Bar Británico: San Telmo’s Historic 24-Hour Hangout

Among the mythical dive bars of Buenos Aires is San Telmo’s enduring Bar Británico.

The corner bar facing Parque Lezama first opened in 1928 as ‘La Cosechera’ (The Harvester). From the beginning it was a gathering place for English World War I veterans and railroad workers who lived in the area.

It wasn’t long before ‘Bar Británico’ became an obvious name for this Anglo-Saxon meeting place and in the 1930’s the name was changed to reflect the predominate clientele of the era.

The ‘Tres Gallegos’

Bar Británico really earned its reputation as the iconic corner cafe of Parque Lezama beginning in 1959 when it was taken over by three Galician immigrants, Pepe Miñones, José Trillo and Manolo Pose. The three humorous Gallegos as they are collectively called, would remain for the next four and a half decades.

From the beginning the three cultivated an atmosphere welcoming writers looking for a place to scribble and smoke for hours on end and intellectuals who played epic games of chess. Writer, Ernesto Sábato was said to write part of his 1961 novel, ‘Sobre Héroes y Tumbas’ (‘On Heroes and Tombs’) at his pocked wood table by the window.

During the Malvinas/Falkland War, the first three letters of the bar’s name were camouflaged to alter the name to the much less controversial — if nonsensical — ‘Bar Tánico.’ The sign stayed that way for years until the anti-English sentiment faded and the three letters were once again uncovered on the awning outside.

In 1998 Británico was one of the first bars elected for its cultural significance as a ‘notable bar’ by the Buenos Aires’ city government.

The Eviction

In 2006 the existence of Bar Británico was threatened, stirring up a controversy of typical porteño proportion. The three Galicians were evicted after the owner of the building died and his son, Juan Pablo Benvenuto, decided the place could be fixed up to fetch a higher rent.

The community was outraged –- the Galicians had rented the bar from the same family for decades without a formal contract –- but it was true that the bar hadn’t been reformed since the 1950’s. The floor was missing tiles, the bathrooms were a disaster, and decades worth of dust covered the copious amount of knick-knacks around the bar.

Neighbors held protests, collected signatures, started protest blogs and facebook groups to save the bar and the livelihood of the three Galicians who had watched many of them grow up.

Enough signatures were collected that the city’s Culture Secretary intervened to see if the building’s owner could come to an agreement with Miñones, Trillo and Pose. The three, at this point elderly gentlemen who shuffled across the floor to take orders thanks only to the force of will, said that if they had to go they at least wanted to pass the bar on to people within their inner circle, including one waiter who had worked there for 25 years.

Thanks to the building’s listing as one of the city’s ‘historic heritage site’ and the cafe’s ‘bar notable’ status the owner was impeded from changing the character of the interior but the three Spaniards had no legal recourse to remain as the bar’s owner-operators and were forced to retire.

The Británico of Today

Six months after the ousting of the Galicians, Bar Británico was reopened under new management, who purchase the rights to continue using the same name.

New visitors probably won’t miss the Británico of old –- you can still sit at a sidewalk table and watch the people coming and going from Parque Lezama, or park at a window seat and nurture Porteño neurosis with one coffee after another. The menu and the food are admittedly as uninventive and average as ever.

Británico’s new owner, Agustín Souza refurbished the original wood bar, replaced the plumbing, electricity and floor tiles. The coffee is the same –- Souza buys the same brand as the former owners. The prices are certainly higher, but there’s no telling if that’s solely due to wacky inflation or a concerted effort to capitalize on the foreign tourists coming by to see one of the locations for the film ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and get whiff the Buenos Aires’ of yesteryear.

Some neighbors still maintain the attitude of scorned lovers toward Británico — they say it was once ‘their place’ and now they don’t belong — the grumpy decrepit charm is gone, they can’t even stop by to use the bathroom like the always did and without the grandfatherly Galicians, the very soul of Británico has been sucked away.

Sentimentality aside, Británico lives on, and former customers can hope that after 45 years of tending bar, the Tres Gallegos are enjoying their involuntary retirement.

