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The singing of birds and the aromas of spring already in bloom harmonize the bustle of Buenos Aires. The city is lively, although this corner offers an atmosphere of calm, silence and greenery. But it hasn’t always been this way: for decades dozens of residents of the Argentine capital have organized to claim a square in the area, which has a deficit of green areas. Twenty years later, Station Park saw the light and today a community theater performance recalls the neighborhood battle and invites us to transform public spaces.
“More greenery, less concrete. We want a square.” Elisabet Mosconi (60, Buenos Aires) still keeps some of the banners with which a quarter of a century ago they began to claim a green space on old abandoned land belonging to the railway in the neighborhoods of Almagro and Balvanera, in the heart of Buenos Aires.
For years they have organized meetings, assemblies and mobilisations to spread the proposal and ask for the transformation of the space, which is also dark and unsafe. The project included a large public park of over one hectare, but also a cultural and educational proposal for the inhabitants of the area. “We saw that there was empty land and it wasn’t being used,” he laments.
For 15 years they promoted initiatives and complaints without receiving a response, until, in 2016, they managed to enact a municipal law ordering the creation of a park on that abandoned property next to the railway line, where the neighbors had a leading stake.
Then the Buenos Aires authorities conducted a survey among 150 residents of the area and the result was overwhelming: 92% considered it “important” or “very important” to have a green space nearby. And 77% believe that it is necessary to improve the provision of parks. Furthermore, they highlighted the need for a place to play sports, walk with children and rest. In that area of the Argentine capital there are just 0.2 square meters of greenery per inhabitant.
“We want the square to be full”
Mosconi describes that there was “real neighborhood participation” in the development of the works. “We worked with authorities and experts, almost everything we proposed came to fruition,” he explains. In addition to 8,000 square meters of open space, the old railway sheds have been repurposed to become a huge library where workshops open to the community are held. A sports center for nearby schools and a room for multiple activities have also been included.
«The idea is that the neighbors come, we want the square to be full, to be used», enthuses Mosconi. The community also participated in the design of the green spaces. “It was established that there would be flora native to the Río de la Plata. This was abandoned and it was important that there was flora, because without flora there are no birds or animals. Now butterflies appear and a microclimate is created that benefits the entire city”, says the woman.
But the work was neither easy nor fast. The works lasted more than two years and, shortly after their conclusion, the Covid pandemic broke out, forcing the entire world into lockdown. When the health situation allowed the reopening, public spaces became protagonists and, as happened in other large cities in the world, were reevaluated.
Public space as an artistic trench
Several families of birds migrate in search of the promised land: an old map assures that behind an extensive wall they will find the place to build their homes after being expelled from the city due to pollution and building development. With this topic, the community theater group Sin Telón tells, with humor, irony and poetry, the neighbors’ struggle to create a public park in “Memories of the Station”, a show released this year.
“Community theater is immersed in the stories of our territory,” explains actress and playwright Verónica Caminos. Together with his colleague Agustín Clusellas they had already worked on a work on the Abasto market – located a few blocks from the park – which told the story of an old market transformed thirty years ago into a gigantic shopping center. “There we met many neighbors and projects were born. One day Elisabet proposed doing some work in the park”, says Clusellas.
Then began an investigation process that lasted several years. They interviewed neighbors, researched the history of the park and the community’s struggle. “It was exciting to see neighbors tell the story of their ancestors and the neighborhood,” Caminos says. Clusellas recalls the anxiety with a laugh: “They asked us when we would release her.”
But, being a community theater group working in a cultural space in the area, the artists are the same neighbors. Elisabet plays a park-supporting congresswoman who rejects the construction of luxury towers in the area. “The group appropriated the story because it tells something recent,” they say. “The actors are residents of the area and the costumes were designed by one of them. It is a collective process with roles and professionalism of the neighbors who have an absolute commitment”, they underline with emotion.
The work focuses on environmental and urban struggle, told from the point of view of birds and their alliance with a group of humans who also desire a green space that improves the quality of life. “We invite metaphor into a world that is dying of literality,” says Caminos. And Clusellas expands: “The goal was to tell the story of a privatized place, closed to the public and how the flora and fauna were affected and which increased pollution.”
A park with a future
Mosconi visits the Station Park almost daily. “It’s wonderful to see people enjoying this place. There aren’t many 200 square meter properties in this area, they’re small houses, people need to get out,” he says. According to the latest census, around 390,000 inhabitants live in the four neighborhoods near the square – Almagro, Balvanera, Boedo and San Cristóbal. “People don’t have space at home and this is absolutely necessary,” he says.
Clusellas says that, since the pandemic, the square has been invaded by hundreds of people who visit it every day and at all hours you can observe groups of friends, open dance classes, children playing sports and workshops like the one held by Carlos Callegari, another neighbor who teaches chess every Friday in the park library.
Mosconi points out that the complaints have inspired residents of other neighborhoods to face similar struggles. “We have been marked by other very similar struggles, as happened with the Avellaneda and Quinquela Martín parks. It is incredible that more parks are not built, with all the benefits that this entails,” he reflects.
“The park allows for more sensitive encounters. In a city with so many buildings, here you can see the sky, connect with nature. It’s our green paradise,” describes Caminos. Next to him, under a lapacho, Clusellas agrees: “It’s a collective place, it’s pure air.”
Excited, Mosconi shows old photos and remembers the 20 years of struggle, sighs, stops to hear the sound of the birds invading the trees under the spring afternoon and summarizes: “The park is important to see happy people”.
