Round-trip walk, starting at the corner of Gurruchaga and Charcas, and ending at the corner of Gurruchaga and Guatemala, in the neighborhood of Palermo. Upon crossing Córdoba Avenue, the urban landscape changes scale to enter Villa Crespo, a neighborhood that harbors a particular historical curiosity in its street grid.
What is "cephaleutics"?
The term cephaleutics (cefaléutica) is a neologism coined by Argentine researcher and writer Vicente Mario Di Maggio in his work Cefaléutica de Buenos Aires (originally published in the journal Artefacto and by the collective Taller de Etnoficción / TRE). Built by analogy with concepts like maieutics or hermeneutics, it combines two Ancient Greek roots:
• κεφαλή (kephalē): head.In a sarcastic and conceptual sense, cephaleutics is defined as:
• -ευτική (-eutikē): suffix from maieutikē, the "art of giving birth."
"The art of finding and pointing out trophy heads (...) the relationship between destiny and toponymy surrounding the heads of figures that make up a cadastre register."In the historical context of the Río de la Plata and the independence and civil wars, the practice of severing and displaying heads functioned as a trophy and symbol of power for the annihilation of the enemy. Cephaleutics traces how that violent memory remained invisibly embedded in the toponymy of the City of Buenos Aires.
Villa Crespo and "The Route of the Heads"
Following Di Maggio's article titled "La ruta de las cabezas" ("The Route of the Heads"), a key fact stands out: Villa Crespo is the neighborhood in Buenos Aires that concentrates the highest number of streets associated with this phenomenon, connecting decapitated figures, decapitalizers, and chroniclers of these events.
Based on the author's map and research, I designed my own urban trekking circuit to walk these streets on foot.
• Author's interactive map: La ruta de las cabezas en Amo Villa Crespo
https://www.amovillacrespo.com.ar/post/larutadelascabezas
• To delve deeper into the work:o Historical note from the City Government
https://buenosaires.gob.ar/gcaba_historico/noticias/cefaleutica-de-buenos-aires
o Reference publication on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgNMYmVJx60/?img_index=2
Nomenclature and Toponymy of the Route
Below is the official nomenclature of the circuit's thoroughfares according to the classic work by Alberto Gabriel Piñeiro (Las calles de Buenos Aires: Sus nombres desde la fundación hasta nuestros días), along with the historical counterpoints highlighted by Di Maggio's research and other sources:
• Summary of the origin and nomenclature of these Buenos Aires streets, based on the work by Alberto Gabriel Piñeiro (Las calles de Buenos Aires: Sus nombres desde la fundación hasta nuestros días):
Lerma
• Origin of the name: Pays tribute to Hernán Lerma (c. 1550–1610), Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator who served as governor of Tucumán between 1580 and 1584, and founder of the city of Salta in 1582.
• Nomenclature: Formally designated by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Lavalleja
• Origin of the name: Commemorates Brigadier General Juan Antonio Lavalleja (1784–1853), Uruguayan military officer and politician, military leader of the Thirty-Three Orientals expedition that achieved the independence of the Banda Oriental, where he also served as governor and president.
• Nomenclature: Formally designated by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Loyola
• Origin of the name: Tribute to Martín Ignacio de Loyola (c. 1550–1606), Spanish Franciscan friar and sailor who served as governor of the Río de la Plata and Paraguay on two occasions in the late 16th century.
• Nomenclature: Named by means of the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Camargo
• Origin of the name: Commemorates Alonso de Camargo (16th century), Spanish navigator and explorer who commanded the expedition sent by the Bishop of Plasencia in 1539, which crossed the Strait of Magellan to reach the coasts of Chile and the Pacific.
• Nomenclature: Assigned by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Padilla
• Origin of the name: Pays tribute to Manuel Asencio Padilla (1784–1816), Upper Peruvian commander and heroic guerrilla of the War of Independence, husband of Juana Azurduy, killed in action at the Battle of El Villar.
• Nomenclature: Designated by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Murillo
• Origin of the name: Tribute to Pedro Domingo Murillo (1757–1810), patriot and precursor of Bolivian independence, proto-martyr of the La Paz revolution who headed the Junta Tuitiva of La Paz in 1809.
• Nomenclature: Named by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Warnes (Avenue)
• Origin of the name: Honors Colonel Ignacio Warnes (1772–1816), Buenos Aires military officer who fought in the Reconquest of Buenos Aires, served under Manuel Belgrano in the campaigns to Paraguay and Upper Peru, and fell in command of the Republiqueta de Santa Cruz at the Battle of El Pari.
• Nomenclature: Confirmed by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Dorrego (Avenue)
• Origin of the name: Pays tribute to Colonel Manuel Dorrego (1787–1828), prominent military officer in the wars of independence and a key figure in the Federalist Party; he was governor of the province of Buenos Aires until his overthrow and execution by firing squad under Juan Lavalle.
• Nomenclature: Officialized by the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Rojas
• Origin of the name: Commemorates Colonel José María Rojas (1791–1834), military officer who served in the independence campaigns and the civil conflicts of the 19th century.
• Nomenclature: Named through the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Antezana
• Origin of the name: Pays tribute to Esteban Antezana (1770–1812), Upper Peruvian patriot, leader, and central figure of the Cochabamba revolution of 1810 and 1812 against Royalist forces.
• Nomenclature: Assigned in the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
Hidalgo
• Origin of the name: Honors Bartolomé Hidalgo (1788–1822), Rioplatense poet and playwright (born in Montevideo), pioneer and considered one of the founders of Gaucho literature with his famous Cielitos and Diálogos patrióticos.
• Nomenclature: Officialized through the Ordinance of November 27, 1893.
• Regarding Loyola, Di Maggio's text "La ruta de las cabezas" states the following: "it turns out that the name is dedicated to the conquistador Martín García Óñez de Loyola (1548–1598), governor of Chile, who commissioned the founding of the Argentine city of San Luis."
• Regarding Antezana: On various websites, he appears under the name Joaquín Mariano de Antezana Casafranca (and not Esteban).
An everyday route through the neighborhood's streets that takes on a completely different meaning when walked through the prism of the tragic and fascinating map of Buenos Aires toponymy.
Links:
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Lerma
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Antonio_Lavalleja
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mart%C3%ADn_Mallea
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mart%C3%ADn_Garc%C3%ADa_%C3%93%C3%B1ez_de_Loyola
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonso_de_Camargo
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Ascencio_Padilla
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Domingo_Murillo
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Warnes
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Dorrego
• https://ancestors.familysearch.org/es/LCXF-BB1/coronel%2C-jos%C3%A9-mar%C3%ADa-rojas-argerich-%2C-guerrero-de-la-independencia.-1791-1852
• https://www.revisionistas.com.ar/?p=7151
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Antezana
• https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolom%C3%A9_Hidalgo
Link to Wikiloc: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/walk-through-palermo-and-villa-crespo-caba-cephaleutics-cefaleutica-in-villa-crespo-278397510
