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Palacio Libertad
- eriklausund
- Mar 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 22
Throughout Buenos Aires, there is a lot of art. Large-scale public art, like the Floralis Genérica. Museums dedicated to genres and individual artists. Murals. Momentous architecture. Palacio Libertad is a place where visual art, performing arts, and space come together. It is a space that’s built in an architectural style that pays homage to Hausmannian-ish French styles on the outside and is a 21st century structure on the inside.
Palacio Libertad, the building, started out as the central post office. After much effort, the original building was opened in 1928. At the time, it was the largest building in Argentina, taking up a city block, eight stories tall, and ornate. It served as the center of the postal system, and housed many other functions, including the headquarters of Eva Peron’s foundation. The postal functions were moved out in the early 2000s, and by 2015, after tremendous renovations had been completed, it was re-opened as a cultural center. In essence, the façade and circumference of rooms were preserved, and a modern building seamlessly built inside. It houses a concert hall and five auditoriums for theater and music, a plaza, and an abundance of performance and exhibition space. About a million square feet (about 100,000 square meters) in space all together. The concert hall is home to Argentina’s national symphony orchestra. All exhibits and performances are free.
One of the most visibly exciting elements of the building is the concert hall that is a giant, zeppelin-like bubble in the middle of the building’s vast center. The bubble is clad in steel elements, effectively shielding the inside from cell phone reception. While over 1,900 people fit, the venue feels intimate. We’ve made it to three performances, enjoying works by a British composer (Edgar Elgar), a current Argentinian composer (Nico Sorin), and another Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzolla, who created “nuevo tango,” blending tango with jazz and classical music. All three were unexpected and fun explorations. And it was great to see great cross sections of people have access to and enjoy top notch performance. The enjoyment reflected in the crowd seemed unpretentious and joyous. On our first performance we found our favorite spot, first balcony, first row, left, forward. A great vantage point on the performance space.
When we had time before the performances, we were able to explore the mesmerizing building and exhibits. I tried to capture the performance hall bubble in photos, and I hope that they communicate some parts of the amazing sphere. One exhibit we happened upon, inside the purple-blue light above the performance hall, offered a purpose-built metal structure made for puncturing a drywall wall. I am unsure what the piece wants to communicate to me, but I very much would have liked to participate in the “installation!” In a more traditional space, we found a more traditional exhibition, this one of photos of icebergs and ice formations in antarctica. The collection was enthralling in its capture of the stark and oddly beautiful environment, calling attention to the fragile nature of it all. While entitled “Antártida, belleza que se derrite” (“Antarctica, melting beauty”), the experience was one of clear and uncompromising witness paid by a camera and reflected back in the hung prints. The last exhibit that we wandered through was also photos, but a very different experience. “Negativos Encontrados” (“Found Negatives”) is a collection of hundreds of small photos collected from refuse. Initially an apparently pedantic work (which is clearly also is), the tangible captures in time make a space that allows for reflection on memories and the passage of time.
What is now Palacio Libertad is the collection of a sequence of vanity projects, with the most recent being the then-President’s building a monument to himself. The result is a vibrant locale which is, if you can’t already tell, my favorite art space in Buenos Aires. Admittedly, I have lots of favorites here, but Palacio Libertad appears to me an impressive reflection of Argentina’s national cultural self-identity and I am glad that we had the opportunity to experience it in the way we did.
The Music
If you’re interested in the music pieces that we saw, here are some links to recordings on YouTube.
Nicolás Sorín Sinfónico - Sinfonía antártica I (Esperanza)
This is part of the larger performance we saw and was recorded at Palacio Libertad (then called CCK).
Astor Piazzolla
Especially the following two capture what we heard:
0:12:32 Oblivion
0:16:24 Libertango
Edward Elgar: Symphony No. 2
Palacio Libertad – Schedule
I love your writing style, it transported me to Palacio Libertad effortlessly. Through your excitement of this beautiful space to the history and current offerings, I am dreaming of a time that I can visit BA. Thank you.