Buenos Aires City lawmakers and organizations are protesting the local government’s proposal to install a gift shop inside a currently abandoned vault at the historic Recoleta Cemetery. The shop will also be able to sell food and beverages.

The Recoleta Cemetery is the first public cemetery built in Buenos Aires. Over 90 of its 4500 vaults and mausoleums are national historic monuments due to their architectural and artistic value. The cemetery is also part of the historic protected area of the Recoleta neighborhood, one of the most popular among those visiting BA.

The cemetery is the resting place of some of Argentina’s most prominent historic figures and has become a mandatory stop for all tourists visiting the national capital. The tomb of First Lady Eva Perón is the most visited one. 

Presidents Bartolomé Mitre, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Raúl Alfonsín are among those resting in the cemetery, along with several national heroes and cultural figures.

Now, the city government has launched a public tender aimed at granting a commercial permit for a gift shop to operate inside the cemetery for five years.

Gifts, coffee and food

A communiqué from the BA government said that the gift shop will sell institutional items, publications, graphic works, and commemorative or touristical items “related exclusively to the cultural identity and heritage of the area.”

The BA City government denied that it will be a coffee shop. However, a technical document published alongside the tender on Monday states that, as part of the provision of “integral services” for visitors, the gift shop will operate as “a resting and support area for visitors” and sell “food, beverages, and tourism-related products that are not produced on site.”

The provision of food and beverages includes infusions such as coffee and tea, “exclusively destined to be consumed outside the shop, without........

© Buenos Aires Herald