La Chacarita Cemetery

La Chacarita Cemetery (, also known as "Cementerio del Oeste") is a cemetery in the Chacarita neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the largest in the country, with an area of .¿Cuál es el cementerio más grande de Argentina? by Ignacio Risso on Billiken. 10 Dec 2022

Chacarita Cemetery has designated areas for members of the Argentine artistic community, including writers, prominent composers and actors. The Justicialist leader and former president Juan Perón was buried here until his remains were relocated in 2006 to a mausoleum in his former home in San Vicente.La Justicia autorizó el traslado de los restos de Perón on Infobae, 21 Oct 2017De la Chacarita a San Vicente on La Voz, 5 Jun 2011A 10 años del traslado de Perón on El Diario Sur, 17 Oct 2006

History

The cemetery owes its existence to a yellow fever epidemic in 1871, when existing cemeteries were strained beyond capacity (the upscale La Recoleta Cemetery refused to allow the burial of victims of the epidemic). Until then, the "Cementerio del Sud" (opened in 1867 to bury the dead from cholera and typhoid fever epidemics, located in Parque Patricios) operated as the city's cemetery. During the yellow fever epidemic over 700 people per day were buried there. When the capacity of 18,000 collapsed, the cemetery was closed and a search for a new place started.El trágico origen del Cementerio de la Chacarita: la epidemia de fiebre amarilla, el tren fúnebre y la falta de enterradores by Adrián Pignatelli on Infobae, 14 Apr 2021

Governor Emlio Mitre created the "Enterratorio General de Buenos Aires", which would be built on a land in the "Chacarita de los Colegiales". The name "chácara" mean "agricultural land" while "Colegiales" referred to students of Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires that had spent their summertime at those lands since the 18th. century. In the northwest section, a 5-hectare land was chosen, in the same place where a cemetery owned by Jesuit priests existed. Lands that were part of Partido de Belgrano were expropriated. Those lands were used for agriculture purposes, most of them were gardens with a few ranches on them. Mitre also ordered the construction of a road to access the cemetery and a railroad.

The cemetery was opened on 14 April 1871, surrounded by Avenida Dorrego, Jorge Newbery, Avenida Corrientes, and Av. Guzmán. Its main entrance was located on Av. Corrientes. As the epidemic went by, coffins accumulated at the cemetery's door, sometimes buries took a week due to the great number of victims.

British rail company Buenos Aires Western Railway was commissioned to build a 6-km length line from the Buenos Aires downtown to the cemetery. It was nicknamed tren fúnebre and departed from Av. Corrientes and Ecuador (Bermejo station, a huge shed where the coffins were loaded). It had two stops, the first on Medrano street and the other on Ministro Inglés street (today Av. Scalabrini Ortiz) where the train loaded more coffins. Workshops were on Corrientes and Pueyrredón streets and they served as terminus for a short time.

Construction which cost of m$n 2,2 million was directed by French engineer Augusto Ringuelet who finished it on 11 April.Sobre vías y con troley: El tranvía de los muertos by Aquilino González Podestá on Buenos Aires Historia Trains were pulled by La Porteña, the locomotive that had served in the inauguration of the Argentine railway network in 1857.Día del Ferrocarril: ¿cómo fue el primer viaje en tren? on La Nación The last wagon was occupied by dead relatives. The service had a frequency of 2 trains per day. Between February and June, more than 15,000 people died.

In that first Chacarita Cemetery (also known as "Cementerio Viejo"), 3,423 people were buried until it was closed in 1886. The current Chacarita Cemetery was officially established on 9 December 1886. It had been projected by French engineer Enrique Clement during the government of major Torcuato de Alvear, and was initially named "Cementerio del Oeste" but then renamed as its predecessor in 1949.

The original Cementerio Viejo of Parque Patricios would be reopened in 1880 to bury the dead of Combate de los Corrales, a fight for Buenos Aires that took place on 22 June. In 1897 it was transformed into a public park, being today the "Parque Florentino Ameghino".De un gran cementerio a uno de los parques más lindos de Buenos Aires: la historia del Florentino Ameghino on Página/12, 18 Dec 2021

British and German Cemeteries

In the 19th century a large number of Britons came to Argentina to work in the many areas of the economy in which England then had extensive interests. At first the British Cemetery was founded beside the Socorro Chapel (started 1821 - authorized on 22 February 1822). In 1833 the cemetery had to move to what was then called Victoria Cemetery (today the "Plaza 1° de Mayo") until November, 1892, when they were asked by the Municipality to move.

