Chacarita Cemetery — Attraction in Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

It is the biggest cemetery of Buenos Aires City. It has a big section for mausoleums that is right in front of the main entrance, a huge underground (with galleries open to the sky) burial niche complex right after the mausoleums, and a ground burials zone that covers the rest of the area. This cemetery hosts mostly middle and low income people, as opposed to Recoleta which hosts almost exclusively high income people. Here one will find big pantheons that belong to mutual help societies of different immigration origins, work union pantheons, and of course many family mausoleums. Many popular idols have monuments here: most tango players and singers, pop singers, famous boxing champions, and some high class but popular persons too. The ground burials are mostly unkempt and the burial niche compound is a mixed bag, with dark, unkempt galleries and other ones that are airy and well lighted, with inner gardens that are a...

The "other" cemetery. Not as famous as Recoleta and therefore much less visited by tourists, this place is mainly noteworthy for housing the remains of famous tango singer and 1930's heartthrob Carlos Gardel. After dying in a plane crash various women were so distraught that they committed suicide. On the tomb is a lifesize statue of the late singer with his hand held out just so that you can put a lighted cigarette between the fingers. (yes, they do not mind you climbing on top of a tomb here). Legend has it that if the cigarette burns up completely, you will get to be with your secret love. Various couples have put metal plaques on the tomb thanking Gardel for his succesful intervention in their love lives, so it seems worth a shot ;-) Only a few yards away from the Federico Lacroze subway station so very...

It might sound strange to say about a cemetery, but I love this place and find it very relaxing to stroll around. Huge wide open spaces with a lot of trees and greenery. The initial section after going in the main entrance has a lot of grand mausoleums and some more famous historical Argentines such as tango singer Carlos Gardel and aviator Jorge Newbery, and beyond that is also a section ("rincon") with a lot of entertainers, musicians, sportspeople, artists and creative people all grouped together. There is also the Peron family tomb where Juan Domingo Peron was originally buried, although he has since been moved (interesting story that one, look it up). All in all, Chacarita is a great alternative visit to...