The Plaza de Mayo (; en, May Square) is a city square and main foundational site of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Plaza de la Victoria'' and ''Plaza 25 de Mayo,'' respectively. The

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo has been the scene of the most momentous events in

Argentine history The history of Argentina can be divided into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time or early history (up to the sixteenth century), the colonial period (1536–1809), the period of nation-building (1810–1880), and the history of modern Argenti ...

, as well as the largest popular demonstrations in the country. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

in 1811, the

Pirámide de Mayo The Pirámide de Mayo (; en, May Pyramid), located at the hub of the Plaza de Mayo, is the oldest national monument in the City of Buenos Aires. Its construction was ordered in 1811 by the Primera Junta to celebrate the first anniversary of the ...

( en, May Pyramid) was inaugurated in the square's hub, becoming Buenos Aires' first national monument. It is located in the financial district known as '' microcentro'', within the ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...

'' ( en, neighborhood) of Monserrat. It is bounded by Bolívar, Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce and Avenida Rivadavia streets; and from its west side three important avenues are born:

Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca, better known as Diagonal Sur (Spanish for "South Diagonal", the counterpart to Diagonal Norte), is an important avenue in the Monserrat neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is oriented north-east/s ...

Avenida Roque Sáenz Peña Avenida Roque Sáenz Peña, better known as Diagonal Norte (Spanish for "North Diagonal", the counterpart to Diagonal Sur), is an important avenue in the San Nicolás neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is oriented south-east/north-west ...

and

Avenida de Mayo May Avenue ( es, Avenida de Mayo) is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue. History and overview B ...

. In the square's surroundings are several significant monuments and points of interest: the Cabildo, the Casa Rosada (seat of the

President of Argentina The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under the national cons ...

), the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Buenos Aires City Hall, and the Bank of the Argentine Nation's headquarters. Underneath its lands are the Underground stations of Plaza de Mayo ( Line A), Catedral ( Line D), and Bolívar ( Line E).

History

The modern plaza took form in 1884 when the colonnade separating the ''Plaza de la Victoria'' and the ''Plaza del Fuerte'' was demolished. Its origins, however, can be traced back to

Juan de Garay Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador. Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's n ...

's foundation of Buenos Aires itself, in 1580. Newly arrived to the dusty riverbank settlement,

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

clergymen in 1608 secured a title to much of the lot, on which Garay's earlier plans for a central plaza had been abandoned. In 1661, the local governor purchased the eastern half for inclusion into the grounds of the city's new fort; this section soon became the ''Plaza de Armas''. Following over a century of overuse and neglect, the local colonial government attempted to give a semblance of order to the plaza by having a colonnade built across it from north to south. Completed in 1804, the Romanesque structure became the plaza's market and the lot to the west of the colonnade became the ''Plaza de la Victoria''. The area continued divided between these two plazas until 1883 and with only minor changes in landscaping, chief among them the 1811 addition of the May Pyramid, a monument put up to commemorate the newly independent "Provinces of the Rio de la Plata". That year, however, Mayor Torcuato de Alvear ordered the space modernized, resulting in the resulting in the colonnade's demolition and the creation of the modern ''Plaza de Mayo. File:Buenos Aires-Jura de la Constitución (1854).jpg, Oath of the Constitution of Buenos Aires, 1854. File:Vieja Recova.jpg, The old colonnade, 1864. File:Plaza de la Victoria.png, 1867 view of the Plaza. File:La Catedral Metropolitana (Buenos Aires).jpg, The Cathedral and May Pyramid, c. 1880. File:Fiestas mayas en la Plaza (AGNA, 1899).jpg, Fiestas Mayas, 1899. File:Plaza mayo night 1910.jpg, Celebration of the

, 1910. File:Nieve.jpg, Rare snowfall on Buenos Aires, at the ''Plaza de Mayo'', 1918.

