The mysterious Swiss woman and her giant mausoleum in Argentina
Series Swiss cultural heritage abroad,
Episode 7:
In the heart of Argentina, an 82-metre concrete wing soars into the sky. Tourists photograph it, travel guides mention it, and Argentinians know its story. In Switzerland, on the other hand, few are aware that one of Argentina’s tallest monuments is dedicated to a Swiss woman.
Myriam Stefford, born Rosa Martha Rossi in Bern, is a legend in Argentina. Around 11,500 kilometres separate her birthplace from her mausoleum, known as El Ala (the wing), in Córdoba. Her eventful life has been widely documented. Newspapers in SwitzerlandExternal link, as well as publications abroad, books and films, have recounted her story. Yet less is known about the Swiss monument in her memory that still stands.
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Why has an 82-metre mausoleum honouring a Swiss woman stood in the middle of Argentina for 90 years? The answer begins with an adventurous life, a great love and a passion for flying – and ends with a tragic accident still shrouded in mystery.
Rosa Martha Rossi was born in Bern in 1905. Her father, a carriage dealer originally from Ticino, was solidly middle class. In 1924 the young woman gave formal notice terminating her residence in Bern and travelled to Paris – officially for one year.
The reasons remain unclear. Argentinian sources claim she ran away from home; Swiss historians suspect family conflicts or an unwanted relationship.
How she supported herself in Paris is unknown. Nor is it clear how she met the Argentinian millionaire Raúl Barón Biza. What is certain is that the eccentric Argentinian reinvented Rosa Rossi as Myriam Stefford.
In his own magazine in 1926 he presented her as a rising film star with parts in German films. Today we know that this career was largely fabricated. Her name appears in neither film archives nor theatre registers.
Even a wedding in Venice was announced in the media, yet decades later no corresponding record was found in the civil registry. When Stefford arrived in Argentina in 1928, she was reportedly registered as a single worker.
One of Argentina’s first female pilots
Despite this, Stefford became a prominent figure in Argentina. She moved in wealthy social circles, led a glamorous life, and discovered a new passion: flying. In 1931 she was among the first women in the country to obtain a pilot’s licence. Only weeks later, she announced plans to undertake a staged flight across Argentina’s 14 provincial capitals.
On August 18, 1931, she set off in a small two-seater aircraft. Several incidents forced her to make emergency landings, but she continued her journey. On August 26, 1931, her plane crashed near Marayes in the province of San Juan. Stefford and her flight instructor were killed.
Rumours about the cause of the crash began circulating shortly afterwards. Some spoke of an air pocket; others speculated about foul play. The legends began immediately after her death – and persist to this day.
A monument built out of love
Barón Biza responded to the death of his companion with an unprecedented memorial project. He first had a monument erected at the crash site. In 1936 the monumental mausoleum, El Ala, followed in Alta Gracia: an 82-metre concrete wing that even surpasses Buenos Aires’ famous obelisk.
Designed as a giant, stylised aircraft wing, the structure was also conceived as a lighthouse. A light that used to shine on its tip was reportedly visible from up to 60 kilometres away.
Stefford’s remains were transferred there. According to legend, she was buried with her jewellery, including a diamond that has spawned myths of its own.
From the outset, the monument was intended as a public space: a park and meeting place. Thousands are said to have attended its inauguration in 1936. Ninety years later, the concrete wing still stands in the landscape of the Sierras near Córdoba – weather-beaten, abandoned and, in Switzerland, largely forgotten.
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A story that lives on locally
In Argentina, however, the story continues to resonate – not only in books and films, but also in personal memories of the mausoleum. In response to an appeal by Swissinfo, several readers from Argentina got in touch. Many associate the monument with childhood memories or family ties to Switzerland.
“El Ala is much more than a monument: it connects Córdoba with Switzerland through a story of love and pioneering spirit,” one reader wrote. Others said they often drove past the mausoleum, and some highlighted their Swiss roots.
So El Ala remains not only the grave of a young pilot but also a symbol of the connection between two countries – a story that continues to fascinate 90 years on.
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Swiss diplomats today make little active use of the monument in fostering bilateral relations. Although the Swiss embassy in Argentina featured Stefford as part of a campaign about Swiss women in Latin America in 2021, the mausoleum itself did not play a central role.
The concrete wing in Córdoba therefore remains primarily a local memorial – well known in Argentina, but of little significance in Switzerland.
Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Translated from German by Catherine Hickley/ts
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