TOURISM OF THE BICENTENARY (By Hostel Buenos Aires)

Next May 25th, Argentina will celebrate its Bicentenary. And for those who want to learn more about our history before the great event, the “Cabildo (City Hall) and May Revolution Museum” is the right place. Located inside the Cabildo (Former City Hall), in front of the Plaza de Mayo, with entrance on 65 Bolivar St., this museum is a perfect chance to learn from our history in the very place where it occurred.

The Cabildo is one of the two buildings that remained in the same place as in 1810, when Argentina became an independent nation. It has been restored a couple of times, losing part of its original length and the main tower, but preserving the main structure and the historic halls. Guided visits to the building can be taken from Wednesday to Fridays from 10.30AM to 5PM and on weekends and holidays from 11.30AM to 6PM. The cost is 1 Argentine peso (30 dollar cents) for the entrance and 3 Argentine pesos (80 dollar cents) for the guided visit.

The tour crosses through the “Capitulation Hall”, where Viceroy Cisneros signed the capitulation and allowed the formation of the First Argentine Government, the inside patio where a few patriots awaited for its surrender, and a special hall where the acoustic play “Sounds and Voices from May” takes place. This play is and authentic historic archive that transportates the visitor to that glorious time.

Inside the Cabildo are exhibited paintings, portraits, pieces and jewels from the 18th Century, the state fortune arch, the old press installed by Viceroy Vértiz, the Oruro plate (a gift to the City Hall in occasion of the victory over the British during the 1807 British Invasions) and, in the patio, you can taka a glimpse of an old tank dating from 1835 that belonged to Manuel Belgrano, politician and creator of the Argentine flag.