Monumental Fountain Las Nereidas (Font of the Nereids), Buenos Aires

Situated at the crossroads of Tristan Achaval Rodriguez and Padre Mingone Avenues within Costanera Sur, Puerto Madero, stands an awe-inspiring fountain. This remarkable creation is the handiwork of Dolores Mora de Hernandez, renowned as Lola Mora, a prominent artist hailing from Tucuman. Lola Mora stands as a pioneering figure, being both the inaugural female sculptor from Argentina and Latin America. Notably, her talents garnered recognition at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889, where she secured the prestigious first prize.

Lola Mora was a rebellious and pioneering artist. She started as a portrait artist at 20 but soon turned to sculpting marble and granite. Educated at home, she later received a scholarship in Rome, where her masterpiece sculptures emerged. Argentina's government commissioned some, like the 1900 bas-reliefs at the Historical House of Tucumán, tied to the country's 1816 Declaration of Independence.

In 1900, Lola Mora extended a generous offer to donate a sculpture to the Argentine Government. The genesis of the fountain occurred within Lola Mora's Roman workshop, commencing in plaster before achieving its final form in Carrara Marble. The original location of Las Nereidas Fountain was Plaza Colon, adjacent to the Pink House, where it was installed in 1902.

However, the mores of the era were perturbed by the exposed figures of Tritons, Nereids, and the goddess Venus emerging from a seashell. Subsequently, in 1918, a decision was reached to relocate the entire fountain to its present site in Costanera Sur. Over time, the once daring became a timeless masterpiece, gaining National Historic Monument status. Today, the fountain is safeguarded against vandalism by a protective glass enclosure.