Gazing at this stoic marker do you wonder about the tales it could tell? Mojón 22 stands here a silent witness to Buenos Aires’s transformation. It marks a boundary a division and a shared history. Let’s delve into the story of Mojón 22.
Mojón is Spanish for landmark. These landmarks defined the border between the Capital Federal and the Province of Buenos Aires. It was back when Buenos Aires sought to establish itself as Argentina’s capital. The nation needed a capital. Buenos Aires the historical capital of the Province sought that role.
After the revolution of 1880 Buenos Aires became the capital. In 1887 the Province ceded the districts of Flores and Belgrano to the Nation. A condition of this cession was that the Nation build a boulevard at its cost. This boulevard would be at least 100 meters wide on the ceded territory’s border.
Engineers Pablo Blot and Luis Silveira were tasked with marking this boundary. They represented the National and Provincial governments. President Juarez Celman approved their report on February 6 1888. Governor Maximo Paz also approved the engineers’ plans. These iron landmarks were placed to demarcate the boulevard.
The word Mojón comes from the Hispano-Latin “Mutulus”. It means the protruding head of a beam. Surveying relies on these markers as fixed points. Measuring begins from these points.
Initially, stone was specified for marking boundaries in 1824. Stone was scarce. Iron was adopted in the late 19th century. Avenida General Paz follows a polygonal shape defined by markers A B C D and E. These were placed at the start and at key points along the route.
Marker A the starting point is near the Río de la Plata. It is now buried 0.80 meters deep on a police club’s property. B was at the intersection with Av. Republiquetas. C is near Av. F. Beiró. D coincided with Km 16 Tonelero Street. E was placed at Km 23 before the Riachuelo’s straightening.
The remaining mojones were placed one kilometer apart. In total 23 markers were installed. Each was about 0.80 meters high and 32 cm wide on each side. One side read “Capital Federal” the opposite “Provincia de Buenos Aires”. A third side showed the kilometer and the opposite side the marker number.
The exact boundary passes through the center of each marker. Avenida General Paz belongs entirely to the Capital. The Province begins at the Avenue’s outer edge. Today some markers remain embedded in walls. Residents might live in the Province but step into the Capital when leaving home.
These residents have Capital addresses such as “Av. G. Paz number…” but vote and pay taxes in the Province. Back when these markers were placed the area was all farms and fields. The boundaries respected existing land divisions from Juan de Garay’s time.
Of the original 27 markers only 10 remain. Some are embedded in walls others stand out. Some are half-buried. The rest are either underground or stolen and melted. These mojones once divided fields and groves. Now they silently witness the traffic on Avenida General Paz.
These Mojónes are important historical landmarks. They should be preserved as a significant part of Buenos Aires’s heritage. Mojón 22 here stands a reminder of that history. A history of division and definition. A history etched in iron.