Surroundings

Political significance

The Plaza de Mayo has always been the focal point of political life in Buenos Aires. Its current name commemorates the

of 1810, which started the process towards the country's independence from Spain in 1816. File:El pueblo quiere saber de qué se trata.jpg, '' ¡El pueblo quiere saber de qué se trata!'', the

of May 25, 1810 File:17deoctubre-enlafuente.jpg, Famous

Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of A ...

demonstration of October 17, 1945, known as Loyalty Day File:Plaza-Mayo-bombardeo-1955.JPG, The Bombing of Plaza de Mayo, June 16, 1955 File:2ª Marcha de la Resistencia 9 y 10 diciembre 1982.jpg, The second "March of Resistance" of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, December 9, 1982

1940s – 1960s

On October 17, 1945, mass

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

in the Plaza de Mayo organized by the CGT

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

federation forced the release from prison of

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

, who would later become President of Argentina; during his tenure, the

movement gathered every October 17 in the Plaza de Mayo to show their support for their leader (and October 17 is still " Loyalty Day" for the traditional Peronists). Many other presidents, both democratic and military, have also saluted people in the Plaza from the Casa Rosada's balcony. In an attempt to overthrow President Perón, the plaza was bombed during one of the populist leader's many rallies there on 16 June 1955, killing 364.

1970s – present

Years later, in 1974, Perón, then president for the third time, expelled from the Plaza members of the

Montoneros Montoneros ( es, link=no, Movimiento Peronista Montonero-MPM) was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla organization, active throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The name is an allusion to the 19th-century cavalry militias called Montone ...

, an armed organization on the far left that had contributed to the aging leader's return from exile the previous year and had since demanded influence within the national government. Perón's final appearance at the plaza, on 12 June, was marked by an acrimonious break with the far left, leading to two years of violence and repression and, ultimately, a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. Crowds gathered once again on April 2, 1982, and several occasions thereafter to hail ''de facto'' President

Leopoldo Galtieri Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri (; 15 July 1926 12 January 2003) was an Argentine general and politician of Italian descent who served as President of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982. Galtieri ruled as a military dictator during the Na ...

for Argentina's invasion of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, which launched the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

( es, Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur). The plaza, since 1977, is where the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have congregated with signs and pictures of '' desaparecidos'', their children, who were subject to

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...

by the

Argentine military The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are ...

in the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

, during the

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...

. People perceived to be supportive of subversive activities (that would include expressing left-wing ideas, or having any link with these people, however tenuous) would be illegally detained, subject to abuse and torture, and finally murdered in secret. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo took advantage of the symbolic importance of the Plaza to open the public's eyes to what the military regime was doing. Protests have continued on taking place, with the major last one being during the December 2001 riots when five protesters were killed and several others injured by police as they

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

ed around the Plaza de Mayo.

Today

Today, Plaza de Mayo continues to be an indispensable

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

for those who visit Buenos Aires. Several of the city's major landmarks are located around the Plaza: the Cabildo (the city council during the colonial era), the Casa Rosada (home of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...

of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

), the

Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires) is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia ...

, the May Pyramid, the

Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano The Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano is a landmark of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located at Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Casa Rosada. It depicts General Manuel Belgrano holding the Flag of Argentina, and it is made of bronze o ...

, the current

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

or ''municipalidad'', and the headquarters of the Nación Bank. The Buenos Aires financial district ('' microcentro''), affectionately known as ''la City'' (sic) also lies besides the Plaza.

Gallery

File:Plaza De Mayo 2009.jpg, File:Plaza de Mayo 0022.jpg, File:Plaza de Mayo (8894432897).jpg, File:Plaza de Mayo, Nov. 2013.jpg, File:Plaza de mayo y piramide.jpg, File:Plaza de Mayo en Primavera.jpg, File:Fuente de la Plaza de Mayo.jpg, File:Buenos Aires-Plaza de Mayo-Overview.jpg, File:CABA - Monserrat - Plaza de Mayo 01.jpg, File:Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires (5463287946).jpg,

References

External links

Grandmothers of the PlazaTourismBuenos AiresCasa Rosada
{{Authority control Mayo Tourist attractions in Buenos Aires National squares