Monserrat District, Buenos Aires

Near the centre of Buenos Aires, in the district of Monserrat ,is the Plaza de Mayo. This is where you can see the Casa Rosada (Pink House of the National Government), El Cabildo (the colonial Town Hall) and the Catedral al Sur, which is so unimposing on the outside that we walked past it without noticing it on our first visit to the square. However, when we did finally realise that it was a Cathedral and went in, by chance we were able to hear a wonderful choir of about 15 men and women singing, unaccompanied in perfect harmony, a whole range of classical pieces. Very impressive!

The Plaza is the scene of celebrations, protests, parades, political dermonstrations and when nothing of this sort is going on, as when we visited, a peaceful meeting place for pigeons, tourists, day-trippers and passers-by.

Today the Plaza probably owes most of its fame to the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, the women who still show up in the square seeking information on the deseparecidos, their loved ones who vanished during the Dirty War.