Pop quiz: What do DC, Buenos Aires, and Rome all have in common? They are all cities I have lived in that built obelisks out of stones and pride. These slender structures are one of the few surviving art forms that have remained ‘tres chic’ since egyptian times when somebody said:
‘Hey, why don’t we make a little pyramid and put it on top of a shaft.’
‘Why Ramses?'
‘Because we can Sehkmet, that’s why.’ (historical fact)
The ‘Obelisco de Buenos Aires’ in Plaza de la República, is a source of national pride that was constructed in 1936 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first foundation on Buenos Aires. It was built in just 31 days, probably the quickest (only quick) construction of anything in Buenos Aires which probably has a lot to do with the fact that a German company was contracted to build it. The Washington monument took 36 years to complete and has had some structural difficulties lately, but it was started a lot earlier than the Argentine monument and is the biggest in the world (go ‘murica).
The obelisk in Buenos Aires is on many of the postcards and is a common downtown meeting place, especially for rallies and protests. Like the Washington Monument, it is great help when trying to orient yourself when exploring a new city. At some point the government decided to put a bunch of LED signs and advertisements in Times Square sort of way as an attempt to identify the area as a nightlife and entertainment area (tacky move in my opinion). The monument has been through a lot, once decorated as a giant pencil for the 30th anniversary of “La Noche de los Lápices” (Night of the Pencils), when students were kidnapped, tortured, raped, and murdered during the military dictatorship of the 70’s. It has also been draped with a giant pink condom for HIV awareness (woohoo!).
The obelisk isn’t the only public artworks in BA reminiscent of my East Coast life. When walking through a random park recently, I saw a smaller iron replica of the Statue of Liberty out of the corner of my eye. When I walked up to it i realized someone had spray painted a stencil of a pug wearing a police hat on the base of the statute. As a pug lover, I’m not quite sure what to make of it.
-Giordano