Souza, an inexperienced bar owner, concedes that he has very big shoes to fill. “It is a lot of work. There were three of them and I’m only one person,” he says.

He also keeps the bar open 24 hours a day, save Tuesday mornings, restoring Brtitánico’s former reputation as the night owl’s old San Telmo standby.

“ We don’t have as much business at night but there is definitely a steady stream of people — there are journalists, painters, and taxi drivers — pretty much people from all walks of life.”

⇒ Take a Three-hour tour of Buenos Aires’ most historic cafes

Bar Británico-$$
Brasil 399 (corner of Defensa)
San Telmo
Tel: 4361-2107

• Hours: Open 24 hours a day, except Tues when it’s closed from 12:00 a.m.—8:00 a.m.
• Cash only

The San Telmo Fair

There is always a lot to see and do in ‘The Republic of San Telmo,’ but the colorful Sunday street fair is the bohemian neighborhood’s biggest attraction.

The Feria de San Telmo began as a 270-stall antiques market in 1971, and has grown into a huge come-as-you-are street bazaar that draws over 12,000 people every week.

The heart of the antique wares are congregated around Plaza Dorrego but the entire outdoor market stretches down 13 blocks of the cobblestone Defensa Street and off onto a few side lanes. From 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Defensa Street is completely pedestrian and packed with entertainers jockeying for attention and an international array of street vendors who display their goods on the pavement. The offerings include antiquities from Argentina’s glory days, original art, funky clothing, homemade snacks, and pretty much whatever else someone can think to slap with a price tag.

Scanning the antiques in Plaza Dorrego can give you a glimpse into Argentina’s heady past, although long gone are the days where one can find bargained-priced historic treasures.

Better deals can be found among the ‘unofficial’ street fair vendors, who today make up the bulk of the market. Since 2005 some local shopkeepers and residents have pushed for the street side hawkers to be removed, claiming that their presence obstructs the sidewalks.

As usual in Argentina, the conflict culminated in protests. Finally city officials reaffirmed that those who sell homemade ‘artisan items’ are entitled to stay, as are the musicians and other entertainers. Black market goods aren’t permitted, but they still make it into the fringes of the market. The San Telmo Fair continues as always and is larger than ever and drawing more enterprising free spirits and tourists every week.

Among the buskers and street merchants along Defensa Street you’ll meet some whimsical characters and can find some unique handmade gifts, often at exceptional prices.

For non-shoppers the street fair offers plenty of free entertainment and some of Buenos Aires’ most interesting people watching.

‘Greatest Hits’ of the San Telmo Street Fair:

→Best of San Telmo Fair: Music

→ Best of San Telmo Fair: Street Performers

→ Best of San Telmo Fair: Tango

⇒ Check out our San Telmo Walking & Bike Tours

Best of San Telmo Fair: Tango

Tango for Export

The corner of Defensa and Humberto Primo, at the very heart of the San Telmo Fair, is the capital of tango as a commodity on Sundays. There is often a tango performance here but once you push past the crowds to see what’s going on, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Although the older couple dancing a typical salon-type tango have certainly earned their stripes, they dance on a very tiny platform and do it for the camera. If you really aren’t interested in tango but are obliged to get a picture to show your tango-crazed aunt, head to this intersection to get your snaps.

All around San Telmo on Sundays you may stumble across ‘tango posses’ staging spontaneous milongas (dance gatherings) in any given public space. Often there is a group of dancers on the corner of Defensa Street and San Juan Avenue.

La Milonga del Indio/ The Milonga of Plaza Dorrego

The best place to catch some tango dancers who can really get across the floor on Sundays in San Telmo is directly in Plaza Dorrego. After the antique vendors have closed up shop, the ‘Milonga of the Indian’ takes place in the plaza. Founded by Pedro Banavente, known around town as ‘El Indio,’ this outdoor dance in the plaza has existed for over 20 years.

Usually there is a performance followed by an open dance where you can join in, if so inclined. Tango is the main feature here and sometimes there is a bit of Chacarera, a northern Argentine folk dance that is fun to give a whirl.

