Hotel Castelar is located at the northwest intersection of May

Avenida de Mayo

Avenida de Mayo , is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west-east direction before merging into Avenida Rivadavia.-History and overview:...

 and the 9 de Julio Avenue

9 de Julio Avenue

Avenida 9 de Julio is a wide avenue in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.The avenue runs roughly one kilometer to the west of the Río de la Plata waterfront, from the Retiro district in the north to Constitución station in the south...

s, in the downtown Montserrat

Montserrat, Buenos Aires

Monserrat is a neighbourhood located in the east of the Buenos Aires CBD. The district features some of the most important public buildings in Buenos Aires, including city hall, the city legislature, Casa Rosada, the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires and the Libertador Building , among...

 section of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Opened in 1928 as the Hotel Excelsior, the building was designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti

Mario Palanti

Mario Palanti was an Italian architect who designed important buildings in the capital cities of both Argentina and Uruguay. Born in 1885 in Milan, Italy, he studied architecture in the Brera Academy and in the Politecnico di Milano university...

 and built by local engineer José Pinzone. The Spanish poet

Spanish literature

Spanish literature generally refers to literature written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the state of Spain...

 and dramatist, Federico García Lorca

Federico García Lorca

Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...

, stayed here from October 1933 to March 1934 while his play, Bodas de Sangre

Bodas de sangre

Blood Wedding is a tragedy by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed in Madrid in March 1933 and later that year in Buenos Aires...

, was being performed at the Avenida Theatre

Avenida Theatre

The Avenida Theatre is a stage theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Overview:The Avenida Theatre was inaugurated on Buenos Aires' central Avenida de Mayo in 1908 with a production of Spanish dramatist Lope de Vega's Justice Without Revenge...

 nearby; his erstwhile room has been preserved as a museum. More recently, the hotel was the site of Vice President Carlos Álvarez

Carlos Álvarez (vice-president)

Carlos Alberto "Chacho" Álvarez is an Argentine politician; he was Vice-President of Argentina during part of President Fernando de la Rúa's mandate, and currently heads the Aladi Secretariat....

's dramatic, October 6, 2000, resignation, a milestone helping lead to President Fernando de la Rúa

Fernando de la Rúa

Fernando de la Rúa is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10, 1999 to December 21, 2001 for the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education ....

's own departure a year later.