Memorial Park – A sad reminder to Argentina’s dictatorship

Between 1976 – 1983 Argentina suffered its worse military dictatorship in its history. If you want to learn more about it then this 14-hectare park is well worth a visit. The park is situated in the Costanera area, just past the aiport of Buenos Aires and you can reach it by taking the 160 bus from Plaza Italia. During the dictatorship 30,000 people disappeared. Many of them were in their 20’s. This led to the mother’s movement (more about that in the post “Madres”). The location of the park is no coincidence. During the disappearances so called death flight operated. Quite literally people were taken up in planes and then thrown to their death. The parks location is near to where this took place There are several monuments in the park dedicated to the dead each with its own poignant meaning. If you walk by the river you can read the many plaques about the events. Unfortunately, only in Spanish. The most visual are the 4 concrete slabs with the names of the victims. These are listed in chronological order with the victims age and in the case of the women if they were pregnant. The park opened on August 30, 2001. This coincided with the International Day of the Disappeared,.  Entrance is free and the park is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm and at the weekend from 10am to 7pm. You can pick up a brochure in English or Spanish at the entrance.