For many Porteños, December 30, 2004 is a day that will never be forgotten. At the corner of calles Mitre and Ecuador in Buenos Aires, 194 lives were lost amid the smoke and flames that engulfed República Cromañón nightclub. R.I.P.
At the club that night, a concert was being held by a rock band called the Callejeros. Generally, the band holds concerts in outdoor or large venues that allow for the use of flares. Cromagnon was considered so unsafe for pyrotechnics that the Callejeros pleaded with their groupies that if a flare was lit, there would be a disaster. A few moments into the show, someone lit a flare that engulfed the entire ceiling in flames within seconds. The ceiling was covered in a plastic flammable net that produced flames and smoke that instantly converted the club into a gas chamber filled with over 3,000 people. The most tragic part of this story is that four of the six fire exits had been chained shut to avoid people from sneaking into the concert. Just think how many of those 194 lives could have been spared had those doors been able to open. Also, the club had been overdue for a fire inspection and plastic flammable netting should have (hopefully) been cited during that inspection. Six years later, there still stands a large memorial outside the club with photos and a collection of shoes the kids were wearing the night they died inside the club and on the street. I had recalled hearing about this back in the states and wanted to come and pay my respects while in BA. A very moving experience indeed.
Since this event, many BA night clubs have closed and maximum capacity limits have decreased exponentially. The criminal investigations just finished last year and the owner of the club Omar Chabán received 20 years in prison, the rock band was acquitted but their manager received an 18 year prison term.
