La Chacarita cemetery


Cementerio de la Chacarita in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is known as the National Cemetery and is the largest in Argentina.

Location

The cemetery is in the barrio or district of Chacarita, in the western part of Buenos Aires. Its main entrance is on Avenida Guzmán.

History

The cemetery owes its existence to a yellow fever epidemic in 1871, when existing cemeteries were strained beyond capacity. Students of the College of San Carlos appropriated in the adjoining Colegiales area for this purpose, but had their facility closed by the city in 1886. The New Chacarita Cemetery began to function in 1887 and was formally designated as such in 1896.
Chacarita Cemetery has designated areas for members of the Argentine artistic community, including writers, prominent composers and actors. The late Justicialist leader and former President Juan Perón was buried here until his remains were relocated in 2006 to a mausoleum in his former home in San Vicente.

British and German Cemeteries

In the 19th century a large number of Britons came to Argentina to work in the many areas of the economy in which England then had extensive interests. At first the British Cemetery was founded beside the Socorro Chapel. In 1833 the cemetery had to move to what was then called Victoria Cemetery until November, 1892, when they were asked by the Municipality to move. Section 16 of the Chacarita Cemetery was given in exchange for the Victoria Cemetery. Eventually in 1913 the Cementerio Británico was divided into the German and the British cemeteries as we know them today, because the two local communities had grown since the beginning of the 19th century.
The British Cemetery and the German Cemetery are today not managed by or part of Chacarita Cemetery.

Notable interments in La Chacarita Cemetery

People buried in La Chacarita cemetery include:

Notable interments at the British Cemetery Corporation include