Hotel Castelar

Hotel Castelar is located at the northwest intersection of May and the 9 de Julio Avenues, in the downtown Montserrat section of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Opened in 1928 as the Hotel Excelsior, the building was designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti and built by local engineer José Pinzone. The Spanish poet and dramatist, Federico García Lorca, stayed here from October 1933 to March 1934 while his play, Bodas de Sangre, was being performed at the Avenida Theatre nearby; his erstwhile room has been preserved as a museum. More recently, the hotel was the site of Vice President Carlos Álvarez's dramatic, October 6, 2000, resignation, a milestone helping lead to President Fernando de la Rúa's own departure a year later.