Section 16 of the Chacarita Cemetery was given in exchange for the Victoria Cemetery. Eventually in 1913 the Cementerio Británico () (or so called "De Disidentes or Corporación del Cementerio Británico de Bs. As.") was divided into the German and the British cemeteries as we know them today, because the two local communities had grown since the beginning of the 19th century.

The British Cemetery and the German Cemetery are today not managed by or part of Chacarita Cemetery.

Notable interments

La Chacarita Cemetery Notable burials in La Chacarita cemetery include:

Carlos Acuña (1914–1999), tango singer, composer Aída Alberti (1915–2006), actress Alfredo Alcón (1930–2014), actor Oscar Alemán (1909–1980), jazz musician José Alonso (trade unionist), (1917–1970) José Amalfitani (1894–1969), president of the Vélez Sarsfield football team Alberto Anchart (1931–2011), actor Cosme Argerich (1758–1820), doctor and pioneer of military field medicine Manuel Argerich (1835–1871), physician, philosopher, lawyer Mirta Arlt (1923–2014), writer, professor, translator Emin Arslan (1868–1943), diplomat, writer, editor Fernando Báez Sosa (2001–2020), law student María Lorenza Barreneche (1926–2016), First Lady of ArgentinaCremated at La Chacarita, burial in La Recoleta Cemetery)  Guillermo Battaglia (1899–1988), actor Nelly Beltrán (1925–2007), actress Antonio J. Benítez (1903–1992), politician Paquita Bernardo (1900–1925), musician, tango composer Antonio Berni (1905–1981), painter Eladia Blázquez (1931–2005), tango vocalist and composer Alejandra Boero (1918–2006), actress Oscar Bonavena (1942–1976), heavyweight boxer Ángel Borlenghi (1904–1962), trade-unionist and Peronist politician Sofía Bozán (1904–1958), actress and tango vocalist Alfredo Bravo (1925–2003), Socialist politician Alicia Bruzzo (1945–2007), actress Clemar Bucci (1920–2011), race car driver Enrique Cadícamo (1900–1999), author, tango lyricist Francisco Canaro (1888–1964), tango bandleader and composer Evaristo Carriego (1883–1912), poet, journalist Adolfo Castelo (1935–2004), news anchorman Alberto Castillo (1914–2002), tango singer Orestes Caviglia (1893–1971), stage director and actor Cátulo Castillo (1906–1975), musician, composer, poet, boxer Gustavo Cerati (1959–2014), rock singer, songwriter, composer, producer José Cibrián (1916–2002), stage director and actor Pascual Contursi (1888–1932), tango composer Carlos Cores (1923–2000), actor Juan d'Arienzo (1900–1976), orchestra leader Julio de Caro (1899–1980), tango bandleader and composer Juan de Dios Filiberto (1885–1964), tango composer Carlos di Sarli (1903–1960), tango bandleader Guido di Tella (1931–2001), Foreign Minister Torcuato di Tella (1892–1948), industrialist Edgardo Donato (1897–1963), tango composer Vito Dumas (1900–1965), navigator Ulises Dumont (1937–2008), actor Samuel Eichelbaum (1894–1967), writer José Embrioni (1906–1996), general and Buenos Aires mayor Homero Expósito (1918–1987), tango lyricist Ada Falcón (1905–2002), tango vocalist Eduardo Falú (1923–2013), folk musician Edelmiro Farrell (1887–1980), President of Argentina León Ferrari (1920–2013), conceptual artist Roberto Firpo (1884–1969), tango composer Norma Fontenla (1930–1971), prima ballerina Osvaldo Fresedo (1897–1984), bandoneónist and tango composer María Rosa Gallo (1925–2004), actress Leopoldo Galtieri (1926–2003), President of Argentina Óscar Alfredo Gálvez (1913–1989), race car driver Carlos Gardel (1890–1935), iconic