On Wednesday evening, El Monumento a Las cataratas del Iguazú will be officially inaugurated in the centre of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. This unique architectural project will feature as its centre-piece the Official New7Wonders Plaque listing Iguazu Falls as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
The monument is located on the corner of Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida de Mayo, at the Plaza Provincia de Misiones, and is in the form of a circular curtain of water that will provide a natural haven in the middle of the city for many “porteños“, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are called. The continually falling water reflects the energy of Iguazu Falls and, it is expected, the experience will encourage people to visit the natural wonder itself, which is situated 1,335km to the north of the city in the province of Misiones.
Founder-President of New7Wonders, Bernard Weber, said: “The balance of light and water contained in El Monumento a Las cataratas del Iguazú mirrors the splendour of Iguazu Falls, and its location in such a prestigious urban environment gives real meaning to the ancient Latin concept of rus in urbe — ‘the country in the city'”.
The Official Inauguration of Iguazu Falls as one of the New7Wonders of Nature took place in Brazil and Argentina at the end of May last year. Because the candidacy of Iguazu Falls was shared jointly by Argentina and Brazil the 2012 inaugural ceremonies were held in both Puerto Iguazú in Argentina and Foz do Iguaçu in Paraná state in Brazil.