Buenos Aires cancels Recoleta Cemetery gift shop tender amid family dispute

Buenos Aires has withdrawn a tender to establish a gift shop selling food and beverages within an old vault at the prestigious Recoleta Cemetery. The decision follows a legal challenge from the heirs of the family that previously managed the space.

The legal action was prompted by Lucía Girado, an heir who questioned the termination of the concession for the vault and sought to halt any disposition of the property. The city government stated that the registered owners of the vault owed approximately $22.2 million pesos in maintenance fees from 2007 to 2026, plus another $15.6 million for repair work performed by the city. Authorities asserted that standard procedures, including official notices and public edicts since 2025, were followed, but no owners settled the debts.

Girado, however, stated that neither she nor other family members were notified about the tender or the vault's status. She expressed concern about the whereabouts of family remains, including her father and grandparents, believed to be interred there. The vault, located in Section 17, was reportedly returned to the city's patrimony after administrative procedures were completed.

The controversial tender, initially revealed by La Nación, proposed a five-year commercial exploitation of the 24.55-square-meter space with a base fee of $1.6 million pesos. The plan to convert a family vault into a commercial establishment within the city's most iconic cemetery sparked public outcry and led to the family's legal intervention.