Anonycat
Crusader
The millionaire landing Buenos Aires of Scientology
The religion of Hollywood actors Buenos Aires bought a historic building. Martian, millions, faithful and enemies.
(Video in Spanish)
[video=youtube;xtk_Sf2e6_E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtk_Sf2e6_E[/video]
Article in Spanish: http://noticias.perfil.com/2013-10-30-40065-el-millonario-desembarco-porteno-de-cienciologia/
The religion of Hollywood actors Buenos Aires bought a historic building. Martian, millions, faithful and enemies.
There are cults that can not wait. For Scientology-registered since 2008 in the Department of Worship and the Church of Scientology of Argentina, the time to move is now, and move big. On the street Sarmiento 1300, the old building of the Unione Operai Italiani, which used to be owned by the association of Italian immigrants and Benevolenza Unione, is still a shadow of the old venerable Buenos Aires: renovated in 1913 by the Italian architect Virginio Colombo , is one of the clearest examples of art nouveau with legendary dance hall, a building revered by generations of students of architecture and protected by the Heritage Act Buenos Aires. After decades of disuse, the facade began to fall apart, the place suffered landslides, fires and advancement of rats and pigeons. He decided to sell it. Today, in front of the place, a new work poster announces the name of the new owner, the Church of Scientology.
The deal closed in December 2012 . The final price of the property : a million and a half dollars . Refurbishment costs amount to almost two million more . This is part of a global expansion plan . David Miscavige , the top leader of the cult , from California ordered the creation of 70 new centers around the world. " Organizations ideals" is the euphemism used for a number of temples and headquarters of Scientology in key areas recognized by the general public for the final release of the cult of society. The old Sarmiento Street building will be one of them . It is then a new headquarters in Argentina , a new temple dedicated to a faith unusual , controversial and full of fierce and dramatic accusations .
In the last twenty years , Scientology became a wild question for global religious life . Tom Cruise and John Travolta are its greatest champions and bent their faces in millions of dollars to defend the cult , marked by scams, VIP members preferential treatment , psychological breakdown and generating a drain of money to their faithful to separate them from their families . It is the least complex : it seems an amalgam of psychology and self with statements of salvation at first, nothing surprising . Then the spiritual component is felt , with original myth that looks like a feverish episode of " Star Trek " . The science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard founded Scientology in the '50s and became a prophet unexpected when writing the 18 basic books of religion, " Dianetics " is the most important that details the main group psychological technique .
Present in the country since the mid-'80s , with a few followers, the Church opened its first center in Argentina in 2006 a building of Ayacucho and Santa Fe The reception is filled with books and leaflets . NEWS visited him on the evening of Tuesday 22 . A cry of a girl came from an upper floor , answered by a chorus almost martial : no cult member present at the input flinch. Minutes later , the counter Gustavo Libardi , local president of the Church, convinced stated : " Scientology is something new . There was never a practical philosophy from the spiritual point of view to man on the planet " . If the construction of a new temple due to an international plan , it stands to reason that the American Central sends money worship . Libardi surprised to say : " There is a single weight of the head office. We have been saving since 2004 " . The leader says that it's almost 7,500 members in the country , with strong areas such as Cordoba , Tucuman and Santa Fe , more groups in San Juan and Patagonia. And for the leader , the agenda is clear : "We intend to insert ourselves into the community."
HISTORICAL . Scientology bought the old building of the Unione Operai Italiani , protected by law and now in ruins .
Something pharaohs. The provision No. 1.652 , dated October 2012 the Government of Buenos Aires that gave the visa for modification and expansion plans for Sarmiento Street building 's fate rather explicit : "Cult " . But it is not easy to reconstruct a historical place . The bureaucracy is felt. Engineer Jose Kohon , in charge of the work, explains : " From the place they stole everything they could with time. I was in a state of near- demolition when it was purchased. Let's leave it as in the nineteenth century . The intention is to restore as is ". The building legislation that protects their historical imprint , is an obstacle in the development of the work. The installation of a handicap ramp was the last hurdle . Today the beginning of the renovation is just legal steps to materialize : become a megaedificio of 5,600 square meters . Alongside Kohon , two specialists in reforming eminent classical buildings were also hired by the Church: the architect Fabio Grementieri , speaking at the Alvear Palace Hotel and the Palace La Prensa and restorative Cristina Lancellotti . But beyond the construction itself , the Church plans another rarity in Argentina history : its first launch event . It would be December 13 . "They will invite politicians and important artists ," says someone close to the cult . Libardi slides that yes, there are artists and recognizable names near the church , but will not admit who they are. "It is on them to say ," he says
(Video in Spanish)
[video=youtube;xtk_Sf2e6_E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtk_Sf2e6_E[/video]
Article in Spanish: http://noticias.perfil.com/2013-10-30-40065-el-millonario-desembarco-porteno-de-cienciologia/