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Balvanera |
Balvanera neighborhood borders on with Monserrat, Alamagro, Parque Patricios and Caballito neighborhoods. Balvanera is also known as “Once”, because of its nearness to Once de Septiembre station in Miserere square.
In this popular district, the area of “Once” is comprised by Rivadavia and Corrientes Avenues and Pueyrredón Av. and Junín street. In this area there are lots of wholesale and retail shops that sell products of different prices and quality.
As this area developed, the Israeli community settled here also grew and is still growing.
Once de Septiembre Station
Miserere square is near this station and was used to be known as “Corrales de Miserere” (nowadays “Once” square). The second English Invasions took place here in 1807, and the English were defeated again in the so called process of Reconquest. Nowadays, the square is guarded by the long Rivadavia Av. and Pueyrredón Av., where thousands of people pass along every day.
In Once Square you will find the mausoleum Bernardino Rivadavia (1780-1845), a diplomat and liberal politician pioneer of the emancipation process of the Río de la Plata Viceroyalty. He inspired the formation of the first triumvirate (1811-1812).
In 1826 he was elected president of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, year in which the Capitalization Law was passed, making Buenos Aires the capital city of the state, under the running of the National Legislature and the president of the Republic. Rivadavia was forced to resign in 1827, due to an issue with Brazil so Vicente López y Planes took up the public office. Rivadavia left the country and went to Europe, where he lived in exile and returned to Buenos Aires in 1834, where he was again condemned to exile and spent the rest of his days in Spain. Finally, twelve years later, in 1857, his remains were repatriated and placed in the named mausoleum.
Abasto - Buenos Aires
Now a shopping mall, the Abasto is located in the block formed by Corrientes Av., Anchorena, Lavalle and Agüero streets.
A major undertaking, it was built over one of the oldest buildings of Buenos Aires city: the Abasto Market, main supplier of fruits and vegetables of Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century; designed by the Slovenian, Víctor Sulcic.
It was inaugurated in 1998 and is one of the biggest shopping centers of the capital city, with 120,000 m2, four floors with more than 80 shops, food shops in one of the floors, a huge parking lot, twelve movie theaters, an amusement park, an under cover square, and the Children’s Museum, unique in its type in Latin America.
The area of the shops opens every weekend from 10 am to 10 pm. The food shops are open from Sundays to Thursdays from 10 am to 11 pm and on Fridays, Saturdays and eves of public holidays from 10 am to 1 am.
Abasto Buenos Aires is much more than an important shopping mall because it belongs to the revival of one of the most traditional neighborhoods of Buenos Aires city, known as Abasto, cradle of tango and one of the main witnesses of the city’s history.
Museo de los Niños Abasto (Abasto’s Children’s Museum)
Located in Abasto neighborhood, this is the first interactive and theme museum in South America aimed for children from 3 to 12 years old. Its basic tenet is the combination of learning and amusement. The activities and setting of the museum represent a way of having fun, encouraging the children and allowing them to experience new things.
The museum recreates the structure of the city through settings especially designed for children that depart from several theme units. Besides, it counts with a hall for didactic exhibitions in relation to culture history and art.
In the auditorium, the general public of the museum enjoys theater shows for children and grown-ups as well, also lectures and courses for teachers given by distinguished professionals from different areas.
(Nearest subway station: Carlos Gardel - Line B)
Carlos Gardel Monument
In front of the colossal building “Abasto de Buenos Aires”, there is a picturesque monument to Carlos Gardel, famous international tango singer, who made tango famous especially in America and France, and then extended throughout Europe. He was born in 1895 and died in 1935; this singer, composer and actor became known in 1917 after his performance in the renowned Esmeralda Theater, located in Buenos Aires city in 1917. In this same year, Gardel also became popular due to his voice and charisma and met with success. He started performing in radios, making records and going on concert tours to the neighboring countries of Argentina and ended up being a sensation in France in 1928. He was composer and singer of many of the most famous tango songs, such as Mi Buenos Aires Querido, Por una Cabeza, Volver and Cuesta Abajo, among others. He acted in many movies, among them, Luces de Buenos Aires (1931) and Cuesta Abajo (1934).
In 1935 he died after a tragic plane crash while touring through the American continent.
In 1880, La Boca neighborhood, located at the south of the city, saw tango grow in the hands of braggarts that seduced women. Later, cabarets would appear in the city center and finally tango would be accepted by the upper class of Buenos Aires, at the same time when Carlos Gardel had a huge success at the end of the twenties. Tango would reach to the highest peak of splendor in the forties, turning, in the sixties, into a dance performed by elderly or amateur people. In the nineties, tango revives for everybody and people of all ages take classes and go to the famous “milongas” (parties where tango is danced). |
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