Parque de la Memoria

Remembering Argentina’s Violent Past

Something not listed in many tour guides is the Parque de la Memoria (Memory Park) in Buenos Aires. Between the local airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newberry and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), looking out onto the Río de la Plata estuary, this park is a memorial to the victims of the military regime.

The 1976-83 military regime was and is a very dark patch in Argentina’s history. The scars of which can still be seen today in society, such as in the continued existence of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. The military government called this time the National Reorganization Period, an all too sanitary name for this extremely violent spell during Argentina’s Dirty War. In this time, it is estimated that 30,000 people went missing, most of them young men or boys. Bodies were flown from a military airport close to where the memorial is today, and dumped in the river.

Hence Parque de la Memoria’s strategic position on the banks of the river, a reminder of the chilling acts of this regime. There is one particularly moving sculpture which stands in the river itself and becomes obscured when the water level rises. The park is fairly sparse, with scattered monuments and sculptures, and two large walls of names of victims. There is a big hall in the centre of the park which contains exhibitions and serves a cultural centre as well. It is fittingly quiet here, despite a fair amount of locals and kids playing on the ramps leading past the wall of names, and its proximity to the airport.

Parque de la Memoria is unpretentious, undecorated, sombre and haunting, even in the light of a beautiful winter’s day. I feel it is a fitting memorial to pay homage to such a terrible scar on Argentina’s history, and provided an insightful and sobering visit.