Parque España

What secrets does a park hold? Parque España in Barracas whispers tales of a vibrant past. It’s hard to believe that this tranquil oasis was once a bustling slaughterhouse. Known then as the “Mataderos de la Convalecencia” or “Mataderos del Sud”, the area belonged to Luis Dorrego, brother of Colonel Manuel Dorrego. The slaughterhouse painted a gruesome scene in the 1830s. Author Esteban Echeverría vividly described it as a rectangular expanse at the end of two streets. One ended at the present-day Avenida Amancio Alcorta, while the other, Avenida Caseros, stretched eastward. A ditch carved by rainwater, riddled with rat holes, ran through the sloping ground. It carried the dried and fresh blood of slaughtered animals. In the western corner stood a small, three-room building. It served as the office for collecting taxes and fines, and the judge of the slaughterhouse held court there. Behind this building lay corrals made of ñandubay wood, where cattle were kept. These corrals turned into a muddy quagmire in winter. Parque España’s story takes a turn in 1860 when an ordinance ordered the relocation of the slaughterhouses. However, the order was not immediately enforced. It wasn’t until 1870 that the slaughterhouse was finally dismantled. Between 1871 and 1872, the area was transformed into a public square. Initially named “Plaza de los Inválidos” to honor the survivors of the War of the Triple Alliance, its design is attributed to engineer Eugenio Courtois and landscaper Carlos Thays. In 1885, under the mayorship of Torcuato de Alvear, a section of the plaza became the Jardín Botánico del Sur, a botanical garden and nursery. The nursery supplied trees for the city’s parks but was later demolished in the 1950s, replaced by a playground and bowling green. Remnants of its structures can still be found within Parque España. A unique feature of Parque España is a cluster of five old private plots along Avenida Caseros. These plots, with their original buildings, were bought by the municipality between 1925 and 1928 but were never demolished. Some are occupied informally, others rented out by the city. One even houses a cultural center. Another cultural center, Centro Cultural del Sur, operates at Avenida Caseros 1750, in buildings initially intended as offices. The “Calle de los Títeres,” a group of puppeteers selling crafts and performing shows, has been active here since 1989. Since 2003, the Centro Kultural Trivenchi, a self-managed space run by the Trivenchi Work Cooperative, has offered circus and art workshops and performances. Finally, on April 3, 1900, the plaza was officially renamed Parque España. A ceremony attended by over 20,000 people, mainly from Buenos Aires’ Spanish community, marked the occasion. The name change was further solidified in 1982, acknowledging the park’s size and importance. So, the next time you visit Parque España, remember the layers of history beneath your feet. From a bustling slaughterhouse to a serene park, its transformation reflects the ever-changing landscape of Buenos Aires.