LO
QUE PASA EN
BUENOS
AIRES
by Dan Perlman
This exciting and inexpensive South American city is well
known for its historic landmarks, beautiful parks, and
excellent art museums. It is also an easy-going culture,
where stopping to chat with friends, lingering over a
coffee in a sidewalk café, or enjoying a glass
of one of the country’s great wines at a local bar,
all take precedence over any business appointment or preplanned
event. Despite being located in a very conservative, Catholic
with a capital C, country, the city of Buenos Aires itself
is a bastion of liberality. Same-sex domestic partnerships
have been legal since 2003, with a proposed full marriage
bill up for debate. Gay bars abound, and restaurants that
cater to our set are scattered throughout the various
neighborhoods. Meanwhile, curious travelers will discover
a plethora of entertainment, shopping, and nightlife options
to rival any of the world’s great cities.
RESTING YOUR HEAD
Among the most popular spots for gay travelers
to stay in Buenos Aires are the gay-owned bed and breakfasts.
The two principal ones are Lugar Gay in the historic
San Telmo neighborhood, and Bayres in Palermo,
the former being men-only, the latter mixed gender.
Another favorite, Posada de Palermo, in Palermo, has
wonderfully comfortable rooms, great prices, and one
of the best breakfast spreads in the city. For those
on a budget, the End of the World Gay Hostel, on the
border of San Telmo and La Boca, is a relatively new
option. It’s a somewhat seedy neighborhood, but
the place is clean and well kept, and transportation
is easily available to other parts of town.
Celebrating its first anniversary this
year, the self-proclaimed “five-star” Axel
Hotel, located just outside of San Telmo in Monserrat,
is becoming the new in-spot for the upscale gay traveler.
A gleaming architectural triumph of glass and steel,
it houses four dozen rooms and two pools (including
a glass bottom one located on the roof that hovers above
a six-story open lobby). The Axel’s one drawback
is its location on a deserted (at night) industrial
street, but then, anyone staying at the Axel is likely
to have no problem springing for a taxi to more interesting
zones.
Other gay-friendly options include the
Art Hotel in Recoleta, which offers up quite
nice, if slightly small, rooms at a very reasonable
price, and boasts an excellent multilingual staff. On
the fancier side is the Faena + Universe, situated
on the far side of the refurbished warehouse and dock
area known as Puerto Madero. It’s a fair hike from
the rest of town, and sort of like taking a room at
the South Street Seaport in New York or Fisherman’s
Wharf in San Francisco. It’s one of the finest
hotels in the city and it features two excellent restaurants,
a couple of delightful bars, and its own art galleries.
Meanwhile, the new Palacio Duhau
Park Hyatt is attracting jet setters to its converted
mansion packed with amazing artwork, several restaurants,
and one of the few true wine bars in the city. Smaller
boutique hotels that offer more personalized service
are springing up around the city as well. The two most
well known, and among the best options, are the Home
Hotel and the Bobo, both located in the heart of
Palermo’s trendy design district.
EAT, DRINK, & BE MERRY
Porteños (port dwellers), as the
local citizens call themselves, seem to spend more time
in restaurants and cafés than they do at home
or work. It does help that the North American/European
penchant for “turning tables” is non-existent
in Buenos Aires; once seated, the table is yours until
you care to leave, whether you order anything past your
first coffee, cocktail, or appetizer...or not. It would
be unthinkable of a restaurant to even suggest that
you might order more, or free up the space for a more
spendthrift customer—it’s just not done. With
free Wi-Fi access in most of the central part of town,
whiling away the day at a table is de rigeur.
Among the spots in the city where you
can enjoy a quiet dinner, Desde el Alma in Palermo
is considered by many to be the most romantic in town.
A converted home with small tables and comfortable chairs
stuck in various nooks and crannies, this hot spot offers
creative takes on Argentine cuisine, and you can count
on virtually every customer being paired up for date
night.
On the gay front, the petite La Olla
de Felix, located in the heart of Recoleta, can’t
be beat. Here you will find simple, classic French food
at a great price from the former chef of the Ritz-Carlton
in Paris. Empire Thai, located in the heart of
downtown, is home to some of the better Asian food in
the city. Owner Kevin Rodriguez, a former banker, fell
in love with this restaurant while visiting Buenos Aires
on a business trip. When he heard the owners were selling
it, he quit his bank job and bought the place.
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For those who want truly exquisite culinary
experiences, the modern Argentine stylings of various
chefs await your discovery. These include: Germán
Martitegui’s trendy and expensive Casa Cruz
in Palermo where an ever present bevy of cute youngsters
brings some of the best food in town to your table; Martin
Molteni’s amazing cuisine at Pura Tierra is
served up in a beautiful old home in Belgrano; Rodrigo
Ginzuk’s stunning French-Argentine fusion cuisine
at Maat, a gorgeously restored palacio in Belgrano—officially
a private club, but open to the public when not filled
with members; and Fernando Mayoral’s borderline “molecular
gastronomy” style served up at Thymus, in
Palermo. All are don’t miss spots.
If you find yourself in need of English-speaking
company, Amaranta Bistro in Recoleta prepares
an odd mix of US, Mexican, and Italian cooking in a
café environment with virtually all customers
speaking English in one form or another. They also offer
one of the better brunches in town.
THE NIGHT IS YOUNG
There’s no one district in the city that is
particularly gay, though there’s been a push to
declare historic San Telmo as the heart of the gay community.
This is an odd choice, given that outside of one B&B
(and the nearby new hostel and hotel, both mentioned
above) and the odd business here and there, there’s
no gay nightlife to speak of here.
Most nightlife, gay or straight, begins
late in Buenos Aires. It’s not unusual for a club
to open around midnight, with bars opening not much
earlier. Drag and stripper shows are popular in many
venues. One of the few places open for an earlier drink
is Flux Bar, located in Retiro near to downtown,
where an after-work crowd gathers in an underground
space hosted by owners Jamie Taylor and Ilia Konon.
A hotspot for gathering (locally called
a punta de encuentro) is the area in Recoleta near to
the intersection of avenues Pueyrredón and Santa
Fé. Here you’ll find the casual café
El Olmo, a spot to meet with friends before heading
out for a night of drinking and dancing, as well as
a place to pickup local taxi-boys, or hustlers. Within
a few block radius are several gay bars, including the
ever popular Search for its late night shows,
Km Zero for its dancers, and Angel’s
Disco for its transvestite and rough-trade crowd.
On the far side of Recoleta, bordering on Palermo, the
city’s largest barrio, are the large clubs Amerika
and Glam. These places are generally packed with
boys who want to dance the night away, and/or disappear
into the “dark rooms.” Just a few blocks away
is the new kid in town called Sitges, with a mix of
young gay, lesbian, and straight folk in a large lounge-style
space that rivals Amerika in size, though with a focus
on drag shows and lots of drinking.
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