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The enigmatic Antoni Gaudí used to say that the architect is able to see things as a whole before they are made. Maybe with that premise Paula Reina must have seen Carlos Begueriea small town within the Roque Pérez district in the province of Buenos Aires, which returned from oblivion.
The site is named after a entrerriano who stood out at the Paraná school, where he shared classrooms with former president Julio Argentino Roca. He later was part of the forces of the Triple Alliance war against Paraguay. After the war he settled in the Buenos Aires province to carry out an agricultural operation.
On the occasion of the arrival of the railway, he donated the land that gave life to the town around the station. Located at a crossroads at the junction of the tracks, it became a famous location until it acquired a nickname: “the pearl of the Provincial”. Agricultural-livestock exploitation, plums, apples, peaches, quinces, along with 2,000 liters of milk per day from half a dozen farms in the region: La Carlota, The pines, The High Greensamong others, all transported by rail.
At that time Carlos Beguerie had more than 2,000 inhabitants, two doctors, a pharmacist and four general stores.. That is, more than four times the number of people who live in the town today.
One of them is Paula Reina, whose fate was linked to the nearby Roque Pérez from the belly. Just for one day she was not born there, but in Banfield. His father, an Italian immigrant who arrived with the rest of his family to reunite with his grandfather who had emigrated seven years earlier, met a Chaco woman with whom he raised a family of six children. It was a childhood with many friends in the neighborhood and a great passion for crafts that my marble and carpenter dad passed on. “As a little girl, I learned to be curious and to try as many times as necessary,” says Paula, “while she smelled Mom’s homemade snack that she looked forward to every day when we returned from school.”
Summers were lived in a small house made with family hands in San Miguel del Monte. Paula’s two brothers and her father returned to work in Banfield during the week, while her mother was inspired by the technique of Gaudi’s trencadis to cover the floor of the rest house with pieces of ceramic. During the week the girls collected worms to sell to the fishermen on Saturdays and Sundays.
When Paula finished high school she decided that she wanted to go live in the country.. His godparents lived in Roque Pérez, laborers in a room with his two sons. So, 18 years later, he returned to town. “I learned everything,” he continues, “I became a couple with Pocho and lived together for 15 years in the ranch position. I was just another pawn. I didn’t care about the early mornings, the frost, the strong heat, or the snap of a wire, whole days of herding or plowing a field. “He enjoyed resting in the shade on the side of a ditch, tending to a neighbor’s cows while they grazed.”
They barely managed to buy a piece of land in Roque Pérez. Most of the house was built with his own hands. “I laid meters and meters of floor alone with courage,” he remembers. “I didn’t know how to do it, I was learning as I went.”
Time passed, the love of a couple faded, but that of family remained intact. They decided to separate, but always accompany each other. “At that time,” she continues, “she used to walk a lot, take photographs of the landscapes and nature, reach the Salado River and wait for dawn. It was when the pages of towns in Buenos Aires began to be all the rage. People started following me and asking where my images were from. People I didn’t know came to visit my house, but I took them in my car on a tour to Carlos Beguerie, the only rural town in the Roque Pérez district where there was a country store.”. There they stopped on the trail and picked something. Inside Paula was an idea: what a pity that they don’t have a place to stay!
In 1961 he passed through Carlos Beguerie the last passenger train and six years later the last freight car with more than 40 families who left for other directions. The town was then almost desolate. But Paula considered that the place deserved accommodation. In 2017 she bought a small house with Pocho, her ex-partner. Just ten days later, he is diagnosed with leukemia. They fought it together at the Hospital del Cruce de Varela. While there they received a photo of Graciela and Esteban, some visitors with whom they had shared a snack. The photo was of his little house and the message said “we returned to Beguerie.” That encouraged them to dream again..
Later, Paula met Rubén on Facebook. He was in Entre Ríos, in General Ramírez, 550 km away. Through talks, the bond grew. “I was always strong to support Pocho and accompany him through his illness,” says Paula, “but in my moments of relief I was alone.”
When she started talking to Rubén, Paula clarified that she came “with a combo.” She did not have children, but she did have an ex-partner whom she would always accompany. In turn, she told Pocho and he encouraged her to keep going.
The dream of the accommodation became reality with the first guests, just a few days before Pocho’s death.
The accommodation is called The Rebusque and is led by Paula and the writer Rubén Feit. The house was assembled from the discarded grout. “These mansions are more than 100 years old and after a short time after being painted, the walls peel off,” Explain Paula.
On a visit to the old family house with the floor strewn with mosaic puzzles, it occurred to them to repeat the technique. “We gather pieces of ceramic everywhere -Paula continues-, even the neighbors brought us clippings from their homes. The town corralón gave us a large amount. That’s how we started hitting, without any knowledge, just the desire to do it. We were inspired by the flora and fauna, as well as our customs.” Today the walls represent its payments, its people, its rivers and animals. “The only thing previously designed on a piece of paper was the figure of Pocho on horseback,” she says. Today this mural receives hundreds of people who come every month to meet them.
They covered the entire construction with murals made with pieces of ceramic, recalling the technique of Gaudí and Paula’s mother. The Rebusque It became the spearhead for many other ventures to arrive that were encouraged to bet on Carlos Beguerie.
Today there are six accommodations, country stores, barbecue, promenade, garden, and even a tourist office that offers guided tours and free bicycles to explore the town.not only the ruggedness, but to discover a very authentic place, with identity and roots.
“The proposal includes enjoying the old buildings, the Church of Perpetual Help“, of the squares where our intervention is also located – says Paula -, with checkerboards and tatetí with the trencadis technique, a mural of the Malvinas Islands and another in the fire station.” In each column of public lighting they applied interventions of native birds that guide until The Rebusque.
“We were that boost of confidence for the townspeople,” he continues, “so that they are encouraged to value what they have. Not everything is tied to an important purchasing level. With desire, perseverance, creativity and community commitment, it is possible to transform that train that once stopped passing today into tourism. Carlos Beguerie is special. Here the visitor will truly discover a town in its true splendor, with no more brilliance than his own and that of its people.” The chirping of birds, the aroma of pure nature, its simple people and its starry skies… As Gaudí would say, “original is that which returns to simplicity.”
Whatsapp: (02227) 61-0664.
IG: @alojamientoelrebusque
The entire house is exclusive for those who rent it, it is not shared with another group. It has capacity for up to 6 people and a large park. Pool, grill, disco, outdoor kettle, full kitchen, wifi, handmade pool table, board games and TV. The bathroom is outside, attached to the house. Per day, $40,000.
