In 1884, The Plaza de Mayo was formed as a city square that denoted the foundation site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The public square expresses the elementary Argentine political history of disaster, rebellion, and hope, and the centre rests as the financial, administrative centre, and political hub of the present. There are some historical and prime buildings on the piazza – The Cabildo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Casa Rosada ( Seat of the President of Argentina), the headquarters of the Bank of the Argentine, the Buenos Aires City Hall along with Plazoleta de San Francisco, a sculpture garden consisting of four sculptures indicating crucial parts Argentine academics – Industry, Navigation, Geography and Astronomy.
In this article, we explore everything you need to know about the Plaza de Mayo.
1. Origin of the Plaza | Plaza de Mayo
In 1884, The demolition of the Recva building merged Plaza Mayor (known as Plaza de la Victoria) and Plaza de Armes (known as Plaza 25 de Mayo) into forming The Plaza de Mayo, the biggest public square in Argentina.
2. Naming of the Plaza
On May 25, 1810, a great revolution began in Plaza de la Victoria, which lasted six years, concluding in Argentina winning independence from Spain. Thus, the Emergence of the current name the May Square or the Plaza de Mayo.
3. La Catedral Metropolitana | Plaza de Mayo
The building, built in the Neoclassical style, opened for public reception in 1836. The burial of General Jose de San Martin, one of the greatest South American liberators, exists, while the altar is designed and built in the Rococo style of architecture. Furthermore, Pope Francis held mass at the cathedral as people formed large congregations for nearly 20 years.
4. Protest for Peron in the Plaza
On October 17, 1945, thousands gathered in the square to demand Juan Domingo Perón be released, who was imprisoned due to his growing popularity and viewed as a threat by his party. The protest resulted in him being a symbol of the working class, which obtained his release by the government, ending the dramatic demonstration and winning the election to be the President the next year. Thus, the date evolved to be known as Loyalty Day. President Peron and Evita ( wife of Peron, Maria Eva Duarte) delivered their speeches from the Casa Rosada balcony to the supporters gathered in the square known as descamisados (Shirtless ones). Following the election, families gather on May 1 (Workers Day) and May 25 (May Revolution Day) as tradition.
5. Bombing Sequel of 1953 and 1955 | Plaza de Mayo
On April 15, 1953, during a political gathering, two members of Roque Carranza, the opposition party planted two bombs where five people lost their lives and 95 people severely injured. On June 16, 1955, the Argentine Air Force bombed the square to overthrow Peron’s government, where 32 planned shit 9.5 tons of shells, resulting in 321 deaths and 700 more injured. This day is remembered as La Masacre de La Plaza de Mayo ( May Square Massacre).
6. The Madres de la Plaza
A march held by a group of women known as the Mothers of May, whose children randomly disappeared under the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983 demanded information about the missing kids by wearing handkerchiefs that held each name embroidered onto them. To this day, the march represents a demonstration every Thursday afternoon around the May Pyramid in the Plaza de Mayo.
7. 2001 Clases & Cacerolazos en la Plaza
During the 2001 economic crisis, thousands of citizens banged pots and pans ( Known as Cacerolazo) in the Plaza de Mayo as a protest against the government urging them to withdraw clamps and devaluation of their savings that got converted into the much weaker Argentine currency. The cops in Plaza de Mayo killed five people as the protest took a violent turn between the police and protestors. Isabel, Peron’s second spouse, had done similar in 1976; thus, the sitting President, Fernando De la Rua, escaped from the Casa Rosada by helicopter after resigning. These kinds of protests take place time and again with Cacerolazos of 2012, the Reaction to Federal Prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s sudden death and Argentina’s Long and strict lockdown, which resulted in thousands of people gathering in the Plaza and voicing their opinions and demanding their rights.
8. First National Monument | Plaza de Mayo
The Piramide de Mayo (May Pyramid) was inaugurated in the square’s hub in 1811, marking the first anniversary of the May Revolution. It is the first National monument in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
9. El Cabildo
The Cabildo, the first government building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was built in the year 1610 in the Baroque style of architecture. In 1880, architect Pedro Benoit added 10 meters to the tower, a dome covered with glazed tiles instead of traditional colonial red tiles, which was demolished in 1889 to create space for Avenia de Mayo. In 1940, architect Mario Buschiazzo reconstructed colonial features like iron bars on windows, wooden doors and windows, red tiles and the tower of the El Cabildo. Today, there exists a market in the back courtyard every Thursday and Friday, and many artifacts from early Argentine history are displayed in the museum that inhabits the building.
10. Zero-Kilometre point | Plaza de Mayo
The Casa Rosada faces the broad Avenida de Mayo in the west that leads directly to Plaza del Congreso. Here, a monolith marks the zero-kilometre point that marks all the distance of the highway in the country from this point in Buenos Aires. The sculpture contains a relief map of Argentina on the South face, An image of Our Lady of Lujan on the North face, plaques in honour of Jose de San Martin on the West face and names of the relevant authorities on the East face; it designed and built by two brothers – Maximo and Jose Fioravanti in 1935.
