Pozo de Arana, Memory site and former detention center in La Plata, Argentina.
Pozo de Arana is a former clandestine detention and torture center at the corner of streets 137 and 630 in La Plata, Argentina, now preserved as a memory site. The building retains original structural elements and hosts documentary exhibitions about what happened within its walls.
The site operated as a police-run clandestine detention center during Argentina's military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. Excavations that began in 2007 uncovered human remains, confirming that victims were buried there secretly.
The name comes from a nearby well, which stands in sharp contrast to what the site witnessed. Survivors and relatives of victims gather here regularly, making it a living space of memory rather than a static monument.
The content here is emotionally heavy, so it helps to go slowly and allow time to take in what is presented. Staff on site are available to answer questions and offer context that makes the visit easier to understand.
This was the first police-run detention facility in Argentina where investigators definitively confirmed the presence of clandestine burial grounds. The forensic methods developed here were later applied to identify similar sites across the country.
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