Technically Plaza Dr. Bernardo Houssay is not in Once, it is across the street in Barrio Norte (which is technically Recoleta). But being a mere 10 steps from Once (technically Balvanera), I thought we could let that pass…
This busy square has had a major makeover recently, with a food court being constructed just below street level with an easy (and aesthetic) connection with the Line D subway line.
The largest building you see towering overhead is the University of Buenos Aires’ Medical School – La Facultad de Medicina. Across Avenida Cordoba is the School of Economics.
The hundreds of young Porteños you see buzzing around are likely students running late to class.
Turn to face Uriburu street (with the medical school to your right) and you’ll see three large murals on the Hospital de Clinicas.
These murals pay homage and memory to the horrific terrorist attack on Balvanera’s Jewish Community Center AMIA in 1994.
The first mural, painted by Mariano Antedoménico, shows neighbors organizing to rescue victims from the rubble.
The second, by Martin Ron, depicts the doctors treating the victims from a victim’s point of view. It is in honor to the doctors who treated more than 300 patients that day.
The final mural, by Mariela Ajras, is of a blindfolded woman inside a sandglass, which represents the continued fight for justice despite the passage of time.