The World Cup semifinals are about to start as we write this on Wednesday, so if youre reading this afterwards, Buenos Aires is now in absolute joy or suffering from utter despair.
Either way, the city offers plenty of chances to take a break from the celebrations or switching off from the World Cup completely. Highlights range from Malba’s annual Reading Fest, where books, independent publishing and live music take over the museum, to film screenings celebrating Jim Henson, Ernst Lubitsch and producer Lita Stantic.
If you’re looking for something to eat, several restaurants are rolling out seasonal menus built around hearty comfort food, while a one-night-only pop-up offers a creative twist on familiar dishes. Round it all out with live performances by tango icon Adriana Varela, indie favorite Flopa and soul outfit Palta & The Mood.
Reading Fest at MALBA July 21, 3 p.m to 9 p.m.
MALBA (Av. Pres. Figueroa Alcorta 3415)
Free admission
The annual Reading Fest of the Buenos Aires Latin American Art Museum turns the gallery into a lively meeting point for readers, writers and the simply curious. Throughout the afternoon, visitors can browse independent publications, fanzines and experimental libraries from Argentina, Chile and Mexico, discover contemporary authors through Malbas specially curated lending library, or even send a free postcard or letter anywhere in the country from a temporary post office set up inside the museum.
The celebration wraps up with a concert by Argentine pop musician Leo Garca, marking the 25th anniversary of Mar, his landmark album produced by Gustavo Cerati.
FOOD Pop Up at DiezTreinta July 16, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
DiezTreinta (Crmer 1030)
Diez Treinta joins forces with Wen Comer for Lado B, a one-night-only pop-up that revisits some of the restaurants best-known dishes through new ingredients, techniques, textures and presentations. The dinner will have two seatings, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., and an optional wine pairing. Reservations are required.
New winter menus Casa Dingo Everyday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Armenia 1908
Australian-inspired restaurant Casa Dingo is welcoming winter with a menu built around hearty flavors, slow cooking and classic pub fare. New additions include the Aussie Pie, filled with beef braised for 12 hours and served with gravy, and a spiced Shakshuka with lamb merguez, alongside a new selection of Winter Treats, warm sharing plates such as roasted carrot hummus, Brussels sprouts with vegetable gravy and braised pork belly.
Breakfast favorites have also been refreshed, while new brioche toasties reinterpret familiar sandwiches with ingredients like truffled bchamel, smoked ham and house-made chilli mayo.
Staying true to Australian pub culture, the entire menu is available all day, making it an inviting destination whether you’re stopping by for brunch, lunch or a comforting dinner.
Obrador Florida Wednesdays to Fridays, 3:30 p.m. to midnight; Weekends, 3 p.m. to midnight
Soler 5063
Ice cream may be a year-round staple in Buenos Aires, but Obrador Florida is proving that winter has its own distinct flavors. Chef Mercedes Romn has unveiled a seasonal menu built around the aromas and ingredients of the colder months, from slow-cooked fruits and toasted nuts to warming infusions and bright citrus.
New flavors include white grapefruit, toasted hazelnut, cream cheese with candied kumquats, ginger cream and chocolate-chip Earl Grey.
Nio Gordo Every day from 7 p.m. to midnight; Weekends 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Thames 1810
Rather than changing course, Nio Gordo is refining its signature blend of Argentine ingredients and East Asian flavors with a new menu inspired by local comfort-food classics.
Highlights include a grass-fed rib-eye served with bao, seaweed chimichurri and kimchi rice; a Peking-style chicken; and dumplings inspired by the traditional northwestern empanada. New vegetarian dishes, an okonomiyaki with local ingredients and a miso-infused take on tiramisu round out a menu that layers acidity, spice and umami onto familiar Argentine favorites.
FILM Lita Stantic at MALBA July 1 to 31
MALBA (Av. Pres. Figueroa Alcorta 3415)
Red Bear Lita Stantic directed only one film but managed to change Argentine cinema forever. The 85-year-old producer fostered some of Argentinas most daring directors, like feminist maverick Mara Luisa Bemberg in the 1980s. Years later, in the early 2000s, she supported and forwarded the new generation of filmmakers that drove New Argentine Cinema, including Lucrecia Martel and Pablo Trapero.
Her decades-long work is the object of a month-long special program at the Buenos Aires Latin American Art Museum (MALBA), which includes her own masterpiece A Wall of Silence as well as groundbreaking films like Martels The Swamp and Caetanos urban western Red Bear.
Jim Henson at Cine York July 18 and 19, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Cine York (Juan Bautista Alberdi 895, Olivos)
Admission is free, first-come, first-served
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Jim Henson, one of the most brilliant minds in the history of storytelling. The creator of The Muppets possessed a mind capable of generating a wild, warm, and invincible energy that forever changed comedy.
Henson and his creations defined a new concept of beauty and narration: from Labyrinth, a masterpiece of inventive children’s storytelling, to Kermit and his gang and their lessons in anarchy for all families.
The beautiful Cine York will screen four films that clearly demonstrate the importance of Henson and his enormous team of creators. Most of them are dubbed in Spanish, but you can watch the magnificent Labyrinth in its original version with Spanish subtitles.
Ernst Lubitsch in America July 16 to 21
Sala Leopoldo Lugones, Teatro San Martn (Av. Corrientes 1530)
Buenos Aires temple of film Sala Lugones continues its 14-film program dedicated to Ernst Lubitsch, the German-born director who would become one of the greatest comedy filmmakers from the golden age of Hollywood.
This weekend, the program includes masterpieces like Heaven Can Wait (1943), To Be or Not to Be (1942, a rare chance of watching Greta Garbo burst into laughter on screen), and The Shop Around the Corner, the 1940 original that would inspire Nora Ephrons 1999 global hit You Got Mail.
MUSIC
Adriana Varela July 17, 8.45 p.m.
Caf Berln (Av. San Martn 6656)
Admission AR$ 45,000
Talented tango singer La Gata Varela was “discovered” in the mid-Eighties by legendary Roberto Goyeneche and since then has made a mark in the genre. Her shows are always compelling.
Flopa Lastani + Hernn July 17, 7 p.m.
Bar La Academia (Montevideo 341)
Free admission
Second date of the series Bar de poesa y msica (Bar of poetry and music), curated by rock critic Martn Prez, now with the cult singer-songwriter Flopa and rock poet Hernn.
Palta & The Mood July 17, 9 p.m.
Niceto Club (Niceto Vega 5510)
Admission AR$ 30,000
Soul, funk and blues are all included in this new fav of the Argentine rock scene. Led by Australian singer Axel Mark, they are presenting new songs from their new album El retorno de Saturno.