Residents of Parque Patricios rejected this Tuesday the decision of the Buenos Aires Government to install the “Memorial for the victims in the Covid-19 pandemic” in the Florentino Ameghino Park, considering that the work will affect the historical and archaeological value of the space since, in the mid-nineteenth century, it housed the old South Cemetery, which received those who died from the yellow fever epidemic.
“We want them to preserve our heritage park because the projected monument is large and will alter the logic of the place,” María Rosa Gamondés, a neighbor and member of the Advisory Council of Commune 4, told Télam in relation to the initiative. official to place the memorial in the south of the capital.
The proposal, strictly speaking, already has a first sanction from the Buenos Aires Legislature, where a public hearing is scheduled for next week so that citizens can express their opinion on the matter, before its final approval in the session venue.
The property served as the headquarters of the South Cemetery, which received the victims of the yellow fever epidemic between 1867 and 1872, when it was closed.
The neighborhood group’s claim does not refer to the tribute to the victims of the pandemic, but to the site chosen by the Buenos Aires government, since it includes the Ameghino park -bounded by Monasterio, Santa Cruz, Caseros and Uspallata streets- and the planned work ” which will have an approximate area of 2,200 square meters of tread”.
“The decision to intervene in this area arises as a continuation of the revitalization policies of the southern area of the city that have been carried out in recent years, as well as the characterization of the environment as an area linked to health, due to the presence of hospitals”, maintains the project of the porteño pro-government legislator Emmanuel Ferrario.
The resident of Parque Patricios, meanwhile, specified that they found out about the issue “by chance” since there was no communication about it in the Commune and considered that the legislators who gave the first approval “did it feeling that it was a noble cause ”.
“Our slogan is not against the memorial, but rather we do not understand the reason for choosing this place that has a high historical, scenic and archaeological value”María Rosa Gamondés, neighbor and member of the Consultative Council of Commune 4
“Our slogan is not against the memorial, but rather we do not understand the reason for choosing this place, which has a high historical, scenic and archaeological value,” he explained, adding that the lawsuit is also “in defense of the tree heritage and the absorbent surface that is going to be lost by this gigantic work”.
The property served as the headquarters for the South Cemetery, which received the victims of the yellow fever epidemic between 1867 and 1872, when it was closed.
Already in 1920 it was transformed into Ameghino Park and, according to the story of some residents with more years of residence in the area, in the 40s they found remains of coffins and human bones during remodeling work.
