young couple chose to ski in Switzerland for their honeymoon, and she died in an avalanche.  She was only 19 years old.  Her family created a bronze statue of her and her dog; she is wearing her wedding dress.  I found the statue very moving, it was beautiful.  It is good luck to rub the nose of the dog in the statue...so I did. 

The puppy's nose is glimering from all the good luck rubs.

Another story was of a young daughter who died, and had a very quick funeral and burial (16 hours).  After the funeral they put her in a marble tomb.  The next day the top of the marble coffin was slightly open.  The body was covered in blood, especially her fingers, and her clothing was ripped.   It turns out the girl was accidentally buried alive.  Now people believe that her ghost roams the cemetery.  There is a marble statue of her opening a door to symbolize her attempt to get out.  What a sad story!  The tour guide had us all captivated.

The detail in the statues is amazing, and the cemetery is an amazing collection of artwork, history, and dead people.



This statue of a mom and her baby is amazingly lifelike.