Recoleta Cemetery & Paloma Soho
January 20th 2026
Flew into Buenos Aries at 7:30am. We pre-arranged a driver with WelcomePickups. Sandy had used this company world wide and always had good experiences. Today was no different. Our driver, Pablo Menendez, gave us a mini tour of Buenos Aries as we drove from the airport to our hotel. He sent us a bunch of ideas of things to do on WhatsApp. Very friendly and personable. We arranged a ride for our flight to Igwazo on Thursday.
Our Hotel is amazing. We are staying at the Alvear Palace Hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aries. It is an older hotel built in 1932 for wealthy Europeans. There is gold leaf and crystal chandeliers everywhere! We got a great deal with our Platinum American Express and they even gave us a free upgrade!
We had time for quick nap. I did sleep pretty well on the plane, but it felt great to sprawl out on a bed! We have a tour scheduled at 2:30 with Airbnb to see the Recoleta Cemetery. Plenty of time for a nap!
Our hotel is close to the cemetery, so we walked to the area and had time for a quick cup of coffee at Nane Resto Bar Cafe. We were lucky enough get a free Tango Show right in front of us. A couple walked up, put some music on a speaker and started to Tango. They were so smooth and elegant. Now I am really feeling the Argentina vibes!
Tango Dancers while we drink coffee.
After coffee (and tango show), we headed to the Recoleta Cemetery to meet our guide that I found on Airbnb Experiences. We were to meet him in front of the Our Lady of the Pillar Church, which also serves as the entrance to the cemetery. I also cam across a unique sculpture of a man holding up the branch of a tree. I later found out that the tree is a rubber tree that is hundreds of years old. Very cool interactive art!
Our guide, Esteban, took us into the cemetery. We had to buy tickets as they are not included in the Airbnb experience. This was supposed to be a small group tour, but we were the only ones in the group, so it became a private tour for Sandy and myself. It was a warm sunny day, it felt great to us, but Esteban made sure we stopped in shaded areas when he was explaining what we saw. He gave us a brief history on the Franciscan Recollect Monks that built the Our Lady of Pillars Church. After they were disbanded in 1822, the garden of the church became the first public cemetery.
There are three distinct eras of mausleums in the cemetery. Early mausulems were simple structures made to hold the remains of those buried there. Later, when Buenos Aries was becoming a wealthy nation, the elites wanted mausoleums to reflect their status. To do this they had mausoleums constructed in Italy and shipped to Argentina. Stained glass was imported from France and England as well. The majority of the mausoleums were constructed during this era. There are also some modern mausoleums scattered about.
One of the largest and most visually striking tombs is the Paz Family Mausoleum. All of the elaborate angel sculptures were carved in Paris and shipped to Argentina. The angels appear to lift upward toward the heavens, interact with the tomb itself and form a dramatic contrast with the dark stone base. The angels are sculpted in dynamic, ascending poses — they appear to “lift the soul” toward heaven. The black stone base is not only for contrast, but also represents earthly mortality, weight, permanence. Likewise, the white marble of the angles represents purity, heavenly ascension.
The large winged angel on the very pinnacle of the tomb, symbolizing triumph over death. Thanks to the angels below, the viewer’s eye is drawn to the sculptures above, best seen from a distance. A woman lies, collapsed, with an oil lamp in her hand. No flame comes from the lamp, representing death. Above her is an enormous open casket with a dove escaping. Some people link that bird with peace, but others suggest that it is the actual moment of death. The soul literally rises out of the casket to be greeted by a third angel. Two actions are present here: the covering the soul with a cloth as protection & pointing to the direction where they are going… up & away:
Paz Family Mausoleum
Paz Family Mausoleum
Buenos Aries was in its hay days between 1890 and 1930. That is when many of these mausoleums were made. The details on these marble carvings is amazing. He showed us the modest ones built before 1890, the opulent one made between 1890 and 1930, as well as the more recent ones made with granite.
We could see into most of the mausoleums. They as set up that way intentionally to allow people to see how much wealth they had (even in death). When you looked in, many times, you would look down. The structure of the mausoleum was only the beginning. Many went very deep under ground and even under the walkway we stood on. He showed us the trap doors used to slide the coffins in. All the coffins have a sealed metal lining that is inserted into beautiful wooden coffins. (This is mandatory to keep the smell away).
Some of the unique mausoleums are the mausoleum of General Tomás Guido. He requested to be buried under the mountains that his troops had crossed with great sacrifice to liberate their neighbor countries. His son, Carlos, fulfilled his wishes. The younger Guido had all the rocks for the tomb brought from the Cordillera de los Andes and built the vault with his own hands.
