In Strangers' Arms

I passed by this building with camera in hand. I had been intrigued by its massive structure and terracota ceramics since I was a child.

I didn’t know its style was called “eclectic, a cross between Second French Empire and center-european and Renaissance architecture.” Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes (Build to house water tanks to service the nearby area) occupies an entire “manzana.”

It opened in 1894 during Sarmiento’s presidency, when the coffers of the city had not been yet ravaged by corrupt politicians. In fact, Sarmiento is one of our few presidents who died poor and alone in Paraguay.

I just occurs te me the Palacio is just a bit younger than tango.

I learned more about this building from historian Esteban Ierardo during one of his tours (Caminatas). It is no longer functional to supply water to the city. It was built in England and transported here in pieces. Since the designers were thinking about the Brazilian forest and not about the Argentine urban setting, luscious plants and fruits ornate the structure.