Last week I turned 43. Included in my birthday line-up, before lunch with friends at the Evita Museum, was a trip to Recoleta Cemetery. It is, after all, one of my favourite places in the world.

It was an auspicious day. Shortly after arriving, I bumped into the director, who introduced me to a man who has long been in the business of buying, selling, renovating and constructing tombs. Real estate for the dead. I had no idea such firms existed, but it makes sense. I was lucky enough to have this man walk around with me for more than an hour, fielding my random overexcited questions.

One of the first stops on our impromptu tour was the mausoleum that houses these Pre-Raphaelite angels. Did he know anything about this window? How about the architect? The spectacular bronze door with two angels nestling either side of a cross? Close inspection of the latter divulged a signature in the bottom right corner. “Oh, Manfroni. He was a great man,” my guide informed me, adding that this door was created using the lost-wax casting technique. Imagine, he actually knew the man who crafted it.

There’s something about being able to link past with present that feels important to me – it’s thrilling, it’s what makes history and art come alive. It is also only right that such artists be named and remembered into the future for the beauty they have left behind. Alas, the stained glass window is unsigned, and I have no information on the constructor, A. Gandulfo, as yet.

What an amazing birthday gift: the meeting, the tour, the nugget of information.