Villa Crespo turns 120
The multiculturality is almost a registered trademark of Buenos Aires. Not many neighborhoods show this special feature as well as Villa Crespo, which celebrates its 120th birthday in the heart of the city. More than a century full of Yiddish tango, clothes and leathers, parks and billiards and goals by Atlanta, strudel and falafel and pizza orders with different accents. Twelve decades of tolerance.
The date chosen in order to establish the birth of the neighbourhood is the 3rd of June of 1888, due to the creation of the Fábrica Nacional de Calzado (National Factory of Shoes) in the current block surrounded by Padilla, Acevedo, Murillo and Gurruchaga streets. Such place was only a huge area of country houses near the Maldonado stream; these lands were ideal for tanneries and factories since effluents could be released into water. This neighborhood was thusly named due to the mayor Antonio F. Crespo who took part in the foundation ceremony of said factory and stimulated the constructions of companies in these lands.
The same workers began to construct their houses with the bricks given by the factory. In the beginning of the XX century, a building with 112 rooms was constructed between the current streets Thames and Serrano. It was soon inhabited by Spanish, Italian, Jewish, Arabian and Creole people. It was called “La Nacional” but it became famous under the name “El conventillo de la Paloma, thanks to the renowned one-act farce by Alverto Vacarezza. Thus, with great influence of immigrants, its multiple identity was born. This neighborhood is also called “Villa Kreplaj” due to its important Jewish community.
The sociable and cooperative spirit of neighbours caused the foundation of a great number of cafés, billiards houses such as the historical San Bernardo, political associations, sports clubs such as Atlanta and tango orchestras such as the la Orquesta Cooperativa de Osvaldo Pugliese, one of the outstanding neighbours. The great bandoneon player Paquita De Bernardo, the poet Juan Gelman and the writer Leopoldo Marechal, who located his emblematic Adán Buenosayres at a conventillo of this neighborhood are other important neighbours.
After 120 years of its foundation, neighbors celebrate the birthday with a complete course of activities. On Saturday 7th June, there will be murgas, a parade of firemen, shows of tango and folklore next to the monument to the orchestra of Pugiese, at Corrientes and Luis María Drago. On Thursday 19th: homage to the tango singer Julio Sosa in the 4 kilometers bycicle ride along streets of the neighbourhood, from the Centro Cultural Los Bohemios, at Humboldt 540.
All that means Villa Crespo. And also the pizza of Imperio, the pletzelej of the bakers shops, the old chemist shop Del Aguila, the automobile repair shops along Warnes street…characteristics of the daily life of a city made for its inhabitants.
Do you know Villa Crespo? What do you like about this neighbourhood?
Junio 12, 2008 a las 18:35 Editar
The pizzas at Imperio and NAples are responsible for many of my added pounds during my Buenos Aires trip.