tango singer, actor José María Gatica (1925–1963), boxer Carlos Enrique Gavito (1942–2005), tango dancer Severino Di Giovanni (1901–1931), Italian anarchist Enrique Gorriarán Merlo (1941–2006), founder of ERP guerilla group Roberto Goyeneche (1926–1994), tango singer Paul Groussac (1848–1929), French-born writer, historian Bernardo Houssay (1887–1971), Nobel Prize in Medicine José Ingenieros (1877–1925), physician and philosopher Maurice Jouvet (1923–1999), French-born actor Ángel Labruna (1918–1983), football player Lydia Lamaison (1914–2012), actress Juan Carlos Lectoure (1936–2002), boxing promoter Inda Ledesma (1926–2010), actress Alfredo Le Pera (1900–1935), tango composer Irineo Leguisamo (1903–1985), thoroughbred racing jockey Antonio Vespucio Liberti (1900–1978), president of the River Plate football team Nélida Lobato (1934–1982), dancer María Loredo (1854–1928), faith healer Gianni Lunadei (1938–1998), actor Tito Lusiardo (1896–1982), tango dancer Pedro Maffia (1899–1967), bandoneónist Agustín Magaldi (1898–1938), tango vocalist Azucena Maizani (1902–1970), tango vocalist Homero Manzi (1907–1951), writer and tango composer Mona Maris (1903–1991), actress Duilio Marzio (1923–2013), actor Tita Merello (1904–2002), actress Alberto Migré (1931–2006), screenwriter Zully Moreno (1920–1999), actress Oscar Moro (1948–2006), rock drummer Federico Moura (1951–1988), singer, songwriter Jorge Newbery (1875–1914), pioneer aviator, sportsman Oscar Núñez (1929–2012), actor Alberto Olmedo (1933–1988), comedian Juan Carlos Onganía (1914–1995), President of Argentina Pappo (1950–2005), musician (cremated here, ashes were scattered) Mario Passano (1925–1995), actor Malvina Pastorino (1916–1994), actress Adolfo Pedernera (1918–1995), football player Ivo Pelay (1893–1959), poet, playwright Pascual Pérez (1926–1977), champion boxer Nathán Pinzón (1917–1993), actor Pablo Podestá (1875–1923), actor Jorge Porcel (1936–2006), comedian Javier Portales (1937–2003), comedian Glenn Postolski (1966-2024), Professor and academic Osvaldo Pugliese (1905–1995), composer, pianist Benito Quinquela Martín (1890–1977), painter Francisco Rabanal (1906–1982), Mayor of Buenos Aires Pedro Pablo Ramírez (1884–1962), President of Argentina Raúl Riganti (1893–1970), race car driver Edmundo Rivero (1911–1986), tango vocalist Nélida Roca (1929–1999), dancer Alberto Rocamora (1911–2004), politician José Ignacio Rucci (1924–1973), trade-unionist Luis Sandrini (1905–1980), comedian Enrique Santos Discépolo (1901–1951), tango composer Enrique Sdrech (1928–2003), journalist Mohamed Alí Seineldín (1933–2009), War Hero Enrique Serrano (1891–1965), actor Osvaldo Soriano (1943–1997), novelist Hugo Soto (actor) (1953–1994) Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938), poet Carlos Thays (1849–1934), landscape designer and urbanist Victoria Torni (1893–1977), schoolteacher and First Lady of Argentina Juan Carlos Thorry (1908–2000), actor, entertainer Cacho Tirao (1941–2007), guitarist Leopoldo Torre Nilsson (1924–1978), film director Lolita Torres (1930–2002), actress, singer Aníbal Troilo (1914–1975), musician Saúl Ubaldini (1936–2006), trade-unionist Augusto Vandor (1923–1969), trade-unionist Ángel Villoldo (1861–1919), the "father of Tango" Roberto Viola (1924–1994), President of Argentina María Elena Walsh (1930–2011), poet and composer Héctor Yazalde (1946–1997), football player Tincho Zabala (1923–2001), comedian Marcos Zucker (1921–2003), actor