Plaza Canadá (Buenos Aires)
Plaza Canadá () is a public square in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina located within the streets of Maipú, Antártida Argentina, San Martin, and Dr. José María Ramos Mejía. History Located in front of Retiro railway station, Plaza Canadá was conceived by the Argentina-Canada Cultural Institute and was dedicated in July 1961. A carved totem pole that was donated by the Canadian government stands in the center of the plaza. The totem pole sits as a tribute to the shared Indigenous heritages found in both Canada and Argentina. Canadian totem After the plaza was named, Canadian Ambassador Richard Plant Bower worked to arrange the delivery of a totem pole from Canada to Buenos Aires. In 1963, Kwakiutl carvers Henry Hunt and his son Tony Hunt Sr. were commissioned by Ambassador Bower to carve a totem pole for the plaza. Carved from a 2,000-year old British Columbia red cedar, the totem pole depicted an eagle, a killer whale, a sea lion, a beaver, and a cannibal bird called a hok hok. After being shipped to Buenos Aires, the pole was erected in Plaza Canadá in May 1964. By the early 2000s, the totem pole had severely deteriorated, and in