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Although
it is the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, it is
one of the most popular ones with Argentinian and foreign
tourists. One of the reasons is that in San Telmo you
can dance and listen to tango.
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUNDS:
The first inhabitants of this neighbourhood, first called
Altos de San Pedro, were people that worked at the port.
In those days the port was where La Boca is today . The
present Defensa street, considered the oldest in the city,
used to join the Port to the Main Square. The English
invaded this area between 1806 and 1807. As a consequence
of the growth and prosperity of the neighbourhood, traditional
porteño families chose it to live and built large
houses. However, in 1871 a yellow fever epidemic broke
out and this neighbourhood suffered its consequences.
The rich families left the place and went to live in the
northern part of the city. The abandoned large houses
were used by immigrants, this is how tenements (conventillos)
were born.
PLACES
TO VISIT:
They
are divided into two circuits: Dorrego Square and Lezama
Park.
DORREGO
SQUARE CIRCUIT:
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DORREGO
SQUARE: it is a characteristic place and
a must for tourists. It is surrounded by Defensa Street,
Humberto 1º St, Bethlem Alley and Anselmo Aieta Alley.
This square is considered the oldest green space after
May Square and it has been declared National Historical
Monument. In this place, every Sunday San Telmo Fair takes
place. Defensa street becomes pedestrian, and you can
see tango dancers, payadores and other artists. You can
also visit stalls where old things and antiques are sold.
The houses that surround the square maintain their original
aspect, although most of them became antique stores. During
the week, the square is full of tables and chairs from
all the surrounding bars and cafes. |
DOMINGO
FRENCH 'S HOUSE: at 1062 Defensa Street,
between Humberto 1º St. and Carlos Calvo St., you
can see the house where Domingo French lived. It was built
in 1762, and very few of the original materials remain;
the patio became a commercial stroll that has several
small antique stores.
| OUR LADY OF BELEN CHURCH
AND SAN PEDRO TELMO PARISH CHURCH: They
are on Humberto 1º St, beteween Defensa and Balcarce. See more
information. |
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PENITENTIARY
MUSEUM: it is at 378 Humberto 1º
Street, Tel.:4362-0099. It was an old Jesuitical residence.
After the expulsion of the order, the place was successively
a women asylum, hospital, barracks, school of medicine
and women prison. Finally the Superior Academy of Penitentiary
Studies and the Penitentiary Museum were established.
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GUILLERMO
RAWSON SCHOOL: it is at 343 Humberto 1º
St. The first school of medicine of the city of Buenos
Aires was here. At its entrance there are two centenary
magnolias. |
| LA
DEFENSA ALLEY: at 1179 Defensa, there
is a traditional two-story large house. It was built
at the end of the XIX century. The Ezeiza family lived
there. On the first floor there are three patios:
The Time, The Tree and The Ezeizas. Nowadays this
house is a commercial stroll. |
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MUSEUM
OF MODERN ART: it is at 350 San Juan Avenue,
Tel.:4361-1121. There you can observe an impressive red
brick building. It used to belong to Tobacco Manufacture
Picardo y Cía. Ltda that made black cigarettes
“43” brand, a logotype that repeatedly appears
on the front of the building. The building was built in
1918, and when it was recycled, its original architecture
was kept. At the museum there are exhibitions of contemporary
plastic artists.
LEZAMA PARK CIRCUIT:
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LEZAMA
PARK: it is surrounded by Paseo
Colón Av, Martín García Av,
Defensa St. and Brasil Av. Some historians say that
this is the place that Pedro de Mendoza chose to
found Buenos Aires for the first time in 1536. The
place was known as the English country house because
it had belonged to English and American until it
was bought by a Salteño trader, called José
G. Lezama, in 1857. He extended the mansion, hired
a landscape gardener, some statues were placed and
he managed the most impressive park in Buenos Aires.
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When
he died, his widow handed it over to the town council with
the condition that it was a public park and had his husband
name. Inside the perimeter of the park, there are interesting
monuments, for example, the one that is dedicated to PEDRO
de MENDOZA. It was built in 1937 to commemorate the 400
years of the first foundation of Buenos Aires; it is on
the corner of Defensa and Brasil. Near there, you can see
the sculpture of a she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus (loba
amamantando a Rómulo y Remo), a replica donated by
the King of Italy because of the centenary of 1910. Almost
on the corner of Martín García Av. and Paseo
Colón Av., you can see the notable "Cruceiro",
very typical from Galicia. Another important monument is
the beautiful monument of the confraternity between Argentina
and Uruguay. It was donated by the city of Montevideo. It
is situated on Martín García Av. and it stands
out because it is high and majestic. The Lezama park is
one of the most beautiful ones in the city because of its
forestation, design and natural hill on Paseo Colón.
On Brasil Av., there is an amphitheatre, which was built
in 1914 and can hold 2,000 people.
NATIONAL
HISTORICAL MUSEUM: it is at 1600 Defensa
Street, Tel.:4307-1182. It was founded in 1889. This building
used to be the Lezama family’s residence. In the
museum there are documents, evidence, works of art, etcetera,
from all the periods of the Argentinian history.
| RUSSIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH: sit is at 315 Brasil
Av. It was built in XVII century Muscovite style and
it was opened in 1904. The funds to build it were
mainly obtained by Russian peasants and also by representatives
of the Russian Imperial House. At the beginning, the
present land was bought and then in that place the
church was built. Its five onion-shaped domes stand
out, they are decorated with mosaics and paintings.
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BRITISH
BAR: it is on the corner of Brasil Av.
and Defensa. It is a historical café opened in
1928. Some scenes from the movies “High Heels”
("Tacos Altos") and “Where are you, love
of my life, that I can’t find you? ("Donde
estás amor de mi vida, que no te puedo encontrar")
were filmed there.
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