Tandil`s Unstable Rock

The truth is that this huge block of granite remained in curious oscillating balance for decades until it fell to the void and broke into pieces. Many people assert that had it not been for the foolish and funny characters that would put cans and glasses under its structure when it was oscillating, the mass would have reached our days untouched. Unfortunately, that was not possible.

Photos from those days show various international and local characters and tourists on top of the large block, imitating it and making fun of its impeccable equilibrium. And the fascination awoken was such that even if tourism did not exist then as it does now, all those who would pass by the area would take a photograph and even paint or engrave by hand some of its sides.

The name of the rock gave origin to coffee-shops, bookshops, hairdressers’ and barbershops, pulperías, blacksmith shops and even unthinkable shops. Some old neighbors remember a fan who wanted to christen his firstborn daughter with the name María Movediza, which of course was not allowed by the registry office of those days. Even the first hotel in Tandil would bear its name. Today, it has been recycled into one of the most picturesque coffee-shops in the city.

Its Attraction Remains…

Even if it is no longer possible to watch it as yesterday, a 268-step granite path enables visitors to get to the point where it stood and watch it from the top of its hill in the bottom of a cliff. The 385-ton mass is broken into no more than three or four pieces.

Maybe for that reason, the stories of setting it back together into its original position have multiplied since it fell. There was even a rumor that the most important fast-acting glue company in the world had offered around one million dollars in order to stick it and display its famous slogan on the rock. But even if that would have been an excellent adverstising campaign, it never happened.
The Future is Ours.

Even if the city of Tandil became famous for its rocks, which were used as cobble to pave the streets of most of the main cities in our country, priorities have now changed. Therefore, tourist attractions are forcing mining activities to be moved to nearby areas.

For many years, the Municipality, along with the Tourist Office, has been looking for a coherent solution for both sides, trying to manage a suitable legislation that would protect tourism without jeopardizing the mining activities, as they both are necessary resources for the development of such a thriving and creative city as Tandil.

The municipal and provincial authorities are aware of the damage caused by the exploitation of mines on the tourist attractions of the city and its outskirts. The idea is to move this activity outside the area bordered by Provincial Routes 30, 74 and 226.

The aim is that the craters made by the explosions, which turn the quarries useless in the long term, be used by the new adventure travel activities such as rappelling, sport climbing and even trout fishing in artificially created environments.

Were this successful, tourism in Tandil would grow remarkably and the possibility of setting “La Movediza” back in its place would become true. Something which is not attempted today, as it would not work due to the strong explosions from the mines, whose wave would make it fall down again.

It would be an excellent idea for the magic of such a singular rock, which has attracted thousands of tourists and celebrities from all round the world for decades, to be one of the most important tourist attractions in the area once again.