Due to a conflict with surrounding businesses and neighbors, the Plaza Dorrego milonga has been shut down a few times in the last years, but the dancers have succeeded in getting at least moral backing from the city government. The outdoor dance was coined as one of the ‘City’s Best 20 Milongas’ by the city’s Culture Secretary. Organizers are now fighting to receive ‘cultural interest’ status that will further protect it from being shut down.

La Milonga del Indio
Plaza Dorrego
Humberto Primo and Defensa Streets
San Telmo

• Time: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Cost: free

Tangodromo

To hit a milonga further off the beaten track on a Sunday in San Telmo, head to Tangodromo at the nearby Culture Center of Plaza Defensa. This is considered one of the most important milongas in the city and it is definitely authentic — you won’t bump into many tourists here. This is a good option for beginners and those with kids in tow.

Tangodrómo
Centro Cultural Plaza Defensa
Defensa 535
San Telmo/Monserrat
Tel: 4342-6610

• Time: Sundays at 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Cost: free

Check out our San Telmo Tango Tours & Shows →

Best of San Telmo Fair: Street Performers

Buenos Aires’ Living Statues

Elaborately costumed human mannequins are ubiquitous around San Telmo when the weekly San Telmo Street Fair takes place. Among the favorites are both of the genteel Carlos Gardels — one works on Humberto Primo and the other works along Defensa.

You also may see the ‘windswept office workers,’ who can also sometimes be seen on Florida Street as well as one of the ‘mirror men.’

Clowns, Crazies and Personalities

Mimes, clowns, scantily-clad drag queens and people who want to be tipped for just being who they are — they come out of the woodwork in San Telmo on Sundays. Especially prevalent are the ‘tango personalities’ who regularly make the rounds and sometimes sign autographs — whether you want one of not.

‘Tango Dancer’ Maleva takes tango back to its early 19th-century roots, with her fishnet stockings and heavy make-up. She doesn’t really dance tango as much as she prances around in her own little tango fantasy. She hasn’t been around lately so she might have taken her show indoors.

Halfway down the block from the plaza on Defensa Street is the woman everyone calls the ‘crazy drum lady,’ and she doesn’t seem to care one bit.

It’s difficult not to feel endeared to an elderly woman who supplements her pension playing a makeshift drum set and cracking jokes on the street. It doesn’t matter if you’re the queen of England though– if you want a picture you better give her U.S.-grade cash money beforehand or else you’ll receive an obscene gesture. She’s old, cranky and living on a fixed income. She can do whatever the hell she wants!

Puppet Shows

Puppetry is an art that is taken to its highest level in Buenos Aires. Delighted crowds always stop to cackle at the antics of ‘The Drunken Puppet,’ who stumbles around a miniature street corner made out of a suitcase — and looks curiously like his puppeteer.

→ Best of San Telmo Fair: Tango

←Best of San Telmo Fair: Music

Best of San Telmo Fair: Music

Tango, folk, jazz, bossa nova and Argentine ‘national rock’ –- it can all be heard live on the San Telmo streets for free on Sundays.

Tango

Among the most remarkable groups is the 12-piece tango orchestra, El Afronte, who perform on Humberto Primo near the corner of Defensa. While here, you can check out the beautiful Iglesia de San Pedro Telmo, one of Buenos Aires’ oldest cathedrals, dating back to 1734.

Contemporary Music

There are always buskers coming and going at the San Telmo Fair and it seems like a new group appears every week. Cuerdas del Sur is a tight three-piece contemporary ensemble who have been performing at the street fair for years. Often they can be found playing on the corner of Defensa and San Lorezo.

Candombe

Very popular are a growing number of candombe drum troupes playing in the later afternoon. The drummers bang out their Afro-Uruguayan sounds and slowly begin to shuffle through the crowds, gaining a following of dancers as they go along. The beats provide an opportunity to dance in the streets – literally.

→ Best of San Telmo Fair: Street Performers