This splendid specimen, one of the most famous trees in Buenos Aires is popularly known as the "Lapacho de Ezcurra". It is a "lapacho rosado" (Tabebuia impetiginosa), a tree native from the North-West of Argentina, that was planted many years ago by landscape artist Martin Ezcurra on the corner of Ave. Figueroa Alcorta and Mariscal Castilla, in Palermo Chico, and by the end of September every year punctually announces the arrival of Spring with an explosion of pink flowers:




This wonderful spectacle only lasts for a few days, so those who are in Buenos Aires at the end of September / beginning of October are very lucky to witness it.

Malba - Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Latin American Art Museum) is one of the newest museums in Buenos Aires. It opened its doors in September 2001. Malba is a non-profit institution featuring the private art collection of Argentine entrepreneur Eduardo Costantini. Since 1990, his collection was open for the consideration of local and international specialists, and lent for Latin American art exhibitions around Latin America and Europe.

In 1998 the construction of a new building to hold the collection began, after the selection of a project by Argentine architects Gastón Atelman, Martín Fourcade and Alfredo Tapia from an international call by the International Union of Architects.

The Costantini Collection consists of a selection of more than two hundred works, including drawings, paintings, sculptures and objects by 78 artists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Some of the featured artists are: Frida Kahlo, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Diego Rivera, Joaquín Torres-García, Antonio Berni, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, Jorge de la Vega, Tarsila do Amaral, Pedro Figari, Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, Liliana Porter, Guillermo Kuitca and José Bedia Valdés, among others.

Besides the permanent collection, the museum features temporary exhibitions throughout the year, a movie theater with a daily program, a film library, an educational program with workshops and conferences for adults and children, and guided visits to the permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Location: Avda. Figueroa Alcorta 3415, Buenos Aires.

Opening times:
Thursday to Monday: 12 noon - 8 pm

Wednesday: 11 am - 8 pm

Tuesdays closed.

Entry fees:
General: AR $ 8000.-
Teachers, students and pensioners: AR $ 4000.-
Children under 5/disabled people: free.
Wednesdays:
General: AR $ 4000.-
Teachers, students and pensioners: Free.-

For more information on present and future exhibitions, visit MALBA official website.

The Rose Garden (El Rosedal), surrounded by Infanta Isabel, Iraola and Pres. P. Montt avenues, and protected all around by an iron gate, is the heart of the Tres de Febrero park. It was created in 1914 by the landscaper Carlos Thays.








The main attractions inside the park are:

° The Andalusian Patio: built in 1929 and given away by the city of Seville, Spain.
° The Arbor (La Pergola), covered with climbing rose bushes:
° The White Bridge, a magnificent construction of wood built over the lake after a design by architect Benito Carrasco in 1914
° The Poet's Garden, with busts in honor to poets from different countries, like William Shakespeare, Alfonsina Storni, Dante Alighieri, Federico García Lorca, Antonio Machado and Jorge Luis Borges, among others.

° The Rose Garden itself, in the heart of the park, with its many flower beds which are home to over 12,000 rose bushes of different kinds.

The area around the Rose Garden and its lake is one of the preferred places in the city for open air activities, especially on weekends when it's also possible to enjoy live music, free gym classes, street performers. At the lake, you can hire boats with paddles or pedals. Around the lake, the pedestrian streets are perfect for roller blading, cycling, jogging, or just walking for taking in some fresh air and enjoying nature:

Opening times:
Summer: Tuesday to Sundays, from 8 am to 8 pm
Winter: 9 am to 6 pm
MONDAYS CLOSED

All the materials, like wood panelings, mirrors, moldings, were brought from Europe. The rooms in the main floor were decorated in different French styles from the XVII and XVIII century, except for the Grand Hall, inspired in the large rooms typical of XVI century England in the time of the Tudor dynasty.


In the apartments of the first floor we can also see the taste for French decoration in Louis XV, Louis XVI, Directory and Imperium style. The only exception is the Art Decó room decorated by Catalonian artist José María Sert.

