Avenida de Mayo

Avenida de Mayo is one of my favorite streets in Buenos Aires. It is a grand avenue that runs 13 blocks, from the Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada, to the Congress. Planned and designed during the period when Argentina began its rise as the "European Capital of South America". Colonial buildings were razed (with one exception - the Cabildo) and in their place, grand structures of neoclassical, art deco or art nouveau design. Many of them are hotels.

Now, Avenida de Mayo seems forgotten except for protestors who often block it off to traffic as they make their way from the Congress to Plaza de Mayo, or perhaps in the other direction, and tourists, who often stand in line for hours to get into Cafe Tortoni, a classic old cafe where the likes of Borges and friends used to sit over a cup of coffee.

I'd like to see Avenida de Mayo one day made a UN World Heritage Site so that it can be protected and cared for.

Avenida de Mayo

Stencil graffiti. While I really like it, I think the Avenida de Mayo should be spared. Unfortunately, this is the route most protests take, as it runs from the Congresso to the Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace). Hopefully, one day, the Avenida de Mayo will get the respect it deserves.

Avenida de Mayo

Random scenes of faded glory.

Avenida de Mayo

Blocked off to traffic and looking very lush on a late spring late afternoon day.

Avenida de Mayo

The Cabildo stands at the end of Avenida de Mayo across from Plaza de Mayo. It is one of the few reminders that Argentina was one of the many Spanish colonies in the new world, before it was transformed into the "Paris of South America".

Recoleta

Broken sidewalks.










Gigantic villas.
















Park where weekend artisan fair is held.




















The cemetary where Evita and other well-heeled Argentines are laid to rest.