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! Plaza San Martín<br />
The qualities of <strong>Buenos</strong><br />
<strong>Aires</strong>’ most carefully maintained<br />
plaza (see p36) are boundless.<br />
From its highest point at Avenida<br />
Santa Fe, a towering statue<br />
depicting triumphant General<br />
San Martín on horseback is set<br />
on a scalloped base – a<br />
popular lunch spot for the<br />
neighborhood’s workers.<br />
Palms, majestic lloronas,<br />
and oaks shade those<br />
resting on the manicured<br />
grass. From late October<br />
till mid-December,<br />
purple jacaranda trees<br />
bloom along the<br />
stairway leading to<br />
the Falklands War<br />
memorial. d Map Q5<br />
Calle Florida @ Ten blocks of<br />
unrelenting consumerism<br />
would be<br />
insufferable if not for Calle<br />
Florida’s variety of shops and the<br />
quality of people-watching. Tiny<br />
snack kiosks sit alongside<br />
exquisite silver jewelers, young<br />
tango dancers and magicians<br />
gather crowds which, blithely<br />
entertained, impede pedestrian<br />
traffic, while sales clerks ply<br />
passersby with flyers<br />
for custom leather<br />
jackets. It is best to<br />
go with the flow from<br />
Plaza de Mayo toward<br />
Plaza San Martín as,<br />
by the <strong>10</strong>th block,<br />
most appreciate the<br />
plaza’s tranquility.<br />
d Map Q5<br />
£ El Obelisco<br />
Monumental<br />
sculpture does not<br />
get much bolder than<br />
El Obelisco – a 220-ft<br />
(67-m) spire set on<br />
9 de Julio. The 1936 structure<br />
was built to commemorate the<br />
400th anniversary of <strong>Buenos</strong><br />
<strong>Aires</strong>’ founding, and it now<br />
serves as a point of orientation<br />
for visitors and porteños, as well<br />
as the punchline of local jokes<br />
(for 2005’s AIDS Awareness<br />
Week, the structure was<br />
covered by a giant pink<br />
condom) (see p20).<br />
Sign up for DK’s email newsletter on traveldk.com<br />
$ Centro Cultural<br />
Borges<br />
However incongruous it<br />
may be to find a vital<br />
cultural center inside a<br />
shopping mall, the<br />
Centro Cultural Borges<br />
is an enveloping<br />
experience. The<br />
three-level space is<br />
dedicated to<br />
Argentina’s grandest<br />
Equestrian statue of San Martín writer (see p33),<br />
exhibiting Borges’<br />
letters, poems, and effects. It is<br />
also a performance space, where<br />
avant-garde tango shows draw<br />
passionate audiences. Its visual<br />
arts wing recently held a show<br />
of the Catalán artist Joan Miró.<br />
d Map Q5 • Galerías Pacífico • 5555-<br />
5359 • Open <strong>10</strong>am–9pm Mon–Sat, noon–<br />
9pm Sun • Adm • www.ccborges.org.ar<br />
Centro Cultural Borges housed in Galerías Pacífico<br />
Around Town – Microcentro, Puerto Madero & Retiro 81
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