Manuel Mujica Láinez’s El Paraíso

El Paraíso, the endearing grand house once owned by the famous writer Manuel Mujica Láinez, stands at Cruz Chica, 3 kilometers away from the City of La Cumbre, on the way to the small District of Los Cocos.

Dozens of people come along everyday to let themselves be carried away by the prodigious and neat gardens projected by architect and landscaping artist Carlos Thays, the same who created famous public parks such as those in Palermo and the Botanic Garden in the City of Buenos Aires.


A Place in the World

There is no doubt that it was in this location where famous writer Manuel Mujica Láinez felt completely at ease. The house, in a way, impresses all those who come near it. Built between 1915 and 1920, this is an old grand house that still preserves its furniture, objects and pieces of art, among which beautiful sculptures may be appreciated from the street or inside the venue.

The tour is done in the company of a guide. As visitors get deep into the venue, the guide provides information about the incidents and anecdotes related to each room and hall. The library and the studio where the writer would spend most of his time outstand.

Today, it is also part of the library museum, which houses about 9,000 books, accompanied by collections and documents of various subjects that would catch the attention of the then host.

Capable of writing unique prose, he had a way with words. Those who got to know him assert that La Cumbre was undoubtedly his place in the world and that he had enough time there to search perfection throughout his work.

He wrote more than twenty books (novels, short stories, biographies, poems, travel chronicles and essays), among which the following stand out: Glosas castellanas (1936), Don galaz de Buenos Aires (1938), Miguel Cané (padre) (1942), Canto a Buenos Aires (1943), Estampas de Buenos Aires (1946), Aquí vivieron (1949), Misteriosa Buenos Aires (1950) (“El hombrecito del azulejo”), Los ídolos (1952), La casa (1954), Los viajeros (1955) , Invitados en el paraíso (1957), Bomarzo (1962), El unicornio (1965), Crónicas reales (1967), De milagros y de melancolías (1969), Cecil (1972), El viaje de los siete demonios (1974), Sergio (1976), Los cisnes (1977), El brazalete (1981), El escarabajo (1982).

He died in 1984.