Page 188 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

186  ARGENTINA REGION B Y REGION

composers, lived in Argentina
until his death in 1946. From
1942 onwards he lived in Alta
Gracia in a small house which
has been converted into this
excellent museum.
The Museo Manuel de Falla
re-creates the composer’s life,
showcasing his music and vari-
ous musical influences with
exhibits that include his lib rary,
his piano, and his per sonal
letters. Although Manuel de
Falla chose to live in Alta Gracia
because of its reputa tion for
fresh mountain air, one of the
The altar and pews of Iglesia Parroquial Nuestra Señora de la Merced displays is the machine used to
roll his ciga rettes. Piano and
2 Alta Gracia R Iglesia Parroquial Nuestra chamber music reci tals are
Señora de la Merced occasionally held in the concert
Road map B2. 25 miles (40 km) SW of
Córdoba. * 43,000. @ n (0347) Plaza Manuel Solares. Tel (03547) hall in the garden.
428-128. ∑ altagracia.gov.ar 421-303. 8 Jan–Feb: 9:30am–8pm
Tue–Sun & hols; Mar–Dec: 9am–1pm, E Museo del Che Guevara
In the prosperous 3–7pm Tue–Fri, 9:30am–12:30pm, Avellaneda 501. Tel (03547) 428-579.
agricultural belt of the 3:30–6:30pm Sat, Sun, & hols. Open Jan–Feb: 9am−8pm daily; Mar–
Calmuchita Valley is 5 Jan–Feb: 8pm Mon−Sat, Dec: 2–6:30pm Mon, 9am–6:30pm
the small, historic 10am Sun; Mar–Dec: 6pm Tue–Sun. & free Wed. 8 by prior
town of Alta Gracia. Mon−Sat, 10am & 6pm Sun. arrangement. 7 limited.
∑ museoliniers.org.ar
It was founded by the ∑ altagracia.gov.ar/museos/che
Jesuits on land granted Designed by Andrés Known as Villa Beatriz, this
to them in the 17th Blanqui, this is one of pretty mock-Tudor house was
century by the colonial Argentina’s finest extant one of several dwellings
government. The churches of the late occupied by the Guevara family
Jesuits built a large Italian Baroque style. during the 1930s. In 2001, it was
ranch, part of a Religious painting, Its curved outer walls reopened as a museum, or
network of similar sites Museo Liniers resemble a cross, and more as a shrine, dedicated to
developed to help the highly ornamented the revolutionary Che Guevara.
fund the Universidad interior has a carved wooden Although they do not
Nacional de Córdoba, one of pulpit and a columned altar. provide an in-depth analysis of
Latin America’s oldest univer- his life and ideals, the displays
sities. The Alta Gracia estancia, E Museo Manuel de Falla feature an interesting collection
which fell into disuse after the Pellegrini 1011. Tel (03547) 429-292. of family photos, Cuban bank
Jesuits’ expul sion in 1773, was Open Jan–Feb: 9am–8pm daily; Mar– notes, school report cards,
named a UNESCO World Dec: 2–6:30pm Mon, 9am–6:30pm letters from Che to his favorite
Heritage Site in 2000. It is now Tue–Sun. & free Wed. 8 call ahead. aunt, and editions of books by
the Museo Históríco Casa del ∑ altagracia.gov.ar/cultura authors favored by the
Virrey Liniers. Fleeing the Franco regime in adolescent Guevara, including
Alta Gracia came into 1939, Manuel de Falla, one of Freud, Baudelaire, Pablo Neruda,
prominence in the 1920s and Spain’s greatest modern and Jules Verne.
30s when it attracted wealthy
Argentinians in search of fresh
air and second homes. The
most famous of these were
the families of Ernesto Che
Guevara and Spanish
composer Manuel de Falla.
To the north of the city is the
Tajamar, an artificial lake built
by the Jesuits in 1653 and
probably the first of its kind in
the Americas. Located here is
the town’s clock tower, built in
1938 to commemorate Alta
Gracia’s 350th anniversary. Home of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, now a museum
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp280–81 and pp293–4

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm