Soccer Tour — See a Game Live

Wander Argentina offers exciting, safe and affordable tours to Argentine soccer games.

Tour Includes:

– Transport and accompaniment to the game.
– Tickets to the game (even for games in which only ‘club members’ are normally provided access)
– Expert explanations: bilingual guides explain the ins and outs of the game, translate chants and provide insider details on players and clubs
– Accompanied return from the stadium

Terms of online booking:

– Specific game days and times are usually not decided until a few days before the game. If game time is not confirmed upon booking please be flexible.
– If for some reason you cannot attend the elected game, please inform us as soon as possible. We will work with you to arrange to see another game.
-Price is determined by the cost of the match tickets

Upcoming games

To inquire about upcoming games, check our list of upcoming soccer games and send us a message at the bottom of the page, or go ahead and contact us through our contact form.

Buenos Aires: City of Books

Buenos Aires is the birthplace of many a prominent writer, but it takes a visit to fully unveil the enduring love of reading in South America’s city of books.

Godfather of Argentine literature, Jorge Luis Borges famously said, “Let others pride themselves about how many pages they have written; I’d rather boast about the ones I’ve read.”

And read is what the Argentines do — on the bus, in the park, and in the myriad bookstores that are as plentiful as pharmacies and supermarkets in the capital city.

WA-bookcapital-chickreading — photos: Hernan Jourdan

And literary sustenance for the soul in Buenos Aires is not limited to an insubstantial diet of romance novels and bestsellers — though those can certainly be found — but consists largely of dense literary and philosophical works of the likes of Foucault, Nietzsche, Arendt, Shakespeare, Joyce, as well as the Argentine heavy-weights — Borges, Julio Cortázar, Ernesto Ernesto Sábato and José Hernández.

It is impossible to meander through the Buenos Aires without noticing the abundance of bookworms.

“Just look around on the subway and count how many people have a book,” says Florencia Basile, of La Porteña Books in Belgrano. “From ages 20 to 60, people read a lot here — there is a culture of reading.”

Buenos Aires’ Main ‘Book Streets’

Wrapped in plastic to discourage sneak previews and summer rains, tomes grace the shelves of street side dispensaries, subway station kiosks of all the metro lines, and some of the grandest bookstores in the world, such as the opulent former theater, El Ateneo.

One testament to Buenos Aires’ love of literature can be find right in the heart of Palermo, at Plaza Italia. Right outside the Plaza Italia subway stop visitors can find 40+ stalls of new and second-hand books to take on the train, because reading a book on public transport is much safer and cooler than playing on your cellphone.

Corrientes Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Buenos Aires’ theater district, is a also favored destination for late-night book browsing. Where else in the world can one peruse the shelves at 3:00 a.m.?

Latin American’s Literary City

Argentina leads Latin America in publishing, with over 20,000 titles released in the country per year. Buenos Aires is blessed with over 800 bookstores, the majority of them independently owned.

In 2011 UNESCO awarded Buenos Aires the title of ‘World Book Capital,’ in recognition of its many high quality projects and activities involving books and reading.

The high point of these world-class programs is the yearly Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires (The International Book Fair) held from mid-April to early May.

For those already so inclined, embrace and enjoy wandering the aisles of books and the streets of ready-made benches. For all others, let the Latin American bookworm bite and take a taste of the sumptuous, if old-fashioned, world of paper and print.

• For those who don’t read Spanish, or need a break from second language overload, a modest selection of imported foreign titles are found scattered in kiosks and bookstores, and a few all-English bookstores, such as Kel and Walrus Books.

• Even if you don’t read Spanish, you don’t’ want to miss Buenos Aires’ most famous bookstore, set in an old theater, El Ateneo.

→ Check out our Literary Tour of Buenos Aires

or book the Buenos Aires Private Literary Tour online now

— Alana Fichman

FAQ: Dining Out in Argentina: Customs, Cubiertos & Tips

Q: What is the ‘cubierto’ charge?

What is the ‘cubierto’ charge that shows up on my restaurant bill? Is this a service charge? Am I a jerk if I don’t leave a tip since I’m paying this seemingly random cubierto charge?

A: The cubierto is the ‘cover charge’ for the fork, knife, place-mats and (often) stale bread you receive at the table. It is essentially a ‘service charge,’ as you sometimes find in Europe.

Some restaurants really push it with the cubierto, essentially using it as a way to fight inflation. In reaction to cubierto abuse, in 2012 the city of Buenos Aires passed legislation defining what a cubierto should include:

a.) a minimum of 250 ml of drinkable water

b.) one unit of gluten-free bread

c.) sodium-free salt

d.) traditional or dietetic bread, depending on the preference of the customer

In practice, few restaurants follow these guidelines, and some such as Filo shamelessly rip off their customers, charging a hefty cubierto without providing even one of the above items.

This charge on your bill makes more sense for a restaurant such as La Cabrera, where the cubierto includes a glass of champagne, nice bread and an array of sauces to enjoy with your meal.

The cubierto goes to the house, not the staff, so you should still leave a tip. If you don’t like the cubierto charge look for restaurants that have a sign that says, ‘No se cobra cubierto.’

Sometimes places that have made it into the guidebooks and thus are on the ‘gringo trail’ hand out checks that say, ‘Tips not included.’

This is to avoid cubierto confusion, and apparently, let you know you look like a cheapskate simultaneously. Yet other restaurants that serve tourists include an additional service charge — that serves as a tip — on top of the cubierto, so be sure to look over your check.

Q: How much to tip at restaurants in Argentina?

What is an appropriate tip in restaurants in Argentina?

A: Wait staff in Argentina earn a normal, if low hourly wage, unlike in places such as the U.S. where a waiter’s livelihood depends on tips.

Most agree that in Argentina a ten percent tip is appropriate and you’ll observe that many Argentines leave considerably less at more casual establishments. Additionally some North Americans unaccustomed to the frequently laissez-faire service leave less than they normally would, so it works out fine.

→ Read an interview with Charly, a waiter at Cafe Retiro in Buenos Aires

Q: How do I get the waiter’s attention?

I’ve been sitting here for forty minutes and wildly waving my arms to get the waiter’s attention. He doesn’t even glance at me so that I can ask for my check. What should I do?

A: Dining or having a coffee is a drawn-out activity in Argentina and the concept of a ‘quick-turnover’ of tables doesn’t exist.

The typical Argentine waiter doesn’t scan the room much or seem to possess peripheral vision. They just don’t want to make you feel hurried. If you need to get the waiters attention it is perfectly acceptable to say, “Mozo/a!”(waiter/waitress) in a casual tone, or “Señor/a!” if the waiter is older. Think ahead, because once you ask for your check, you should expect to wait another little while.

Q: Why can’t I just get a glass of water at a restaurant?

I came in from the heat and there is no water on the table. Why don’t they give glasses of water?

A: Although the water is good drinking quality in most of the country, and Argentina has one of the largest fresh water reserves on the planet, you can’t get a glass of tap water in a restaurant to save your life. If you order water, you’ll get a bottle.

Be sure to specify, ‘sin gas’ for normal water or ‘con gas’ for mineral or carbonated soda water. Agua con gas is the eco-friendly option because it often comes in old-style reusable siphons.

Q: Why do some places make you wait to see if they can find you a table when the restaurant is half empty?

We tried to go to a restaurant before Argentines usually eat their late dinner and the waiter acted like he had to check if there was room for us.

A: If a restaurant is half empty at dinner time (10:00 p.m.), the food may be sub-par, but some places such as Asia de Cuba regularly do the, ‘Let-me-check-with-my-invisible-friend-to-see-if-we-have-a-table’ routine.

Some VIP spots in Buenos Aires such as high end places in Puerto Madero will do this to every customer who is not a public figure. It’s just to make it feel more exclusive – you have to be really wonky-looking to not pass the test, otherwise it may be discrimination. If you’ve been refused entrance at a restaurant or club in Buenos Aires, tell us about it.

Q: Why don’t people take home leftovers in Argentina?

Why does the waiter staff seem to be restraining themselves from gasping in horror when I ask for a doggy bag?

A: Asking to take home leftovers from a restaurant was once unheard of and is still considered a tiny bit taboo in Buenos Aires, and certainly in the rest of Argentina. The idea has caught on somewhat in the capital only because of the influx left-over crazy foreigners, a few who own restaurants themselves.

Still, at most establishments you may get a surprised look for asking for a take-way box. To put it in context, Argentina is a country of bountiful food production.

Most Argentines didn’t grow up with their parents reminding them there are children starving in Africa. When dining in someone’s home, it’s even considered polite to leave a little food on the plate, instead of licking it clean, this indicate that you are full.

If you want to take home your leftovers regardless of the custom, say that it is for your pet — that is considered less embarrassing.

⇒ Check out our Food & Drink Tours in Buenos Aires

Crazy Fist: The Life and Tragedies of Boxer Carlos Monzón

I made the whole world talk, their hearts beat.
I made them see that everybody has blood.
–Leon Gieco, Puño Loco

The exemplar of calculated aggression in the boxing ring, Carlos Monzón was at times a blazing, uncontrollable menace out of it. He was Argentina’s über-celebrity of the 1970’s. He dated the most famous movie stars, even if he happened to be married to someone else at the time.

He began as an unassuming provincial kid who went on to star in films, dress like a dandy and repeatedly beat many of his long line of glamorous girlfriends. His early life was blighted by crime and after gaining fame and adulation as one of the world’s finest athletes, he wound up being sent to prison for murdering the love of his life. He died at the age of 52 after crashing his car returning to prison after a day’s furlough.

In Argentina Monzón is revered as one of the greatest sportsmen the country has ever produced, alongside names like footballer Diego Maradona, Formula 1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio and of course, Lionel Messi. Folk singer Leon Gieco’s tribute, Puño Loco (Crazy Fist) achingly remembers the boxer and his profound effect on the Argentine people despite the darker aspects of his personality.

In the boxing world he is widely regarded to be in the top three middleweights of all time. Mike Tyson, a devoted student of boxing history while training under Cus D’Amato, has repeatedly professed his veneration for the Argentine.

“I always loved Carlos Monzón. He was a tough guy, for real, a guy from the streets,” Tyson told sports daily Olé.

“He didn’t talk much. He didn’t need to. The ring belonged to him,” he said.

Monzón’s Humble Beginnings

While many boxing champions from the U.S. or Europe come from tough inner-city neighborhoods, most of Argentina’s finest fighters punch their way out of the grim frontier provinces to make their way to the bright lights of Buenos Aires in the hope of earning fame and fortune.

This is the story of Carlos Roque Monzón. He was born in the desolate town of San Javier in the Santa Fe province on August 7, 1942 where he lived in a humble home with his parents, who were of indigenous Mocoví ancestry, and four siblings.

He dropped out of school in the third grade and immediately started working to support his kin. He toiled through a range of odd jobs such as newspaper delivery boy and milkman but later he found he could also make a little money from his new hobby of boxing. Monzón would earn up to 50 pesos by winning loosely organized backstreet bouts. He began working his way up through the amateur ranks and came across the trainer who would shepherd him through the rest of his career and become a father figure and lifelong companion, Amilcar Brusa.

Early Boxing Career

Monzón turned pro in 1963 at the age of 20, winning his first fight with a second round knockout. The six foot tall, hard-as-flint middleweight battled his way through 19 fights over the next two years. He lost three times in that period in what was a merciless trial by fire for the still-developing boxer. Never would he taste defeat again in the ring. Most importantly, he was taken under the wing of fight promoter Juan Carlos ‘Tito’ Lectura, patron of Buenos Aires’ boxing coliseum, Luna Park.

Revered boxing journalist Carlos Irusta first met Monzón at that time. Like many fight experts, he was not initially blown away by the Santa Fe pugilist’s aura.

“He was a very polite guy, but he didn’t talk much,” says Irusta. “He wasn’t charismatic. At that stage Monzón was just another boxer. He didn’t give you the impression that he would go on to reach the heights that he did.”

Despite his weak first impression, Monzón’s professional reputation grew on the back of some fine victories in Lectura’s arena which were broadcast on national television. Eventually he was given the chance to fight for the title of Argentine champion. He surprised almost everybody by beating the highly regarded Jorge Fernandez to become champion of Argentina on 13 September, 1966. From there his steady progress continued until he earned a shot at the world middleweight title against the great Italian boxer Nino Benvenuti in Rome on November 7, 1970. Once again, nobody thought he had much of a chance of victory.

“It was a more romantic time,” remembers Irusta. “We [the boxing community] all got together to give Monzón a farewell dinner in Luna Park. There were a lot of us, and nobody except for Brusa, Lectura and one veteran journalist, Simón Bronenberg believed in Monzón.”

The Argentine public at the time were drawn to more charismatic fighters, including Benvenuti himself, a suave boxer-cum-movie star whose face could be seen on giant billboards around Buenos Aires, recalls Irusta.

“Carlos could walk along Corrientes Street in a suit and nobody would recognize him,” he says.

“All eyes were on Benvenuti. I got the feeling that the average spectator was thinking: ‘Who is this guy Monzón, who’s going off to fight the champ?’”

The world title bout was broadcast on a Saturday afternoon in Argentina.

“Buenos Aires stopped to watch,” says Irusta. “The next day everyone was talking about Monzón. If he’d lost, though, it would have been just another fight.”

Fight fans were in for a shock. The brilliant Benvenuti was made to look obsolete. His punches failed to land while Monzón was precise, flawless. The final round is part of boxing folklore.

Monzón battered and shattered the champion in the twelfth before peddling oblivion with his crazy right fist. It was one of the purest knockouts in the sport’s history, but equally striking was the way the Argentine nonchalantly turned and strolled back to his corner after delivering the brutal blow, as if he had just punched off work at a factory rather than punched out the revered middleweight champion of the world. Those three minutes were pure Monzón – mechanical, calculating, clever and merciless. Benvenuti would get a rematch the following year in Monte Carlo but this time he only lasted three rounds. Monzón had gone from laconic provincial hardman to international idol.

He would defend his title 14 times without loss, a feat never matched before or since in the middleweight division. He ended his career with a professional record of 100 fights, 87 wins, 10 draws and only the three losses early in his career. Aside from Benvenuti he would clean up future Hall of Famers Emile Griffith and José Nápoles as well as every other highly rated contender of his era.

Monzón ruled the middleweight division with magnificent impunity before showing the astuteness to declare his retirement on July 30, 1977 after a tough victory against Rodrigo Valdez in Monte Carlo. Upon seeing his tattered face in the mirror after the bout, Monzón knew it was time to walk away from the sport.

The Enigma of the Ordinary but Invincible Boxer

I was one more magician, hard as a rock to break,
I was the king of that dark club.
–Puño Loco

Even under the intense exposure that comes with being world champion, no opponent was ever able to solve the riddle of Monzón. His style was neither flashy nor flawless. Numerous contemporaries would echo Carlos Irusta’s sentiments on first catching sight of Monzón in the ring — a sound boxer but nothing extraordinary.

Brusa, his trainer and fellow inductee into the Hall of Fame, recalled with amusement this typical reaction to his charger in an interview with Gente magazine.

“After he won his ninth title defense, Mantequilla [Jose Napoles]’s trainer, Angelo Dundee – who has been in the corner for Mohammed Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, no less – said to me, ‘Brusita, how practical this guy is! He destroys you little by little,’” said Brusa.

Monzón was able to use his lanky and seemingly ungainly physique to its full advantage, confusing his opponents with an upright stance and an array of defensive twists and grapples gleaned from Brusa’s experience as a wrestler.

Add to this the granite toughness of his frame and a deceptively destructive punch from both close range and distance, and Monzón’s opponents must have felt they were scrapping with a hellacious beast scrambled out of some unfathomable Pampas backwater.

Violence, Celebrity, Prison & Death

Like so many athletes who emerged from tough, violent backgrounds, Carlos Monzón did not have the capacity to fully submit himself to the comfortable life of fame and fortune which he had earned. In his early days as an amateur fighter he often found himself in trouble with the law. He served brief stints in prison for inciting a football riot and brawling. Rumors, often backed up by physical evidence, of abusive behavior towards the women he was romantically involved with pursued him throughout his life. He was shot twice by his first wife in 1973 but recovered to continue his career.

Carlos Irusta attempts to explain the anomaly of a man so controlled within the ropes of a boxing ring and yet so wild out of it:

“He drank a lot, and you could say he was a violent drunk,” says the long time El Grafico journalist. “I believe that when he was unable to express himself with words he would respond with violence. The difference in the ring was that it was his work, and he analyzed all his aggression. He had an extraordinary coldness,” he said.

A screen shot of the Argnetine movie, La Mary staring Carlos Monzón and Susana Giménez — Monzón with a young Susana Giménez in the movie, La Mary

An explosive temper and gruff demeanor did not seem to make the boxer any less attractive to high-profile women while at the peak of his fame in the 1970’s.

Appearing in movies only made his star burn brighter, explained Brusa in the Gente interview.

“When Carlitos made the movie ‘El Macho‘, women went crazy. They threw themselves at him,” he said.

“The actress Ursula Andress came from Los Angeles to look for him,” Brusa said, “I told him to forget about girls while he was in the ring. And he understood.”

Argentina was both scandalized and enthralled when the middleweight champion began an affair with the country’s most famous actress, Susana Giménez after the two of them had starred in the movie, ‘La Mary’ together in 1974.

Monzón was still married at the time, but the relationship would continue right up until his retirement in 1977.

Giménez reportedly encouraged him to quit the sport and this, along with his increasingly decadent lifestyle caused a falling out between the boxer, Brusa and Lectura. The diva, today one of Argentina’s most popular chat show hosts, was another of Monzón’s lovers whose face sometimes bore the bruises of his violent domestic outbursts. It was her rumored affair with singer and actor, Cacho Castaña that was blamed for the breakup though.

WA-monzón-muníz — Monzón with Alicia Muníz, who he would later murder

A year after splitting with Giménez, Monzón met Alicia Muñíz, the woman who would become his second wife and mother to his child, Maximiliano. Once again the relationship would turn out to be a tumultuous one, but this time it ended in tragedy.

Though officially the pair had separated, they were together in a Mar del Plata condo in the early hours of the morning on February 14, 1988. They fought and Muñíz ended up dead, thrown from the second floor balcony. Forensic evidence showed that the ex-boxer had also strangled her before her fall. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for murder.

“People were stupefied when it happened. It was a Sunday during summer, when there is not much news happening. Everyone was talking about how Monzón had killed Alicia. There was no talk of it having been an accident,” says Irusta.

Six years later, Monzón too was dead. Given a day’s leave of absence from prison for good behavior, he was returning by car alone in the evening of January 8, 1995 when he lost control of the vehicle. It rolled several times and Monzón died before help could arrive. Public reaction in Argentina was mixed, says Irusta.

“On the one hand, there was a group who considered him a murderer and they crucified him,” he says.

“There were others who, on the sporting side, saw him as a great champion, and as someone who looked after his family and cared about them. He always maintained that he couldn’t remember what had happened that night with Alicia. When I went to his funeral in Santa Fe, people sang, ‘dale campeón’ (Go champion).”

“For the people of Santa Fe, he isn’t a murderer,” says Irusta. “Aside from those horrendous events, he is Monzón, the world champion.”

I made the heavens fall, I stopped the winds,
I made them cry with just one crazy fist.
–Puño Loco

— by Dan Colasimone

Jewish Landmarks, Restaurants & Entertainment in Argentina

The Jewish population in Argentina has fluctuated since its peak in the mid 20th century but the community continues to have an endurable influence on the country’s culture, media and cuisine.

Jewish life is particularly lively in Buenos Aires, where 8.2% of the population is Jewish. The star of David identifies Jewish-owned businesses in the Once and Abasto business districts, the Argentine capital’s equivalent of New York’s Lower East Side.

The more residential Jewish neighborhood of Villa Crespo is affectionately referred to as ‘Villa Kreplach‘ by locals.

While Buenos Aires is the focal-point of Jewish life in Argentina, synagogues and Judaic community organizations can be found in a number of provincial capitals throughout the country.

Argentine Jews in Sports, Film & TV

Football/soccer is practically religion in Argentina. Jewish participation in the sport grew out of the city’s social and sporting clubs and was key to the assimilation of new arrivals from Eastern Europe.

Villa Crespo’s soccer team, Atlanta, is the traditional club supported by Porteño Jews, highlighting the unique Jewish-Argentine identity that unites religious and non-religious Jews, Sephardic and Ashkenazi.

Argentina’s most popular soccer team is the Boca Juniors. As of 2018 Boca Junior’s stadium, the Bombonera, has a ‘Bocasher‘ Rabbi-supervised food stand.

More than half of Argentina’s Jewish professional athletes were football players. Those who follow South American football will be familiar with Jose Peckerman, former Argentinos Juniors player and manager of Colombia’s national team. Another name is Juan ‘Juampi’ Sorin, former World Cup national team player and coach who currently works as an announcer for ESPN.

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→ Learn more about the Jewish influence on Argentine soccer in the book, ‘Fútbol, Jews and the Making of Argentina.‘

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Other prominent professional athletes that have gained famed in Argentina include Olympic Bronze medal and World Cup winner in female field hockey, Giselle Andrea Kañevsky. She’s the granddaughter of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most prominent rabbinic authorities in Ultra-orthodox Judaism.

Carolina Raquel Duer, a boxer whose family immigrated to Argentina from Syria, was the first Jewish woman to win a World Boxing Championship in 2010 in a match that was televised nationwide in Argentina.

The former kibbbutznik known as the ‘Iron Barbie’ defended the super flyweight title six times and was invited by former president Cristina Kirchner to the Casa Rosada. Today she’s a TV boxing announcer for Argentina’s public television station.

One of two Argentine Jews in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is Daniela Yael Krukower, a Women’s World Judo Champion. The other was 1930s Austrian table tennis champ Erwin Kohn, who fled to Argentina in 1938 to become the country’s champion until 1952.

Yiddish Theater in Buenos Aires

In the 1930s and 40s Buenos Aires had the largest Yiddish theater scene in the world, aside from New York City.

In the off season, New York actors would make their way to Buenos Aires to star in productions here.

Buenos Aires still has a thriving theater scene even though Yiddish theater died. Even today there are humorous productions around the Once and Abasto neighborhood with titles such as, ‘Los cuentos del Rebe,’ (The Stories of Rebe), ‘Oy, oy, hoy’, and ‘Tangos con Varenikes‘ (Tangos with Varenikis — which includes tangos in Yiddish and Hebrew).

The IFT Theater (Boulogne Sur Mer 549) is a small independent theater troupe born out of the Yiddish theater tradition in 1932 under the name ‘Idramst,’ Yiddish for ‘theater.’

The IFT theater is a member of the ICUF Federación de Entidades Culturales Judías de Argentina (Federation of Jewish Cultural Entities of Argentina).

In 1952 the troupe was able to purchase their own building. At its peak, IFT had a chorus, a drama school, a children’s ballet and an art gallery. The theater also hosted big Jewish names in Argentine theater such as Yordana Fain, Cipe Lincovsky, Anita Lang, Joseph Buloffand Elita Aizenberg.

Today, Teatro IFT hosts live independent theater productions in Spanish an average of five days a week.

Jewish Portrayals in Argentine Media

In Argentine film, the stereotypical ‘immigrant Jewish merchant’ has long held a role, such as in 1948’s Pelota de Trapo and 1952’s Ellos Nos Hiceron Así.

Comedian Adolfo Stray (birth name: Straijer) also characterized the Porteño Jew on stage and in his 1968 TV comedy program, El Superejecutivo Don Jacobo (The Super Executive, Mr. Jacobo).

As for contemporary mass media, the wildly popular Argentine prime-time soap opera, ‘Los Graduados‘ (The Graduates) starred a stereotypical Jewish Argentine family, the Godzers who eat knishes and gelfite fish, smatter their conversations with Yiddish, and whose father is, predictably, a fan of Atlanta soccer team.

La Rey de Once, (‘The Tenth Man’ is it’s English carnation instead of the direct translation, ‘The King of Once’) is the 12th full-length film by ‘New Argentine Cinema’ director Daniel Berman.

The film premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival and, like most of Berman’s work, features a neurotic Jewish central character, drawing easy comparisons to the work of Woody Allen.

Jewish Influence on Tango

Jewish tangueros (tango dancers and musicians) also played a role in Argentina’s musical history. Some of the ‘Russian Jews’ who arrived via the Wesser in 1889 carried instruments among their few belongings, and the influence of klezmer music on tango is noticeable to the trained ear.

Performing as a musician — in what was then considered the ‘seedy’ world of tango — was one of a few occupations open to newly-arrived Eastern European Jews to Buenos Aires.

Not surprisingly, among the early tango greats are names such as pianist Abraham Moisés ‘Alberto’ Soifer, bandoneón player Arturo Bernstein, and the prolific composer, Luis Rubistein.

Immigrants from all over influenced the birth of tango within Argentina and the mix of melancholy, despair, self-deprecation and humor found in the lyrics resonated across the pond as well.

Many tango songs were written in eastern European ghettos before and after WWII such as the Yiddish tune, ‘Vu ahin zol ikh geyn‘ (Where Shall I Go?) by Igor S. Korntayer.

Sadly, most of the tangos written in Eastern Europe leading up to the Holocaust were lost, but a few dozen, such as that of Korntayer’s were salvaged.

Yiddish tango tunes were being performed in Buenos Aires theaters as early as the 1920s. In contemporary music, there are groups such as the Yiddish Tango Club led by Gustavo Bulgash. The group fuses tango with Klezmer music, which Bulgash learned to play with his family as a child in Buenos Aires.

At the annual Buenos Aires Jazz Festival visitors may hear klezmer among the eclectic jazz mix that includes swing, bebob and tango-jazz fusion.

Kosher Restaurants in Buenos Aires

Most traditional Jewish food and kosher restaurants in Buenos Aires are focused around the neighborhoods of Once, Abasto and Villa Crespo.

Thankfully there are many kosher dining options aside from the popular Kosher McDonalds in Abasto Shopping Mall, famous for being the only Rabbi-approved McDonalds in all of the Americas.

No visitor to Argentina can miss out on Argentina’s favorite snack food, savory empanadas. Empanadaría Kosher at Tucumán 2790 comes to the rescue with reasonably-priced empanadas and pizzas and is well worth a stop while sightseeing. The empanadas here are so popular with porteños (as residents of Buenos Aires are called) that they now have three more locations, including one on the second floor of the Abasto mall and another in Once, at Paso 719.

On the same block at Paso 745, Tov Lev features Kosher Shawarma, pastrami, apple latkes and Italian-inspired Argentine specialties prepared under the supervision of Rabbi Daniel Oppenheimer.

For kibbeh, and other traditional Israeli and Sephardic food in simple surroundings, try the popular Yafo Kosher at Paso 747.

One of the city’s most popular options for a kosher ‘asado‘ (barbecue meat) experience is the recently revamped Parilla Al Galope, one block from the Empanadaría Kosher, at Tucumán 2633.

Ajim Deli, right across the street from Empanadaría Kosher, at Tucumán 2620, offers shawarma, falafal, shnitzel, hot pastrami sandwiches, hummus, lajmashin and typical Argentine cuisine such as milanesas, steak and even ‘ñinos envueltos.’ It is open all day Sunday until Thursday and opens for a typical Buenos Aires’ late dinner at 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

For a more interactive and personalized Argentine food experience in the Palermo neighborhood, sign up for an afternoon or evening with the Jewish-owned Argentine Food Experience to learn how to make empanadas, eat steak like an Argentine (with plenty of Malbec of course) and prepare and drink the traditional tea, yerba mate.

By far the hippest spot for Jewish cuisine in Buenos Aires is the trendy fine dining bistro, Mishiguene (Mishiguene means ‘crazy’ in Yiddish).

Although not strictly Kosher, chef Tomás Kalika offers a modern twist on traditional Ashkenazi and Sephardic recipes including kugel, kreplach, borscht, gefilte fish and pastrami cooked the Argentine way — on a grill.

Kalika’s ancestors are from Russia and Poland. He learned to cook at Israeli ‘MasterChef’ host, Eyal Shani’s restaurant, Oceanus, in Jerusalem.

Located in Palermo at Lafinur 3368, Mishiguene is unmistakably Jewish with yiddishkeit decor and live klezmzer music on Friday nights.

While the restaurant has received praise as the ‘best Jewish food in South America,’ be warned that Mishiguene might be ‘crazily priced’ for visitors from Jewish food capitals such as Tel Aviv, New York or London.

Those craving sushi should head to Sushi Ko Kosher on the same block, at Lafinur 3305. Pichiklin Sushi is another popular option with two locations, in Once and Belgrano.

For a reasonably-priced steak meal in the Belgrano neighborhood, there is El Paisano Kosher House, at O’Higgins 2358, which is run by the local Chabad.

The hottest eatery for pastrami reuben sandwich is the Jewish deli, La Crespo, at Thames 613 in the Villa Crespo neighborhood. They also serve up otherwise elusive lox and cream cheese bagels, varenyky, latkes, knishes and strudel and cheesecake. For pastrami with homemade pickles and gourmet celiac dishes in Palermo, try La Pastroneria, at El Salvador 6026.

For a nice tavern with sabich and shwarmas and an outdoor seating area in Palermo try Benaim, Gorriti 4015.

Also in the Palermo neighborhood is Hola Jacoba which serves up Sephardi and Ashkenazi plates including kippes, latkes, tabuleh, felafel and sambuzek at Thames 1801.

For a drink or coffee break, take a step back in time to visit Cafe San Bernardo, Av. Corrientes 5436, a traditional gathering place for Jewish intellectuals in Villa Crespo.

Founded in 1912, this no-nonsense bar (one of 92 cafe-bars recognized by the city for its historic value) and billiard hall is more commonly known as ‘El Sanber.‘ It became the place newly arrived young Ashkanazi Jews went to talk politics and play games such as dominoes and the Argentine card game, truco.

Until a couple of years ago Cafe Bernardo was open 24 hours, much like other historic bars such as San Telmo‘s Bar Britanico, but after 60 years of never closing, they now close for a well-deserved siesta at 5 a.m. for a few hours.

Just wandering around Once and Abasto, visitors will find plenty of kosher butchers and bakeries. Among the many bakeries are Taam Tov Av. Corrientes 2922, (a stop on our private Jewish Buenos Aires Literary Walking Tour) which sells such as facturas, leikach (honey cakes), borsht pletzalech (onion bread) and matzah. Another good bet for bread and pastries is La Bakery Kosher, Tucuman 2892. They also have a basic eatery with pizzas, pastas, salads and empanadas.

Those staying Palermo can stock up at Palermo Kosher supermarket at Ugarteche 3033 or Open Kosher supermarket at Molde 2455.

The Belgrano neighborhood also has a cluster of Jewish and Kosher businesses surrounding Buenos Aires’ Chinatown. One Belgrano option for sushi is Tatami Kosher sushi.

To shop for groceries nearby there’s the previously mentioned Beit Jabad of Belgrano’s restaurant, El Paisano and MANA, a deli which offers up prepared food for take out including pickled cabbage salad and ‘fusion’ food such as goulash with ñoquis.

L’Chaim: Argentine Kosher Wine

At the turn of the 21st century overseas demand for Argentine Kosher wine boomed along with the general Argentine wine market.

Argentine Malbec and Torrontes are unique varietals that should be enjoyed on an Argentine vacation because today the Kosher versions are harder to find overseas. Today, the export costs, instability of Argentina’s economy, and a large price tag for international Kosher certification make it hard for Argentine winemakers to compete with Kosher wine makers in Europe.

Argentina’s larger wineries such as Finca La Celia have since cut their production of Kosher wines but other producers such as Finca 613 continue to satisfy the steady domestic demand. Their Tariag line of Kosher wines including Torrontes, Malbec, sparkling wines and champagnes and are aimed toward Argentina’s internal market.

Most high-end wine stores in Buenos Aires can help visitors find a decent Kosher wine and some restaurants don’t mind if you bring your own bottle and will just charge a corkage fee.

Buenos Aires Jewish Tours

The private Buenos Aires Heritage tour starts with a visit to the ‘Plaza de la Memoria,’ which was the location of the Israeli embassy before the devastating 1994 terrorist attack there. It now serves as a memorial for the victims.

The tour also visits the Temple of Liberty, where the ‘Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina’ (CIR) is located. It is the oldest and largest Jewish Temple in the country.

Later we’ll visit the nerve center of daily life of the Jewish community, AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina — the Mutual Israel-Argentine Association).

The tour also visits the Holocaust Museum, created to commemorate the Holocaust’s footprint in Argentina, with personal collections, stories, testimonials, documents, and objects pertaining to the survivors who fled to Argentina.

The most lively part of the tour is a visit to the neighborhood of Once and Abasto, the city’s heart for Buenos Aires’ Jewish community.

The tour takes visitors by local synagogues, restaurants and markets belonging to members of the Jewish community.

The price of this tour per person depends on the number of people in your group.

Buenos Aires Jewish Neighborhood Walking Tour

This boutique walking tour led by a local starts at 10:30 a.m. in the Once neighborhood.

The three-hour walking tour is centered around the traditionally Jewish neighborhood of Once. As part of the tour, the group reads short texts by important Argentine Jewish writers such as Alberto Gerchunoff and César Tiempo while enjoying a beverage in a typical neighborhood cafe.

The tour also goes by AMIA, the Jewish cultural center and the Paso Synagogue, the nearby police station, traditional fabric stores and a traditional Jewish bakery with some delicious snacks.

→ Read about our private Jewish Buenos Aires Tour with a local guide

Synagogues & Jewish Attractions Around Argentina

Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA)
Pasteur 633
Once
Tel : 4959-8800

Also known as the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Society AMIA is central to Jewish life in Buenos Aires. They also unite fifty Jewish communities spread throughout Argentina.

AMIA founded the first Jewish cemetery in the city and offers educational and cultural activities for all ages.

Security is high here after the devastating terror attack in 1994, in which 85 people were killed.

Tours of ground floor exhibition should be arranged in advance, through local friends who are members, or certified tour agencies.

There are also murals memorializing the victims of the 1994 terrorist attack in the nearby Pasteur – AMIA station on line B of the subte. To see a list of upcoming Jewish cultural activities in Buenos Aires, including theater, musical events, film screenings and conferences, see AMIA’s culture page.

Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum
Montevideo 919,
Recoleta
Tel: 4811-3588

Latin America’s only Shoah museum has a wealth of information pertaining to the holocaust and its impact in Argentina.Read more about the exhibits and resources at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum here.

Communidad Or Israel
Planes 1049
Caballito

A synagogue founded in 1911. Until the 1970s a school here taught Yiddish and Torah studies.

Today, aside from Shabbat and other holiday services, they host concerts, talks and family activities. On their centenary they restored, modernized and re-inaugurated the current temple in the Caballito neighborhood.

Fundación Pardes (spiritually-focused Jewish Organization)
Currently broken link: pardes.org.ar
Cespedes 3380
Chacarita
Tel: 4555-1390

Plaza Embajada de Israel (Memorial Plaza)
Arroyo and Suipacha Streets
Recoleta

A moving memorial for the victims of the 1992 suicide attack on the Israeli Embassy. There are twenty one tress planted and seven benches in remembrance of the victims. A plaque lists their names in Spanish and Hebrew.

Salvador Kibrick Jewish Museum
Libertad 769
Open: Mon-Fri, 10 a.m. -6 p.m.

The permanent collection here highlights the Jewish immigrant experience to Argentina, including the Jewish colonies.

Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano Marshall T. Meyer
— Academic , cultural and religious center of the Conservative Religious Movement in Argentina with an important Jewish Sciences Library
Jose Hernandez 1750
Tel: 4783-2009

Sociedad Hebraica Argentina (Argentine Hebrew Society)
Sarmiento 2233

— A non-profit organization with a large 14-floor social and sport club. They also have a suburban center in Pilar, Province of Buenos Aires. A worthwhile community to join for Jewish families moving to Buenos Aires.

Club Náutico Hacoaj
Av. Estado de Israel 4156
Tel: 4863-2121

An institution in Buenos Aires’ northern suburbs, Náutico Hacoaj is another sports and social club in Tigre. Originally founded in 1935 as the Club Náutico Israelita, (Israelite Rowing Club) today the sports here also include basketball, bocce, football, golf, tennis, field hockey and other sports.

Gran Templo Paso — Considered one of South America’s most beautiful temples, this 2,000 capacity temple was built in 1929 by the Ashkanazi community.
Paso 423
Once, Buenos Aires
Tel: 4951-2306

Sinagoga de la Congregacion Israelita de la Republica Argentina, founded in 1897 is one of the city’s oldest synagogues. The Roman-Byzantine style synagogue has room for 1,000 worshipers. Next door is the Jewish Museum.
Libertad 785
Once, Buenos Aires

Templo Camargo — A Sephardi orthodox synagogue with Buenos Aires’ largest kehillah in the Villa Crespo neighbohood.
Camargo 870
Villa Crespo

Comunidad Dor Jadash — Another congregation with over one hundred years of history, founded in 1912 by Lithuanin, Polish and Russian immigrants. This community in Villa Crespo has a nice temple and lots of activities for all ages with workshops such as ‘Embracing Judiasm,’ Kabbalah and Rikudim Israel folk dance.

Murillo 653
Villa Crespo

Yesod Hadat —Large temple established by Sephardic Community
La Valle 2249
Once
Tel: 4961-9299

Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz

Rosario

Often called Argentina’s ‘second city’ (even though Cordoba capital has surpassed it in population) and the largest city in Sante Fe province, Rosario has a population of about 20,000 Jews.

Beit Jabad Rosario (Orthodox)
Mendoza 1557 1-A
Rosario, Santa Fe
Tel: (41) 260-208

Historic Communal Museum of the Jewish Colonization of Moisés Ville
25 de Mayo 188
Moisés Ville
Santa Fe
Tel: (03409) 420-665

Moises Ville (aka ‘Kiryat Moshe’) is a small town that represents an interesting part of Argentine Jewish history, as it was here that Argentina’s first agrarian settlement was established in 1889. While the population is only a few hundred today, there are three synagogues, but no Rabbi. Most of the residents have moved to Rosario, Buenos Aires or Israel. Not many people reach here for tourism, but anyone who does will typically be given a key to the synagogue and library.

Keep in mind that because of terrorist attacks of the 1990s, most synagogues will ask for identification before allowing anyone to enter, so don’t forget your I.D. Most synagogues across the country have a larger Shabbat service on Friday night rather than Saturday morning.

Entre Ríos: Jewish Attractions

Jewish Museum of Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos 476
Concordia
Entre Ríos
Tel: (345) 421-4088

Hours: Mon-Fri & Sundays, 8:30 to 12:30 p.m.

Villa Clara a small town in the middle of Entre Ríos province, was another Jewish agrarian settlement set up by the philanthropist Baron de Hirsh — in fact the town is named after his wife, Clara. Villa Clara town has only a couple of thousand residents. The small history museum has objects and paperwork that highlight the journey of the early Jewish settlers and their daily life.

Beit Jabad Concordia (Orthodox Synagogue)
Alvear 623
Concordia
Entre Rios
Tel: (345)-421-5195

Cordoba

Jabad Lubavitch Cordoba
Sucre 1378/80
Barrio Cofico
Cordoba
Tel: (3514) 710-223

Mendoza

Socieda Israelita de Beneficencia
España 1930
Mendoza City
Tel: (261)-423-3568

Tucumán

Beit Jabad Tucumán — Orthodox
Lamadrid 752
Tucumán
Tel: (381) 4248-892

Websites

Israeli-Argentina Association Jabad Labavitch (Spanish)

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