Others resemble churches. Requests to be buried in the church were often denied, so people would just build a “church” around their mausoleum.
The Llabmi Family tomb features an angel sculpture and is considered one of the most beautiful angles in Recoleta. Sculpted by Italian artist Guilio Monteverde, this angle stands with arms folded, not in grief, but in serene readiness. The facial expression is not sorrowful or distant, but calm personal presence.
Noble Peace Prize Luis Federico Leloir’s family mausoleum is the tallest in Recoleta and had very impressive mosaics inside the dome.
He showed us the mausoleum for Eva Peron and told us her story. I had no idea that her body was hidden in Italy for 14 years before she was returned to be buried.
We also heard the story of Rufina Cambareres. She collapsed at age 19 and thought dead. She was sealed in her coffin and was not dead, just a neurological disease that gave the appearance of death. Her mother found her coffin had moved the next day when visiting the mosuleum, opened her coffin and found her dead body covered in scratched from trying to get out. He also told us the urban legend of a boy that asked a girl to dance, eventually got her name and gave her his jacket to go home as it was cold. When he knocked on the door if her house, her mother answered and told him to go to the cemetery. There he found a statue of the girl he danced with and his jacket. Spooky!
Mausoleum of Rufina Cambareres
The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. It was truly a great experience to walk around and see all these fantastic mausoleums.
One of the “streets” in Recoleta.
Next, we took a taxi to the Palermo neighborhood for a Local Foodie Adventure. We used GetYourGuide to book this tour with Sherpa Food Tours.
Our Guide, Denis, took us on a walking tour of Palermo and provided interesting facts on the neighborhood as well as the food tour.
Alto Chori Papa
Our first stop was at a place called Alto Chori Papa. This is a local “street food” counter restaurant specializing in sausage sandwiches called Chori.
Denis started us out with pitchers of Gin and Tonics made with an Argentinian gin called Apostoles. Lemons, oranges and grapefruit were added to give the drinks a fresh taste.
Apostoles Gin and Tonics
Denis started us out with pitchers of Gin and Tonics made with an Argentinian gin called Apostoles. Lemons, oranges and grapefruit were added to give the drinks a fresh taste.
There were two types of sausage to choose from, beef or pork. The sausages are on display at the counter. Sausages with red strings are beef, yellow indicated pork.
The Chori sandwich is considered a barbecue staple and is served on a crusty bread roll and covered with chimichurri sauce and salsa criolla (a chunky relish of diced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers in a vinegar dressing). Since we are on a tasting tour, we only got half a sandwich, but it was delicious !
Chori Sandwich or Choripan
Group photo with the Chori pan.
Next Denis walked us through some alleyways to see some of the street art painted on the walls. After years of military rule, people were able to express themselves with art on the walls.
Group photo with the art.
Past the alley, we walked to a restaurant called Cilia’s.
Celia
This restaurant is named after Lionel Messi’s mother. They love Messi here! This is your typical ma and pa restaurant. Here we enjoyed foods cooked in a typical Argentinian home. We had beef fritas, grilled cheese (provolone cheese grilled, no bread), and tortilla (potato, egg and onion dish). It was all paired with Voignier wine served in a penguin pitcher.
Denis was able to allow us to get into a soccer training facility while we were walking to our next restaurant. It is dedicated to women’s soccer.
Denis was able to allow us to get into a soccer training facility while we were walking to our next restaurant. It is dedicated to women’s soccer.
Group picture in the training facility
Wino
Our final restaurant is called Wino. Here we enjoyed plates of heirloom tomatoes, fried spinach, potato wedges and steak. Denis is friends with the chef and sommelier. The food was fantastic. The Sommelier selected a Malbec the paired perfectly with the food. A great way to end an evening of eating. I was so full by the end of the meal.
We had a nice walk about the neighborhood. Denis stopped and got us some Argentine candy as a special gift, then he took us to his favorite gelato place.
Antiche Tentazioni
Denis raved that is is better than Italy due to the quality of the diary used. Sandy got the Pistacchio Di Sicilla, I got the Rialto (chocolate with Dulche De Leche) It was actually very good.
We ended the evening with cocktails in the hotel lounge. It was a busy day. Flying in, checking into hotel, cemetery tour and a food tour. Time for bed, I will sleep well tonight!
Stock internet photo of bar in hotel. I was too tired to take a photo! Very nice place.
