MALBA, Palermo and Los Laureles

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Today we went to the MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires) in the Recoleta/Barrio Norte area, had lunch in the Palermo district, continue our hop on/hop off bus tour and had an evening of Tango lessons at Los Laureles (a Milonga bar near the Los Boca area). The picture at left is a painting of some Tango dancers which was on display in the used furniture store next door to our flat on Moreno in the Balvanera district.

The MALBA is a very new gallery (since 1990) in a very modern building with a very modern collection that grew out of a personal collection. Eduardo Constantini is the founder and major benefactor. His personal collection became the original collection for the gallery. A couple of small Frida Kahlo pieces were recently acquired, again by Constantini, at considerable cost (see US$33-million Frida Kahlo painting becomes Buenos Aires’ new attraction '22/08/24). They are show cased in a a tiny dark room where they are displayed with some of her letters and other memorabilia. The other gallery rooms are quite large and bright.

The gallery has lots of quirky and challenging artworks. Some silly, some quite stunning. It's eclectic. The album shows some of the works we enjoyed. We didn't get to all of the gallery rooms — there's a lower floor we missed.

After the MALBA we were looking for lunch at Don Julio in the nearby Palermo barrio/district. It's one of the best steak houses in town. Gord and Leslie had been before, but when we arrived, they were booked solid. They said we could wait a couple of hours for a table, we declined, and they recommended another restaurant down the street a block or so. It was likewise very busy and we ended up taking a taxi to Plaza Serrano which was recommended as a night club area with lots of restaurants. It is a "Night Club" area and there were only a few restaurants open for lunch. Nevertheless we found a quick bite at one club and had some sushi at a table on the street.

We caught our hop on/hop off tour bus nearby after lunch and continued our tour of the city ending up back at the Congress where we had started the day before. The tour bus wanders great distances around the city. You would be hard pressed to complete a circuit in one day even if you never hopped on and off!

That evening we went to a Tango dance club at Los Laureles (a "Bodegon Milonguero" since 1893). A "bodegon" is a tavern and a "milonguero" is a man who spends time dancing at a "milonga" (a tango dance event). Gord and Leslie are true milongueros; we're just hangers on. It's an historic bar ("Bar Notable" is some kind of historic designation) and people have been coming here for years to tango, eat, drink and have a few laughs. Gord and Leslie have been before and return regularly to take dance lessons. It's one of those places where people arrive early for dance lessons, while the band and accomplished dancers arrive later. 

We had dinner at the restaurant/bar (Reg had yet another parilla steak) and got to meet acquaintances Gord and Leslie had established. They stayed until late, we ducked out early. The dancers who arrived after the lessons when the band arrived were very accomplished. But everyone who danced seemed to have fun. Kate and I did not dance — I have two left feet and a bum knee; Kate is currently barely able to walk but was an accomplished dancer in her day, having taught dance in her younger years at the infamous "Tijuana Dance School".

Another full day in an impressive city.