"Hard to believe Buenos Aires had any beginning
I feel it to be as eternal as air and water"
— Jorge Luis Borges from The Mythical Founding of Buenos Aires
BUENOS AIRES
Tango dancers on the streets of Buenos Aires
This complex, energetic, and seductive port city, which stretches south-to-north along the Rio de la Plata, has been the gateway to Argentina for centuries. Portenos, as the multinational people of Buenos Aires are known, possess an elaborate and rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly—Italian and German names outnumber Spanish, and the lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other in South America. One of the world's finest opera houses, the Teatro Colon, flourishes here on the plains alongside the river. Portenos are intensely involved in the life and culture of their city, and they will gladly share the secrets of Buenos Aires if you lend an ear and relate your own stories in return.
Buenos Aires' physical structure is a mosaic as varied and diverse as its culture. The city has no dominating monument, no natural monolith that serves as its focal point. Instead, Buenos Aires is composed of many small places, intimate details, and tiny events and interactions, each with a slightly different shade, shape, and character. Glass-sheathed skyscrapers cast their slender shadows on 19th century Victorian houses; tango bars hazed with the piquant tang of cigar smoke face dusty, treasure-filled antique shops across the way.
The city's neighborhoods are small and highly individualized each with its own characteristic colors and forms. In the San Telmo district, the city's multinational heritage is embodied in a varied and cosmopolitan architecture - Spanish Colonial design couples with Italian detailing and graceful French Classicism. La Boca's pressed tin houses are painted a rainbow of colors, and muralists have turned the district's side-streets into avenues of color.
Buenos Aires is never more alive than it is at night. It is what you'd expect from a city that invented tango. Avenues come alive with people on their way to restaurants and theaters, especially Puerto Madero or Recoleta. People like to dress up and stay out until dawn. There are several major venues, most of them in San Telmo. After dinner or a night of dancing, Porteņos like to grab a coffee at one of the city's myriad cafes, chat, and perhaps watch the sunrise.
Reprinted from Geographia
RECOLETA
Our hotel the Loi Suites is located in the neighborhood of Recoleta which is to the east of El Centro. It was settled in the 1700s by the Franciscan Recoleto friars. This area is the most fashionable place in Buenos Aires to dine; it is adjacent to the Cementario de la Recoleta, Eva Peron's final resting place. Along with Evita's much-visited grave, there is Our Lady of the Pilar Church, the Cultural Center, and the Palais de Glace, a major gallery. You can walk along the Pilar, which brims with a wide variety of restaurants and venues featuring live music every night.
SAN TELMO
Tango on the streets of San Telmo
San Telmo is Tango´s birthplace. Highlights of bohemian San Telmo include Sunday strolls, antiques shopping at Feria de San Pedro and surrounding stores, and the tango halls that come to life nightly. Cobblestone streets teem with 19th-century buildings, once inhabited by affluent Spaniards. Thanks to preservation efforts, the area is now a cradle of history and culture, and all its landmarks have been declared national monuments.
Tango lessons at the Mansion Dandi Royal
Our tango lessons will take place in the gorgeous dance hall of Mansion Dandi Royal, located in San Telmo. Owner and tango legend Hector Villalba painstakingly transformed this 100-year-old mansion into both a hotel and a tango academy. Decorated with classic wood furnishings, period murals, a stunning chandelier, a sweeping staircase, and original artwork lend still more authenticity.
LA BOCA
Perhaps the most colorful area in Buenos Aires is La Boca (the Mouth), which sits along the port. Here an assortment of brightly painted low houses made of wood and metal burst upon the eyes in a scene that could almost be from somewhere in Scandinavia. The main street here is Caminito, which has an artisans and painters fair, open air tango shows, and typical Italian cantinas.
PUERTO MADERO
The newest barrio has a view of the sprouting skyline on one side and the exclusive yacht club on the other. Once an abandoned port area, its multimillion dollar facelift imitated that of London's Docklands. Its main draw is a chic riverside promenade, which has become the place to go for a casual stroll, elegant dining, and nightlife.
For more information:
Call (1) 505 559 4632 or (44) 020 8133 4994
email: Event Info
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