We present deep , high angular resolution near–infrared images of the obscured Galactic Giant H II region NGC3576 .
Our images reach objects to \sim 3 M _ { \odot } .
We collected high signal–to–noise K - band spectra of eight of the brightest objects , some of which are affected by excess emission and some which follow a normal interstellar reddening law .
None of them displayed photospheric features typical of massive OB type stars .
This indicates that they are still enshrouded in their natal cocoons .
The K - band brightest source ( NGC3576 # 48 ) shows CO 2.3 \mu m bandhead emission , and three others have the same CO feature in absorption .
Three sources display spatially unresolved H _ { 2 } emission , suggesting dense shocked regions close to the stars .
We conclude that the remarkable object NGC3576 # 48 is an early–B/late–O star surrounded by a thick circumstellar disk/envelope .
A number of other relatively bright cluster members also display excess emission in the K - band , indicative of reprocessing disks around massive stars ( YSOs ) .
Such emission appears common in other Galactic Giant H II regions we have surveyed .
The IMF slope of the cluster , \Gamma = -1.62 , is consistent with Salpeter ’ s distribution and similar to what has been observed in the Magellanic Cloud clusters and in the periphery of our Galaxy .