The Dining Room and the Ball Room are copies in a smaller scale of similar rooms at the Versailles Palace.




The permanent collection of the museum includes more tan 4000 objects, from roman sculptures to contemporary hand made silver creations. The biggest interest in the collection is focused on the European and Oriental decorative pieces, sculptures and paintings from the XVI to XIX century, many of which belonged to the Errázuriz-Alvear family.

There are also temporary exhibitions throughout the year, focused mainly in decorative arts, fashion, tapestry, jewelry, and small objects.

There is a beautiful small caffe-restaurant in the courtyard with a lovely atmosphere.





Location: Av. del Libertador 1902
Opening times: Wednesday to Sunday, 1.00 PM to 7:00 PM. 

Guided visits: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at 4:00 pm, without previous reservation.
Entrance to the Museum is FREE every day.
For more information on present and future exhibitions, visit National Museum of Decorative Arts official website.

The history of the Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires dates back to 1898, when the then Director of Public Parks of Buenos Aires, the French landscaper Charles Thays, proposed the creation of a Botanical Garden in the terrains it occupies today, bounded by Santa Fe Ave., Las Heras Ave. and Republica Arabe Siria St., for educational and conservation purposes.

The red brick English style building that already existed in those terrains was occupied by Charles Thays and his family. Today this building, that was declared National Monument, is the main building of the complex and serves as an art gallery and exhibition hall. There is also a Gardening School, a Library, and several greenhouses. The main greenhouse in Art Nouveau style, received a prize in the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

There are more than five thousand species of plants and trees from all over the world, from Asia to Africa to America. There are small examples of three different styles of gardens: a French Garden, a Roman Garden, and a Japanese Garden.

As you walk the trails of the garden, you will find some beautiful marble sculptures, such as “Spring”, “Mercury”, “Venus”, and the group representing the movements of the VI Symphony of Beethoven, called “La Pastoral”. There is also a monument entitled “Weather Indicator”, designed by José Markovich, and presented by the Austro-Hungarian Empire community.

This garden is so peaceful that once you cross the gates and get inside, you instantly forget that you are in the middle of the city and surrounded by two of the noisiest streets in Buenos Aires.

Address: Santa Fe and Las Heras Ave., Plaza Italia. Subte station: Plaza Italia, Line D.

Opening Times: 

Summer (September 22nd to April 21st): Tuesday to Friday, 8 am to 6.45 pm - Saturday, Sunday and National Holidays: 9.30 a m to 6.45 pm.

Winter (April 22nd to September 21st): Tuesday to Friday, 8 am to 5.45 pm - Saturday, Sunday and National Holidays: 9.30 a m to 5.45 pm.

MONDAYS CLOSED

January 1st, Good Friday, May 1st, September 21st, and December 25th: CLOSED

On days of extremely bad weather (intense winds, persistent rain) the garden will remain closed for safety reasons.

FREE ENTRANCE

For more pictures of the Botanical Garden, visit my Botanical Garden Photo Gallery on Facebook.

This monument, located in the intersection of Mariscal Castilla and Aguado streets, in Palermo Chico, depicts the Argentine hero, General Jose de San Martin, at his old age, sitting and accompanied by his granddaughters. This is the only monument which represents San Martin in a civil status and as an elderly man. It was made in 1951 by the Argentine sculptor and engineer Ángel Ibarra García, who wanted to give San Martin a human dimension, representing him as a man of "flesh ans blood".


Three bas-reliefs on the base represent his life in France: "Cultivando sus dalias" (Cultivating his dahlias); "En la ribera del Sena" (In the bank of the Seine); "Limpiando sus armas" (Wiping his arms).

The monument faces the "Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano", an institution devoted to preserve the memory of San Martin, founded in 1933 by José Pacífico Otero. It is a scale replica of his house in Grand Bourg, France, made by architect Julio Salas and inaugurated in 1946.