Recoleta Cemetery
Between 1580 (when Buenos Aires started) and 1822, every church had their own cemetery, just like the European model. Then came the Yellow Fever epidemic and the need to consolidate a bit, so the government created the Recoleta Cemetery.
If you have ever been to the New Orleans, LA St. Louis Cemetery, you’ve got an idea of how this looks. Mausoleum after Mausoleum next to each other. There are a few differences, though.
First, they don’t have the water table issues (i.e., no floating caskets), so interment chambers go down a couple of levels under the visible building.
Second, the family owns the location, but if they need money or are just tired of it, they can pull grandma out, dust the place off and sell it. It runs about the same as an apartment.
Third, there are expenses associated with keeping these things. They are taxed, and it’s up to the family to maintain and upkeep. You can tell the ones where the family has either lost interest or died off because they have maintenance issues.
There are a very few dating back to the beginning of the cemetery that were conveyed to the family in such a way that they are tax exempt and owned in by the family in perpetuity. This can be problematic for the government if the family dies out (or refuses to maintain), as they can’t be reclaimed for back taxes or anything, so all the cemetery authorities can do is “stabilize” the exteriors, so they don’t become a health hazard to other individuals in the cemetery.
You can see the wooden caskets in many of the structures. Enrique told us that they have a special zinc lining with a one-way air valve (to let gasses escape); otherwise, as the bodies decomposed the smell would be significant (this is important for a later post).
When this cemetery was initially started, it was far from the city, thereby keeping the potential contagion of epidemics out of town. Of course, now it’s right in the middle of everything. Recoleta Cemetery is about 4 ½ acres and the costs associated with owning a unit there are significant and rival any South Carolina time share that you may have been suckered into buying. As a result, it became the place for rich people, whereas there is another public cemetery that is some 97 acres.
If you have ever been to the New Orleans, LA St. Louis Cemetery, you’ve got an idea of how this looks. Mausoleum after Mausoleum next to each other. There are a few differences, though.
First, they don’t have the water table issues (i.e., no floating caskets), so interment chambers go down a couple of levels under the visible building.
Second, the family owns the location, but if they need money or are just tired of it, they can pull grandma out, dust the place off and sell it. It runs about the same as an apartment.
Third, there are expenses associated with keeping these things. They are taxed, and it’s up to the family to maintain and upkeep. You can tell the ones where the family has either lost interest or died off because they have maintenance issues.
There are a very few dating back to the beginning of the cemetery that were conveyed to the family in such a way that they are tax exempt and owned in by the family in perpetuity. This can be problematic for the government if the family dies out (or refuses to maintain), as they can’t be reclaimed for back taxes or anything, so all the cemetery authorities can do is “stabilize” the exteriors, so they don’t become a health hazard to other individuals in the cemetery.
You can see the wooden caskets in many of the structures. Enrique told us that they have a special zinc lining with a one-way air valve (to let gasses escape); otherwise, as the bodies decomposed the smell would be significant (this is important for a later post).
When this cemetery was initially started, it was far from the city, thereby keeping the potential contagion of epidemics out of town. Of course, now it’s right in the middle of everything. Recoleta Cemetery is about 4 ½ acres and the costs associated with owning a unit there are significant and rival any South Carolina time share that you may have been suckered into buying. As a result, it became the place for rich people, whereas there is another public cemetery that is some 97 acres.
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