Top picks: our annual survey reveals the best places in Latin America to work or rest

Latin Trade, Feb, 2005

But some of Buenos Aires' best cultural happenings can be taken in with just a little old-fashioned voyeurism, something long mastered by curious portenos, as the city's residents are known. The neo-classical architecture of its broad avenues, vibrant plaza life and cobble-stoned barrios are a pedestrian's paradise. Likewise, plentiful all-night bookstores and cafes, especially those along suitably seedy Avenida Corrientes, the city's version of a pre-Disneyfied Broadway, are a haven for insomniac intellectuals and artists.

The old moniker of Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America, although still flattering to the euro-centric egos of portenos, seems out of step with the country's economic reality after its 2002 meltdown. But with crisis came opportunity, and a new explosion of culture. Led by a generation brought up taking their stability for granted-only to see it vanish--the city is undergoing a cultural renaissance as young artists paint, sing, rant and film their newfound reality. Local audiences have responded in kind. One amazing fact: Despite declining incomes, portenos are spending more money, and devoting more time, to the consumption of culture than they did in the get-rich-quick 1990s.

Museums were never the city's strong point, but echoing the overall cultural renaissance the city was given, in 2001, a world-class landmark: the Museo de Arte Latino-americano de Buenos Aires (Malba) opened its doors. The museum houses one of the most extensive modern Latin American art collections, with everything from Frida Kahlo to Guillermo Kuitca, in an airy, modern building. For a somewhat less elevated experience, within walking distance you'll find the thoroughly entertaining Museo Evita, a kitsch tribute to perhaps Argentina's most famous cultural export, Evita Perdn. (Note to offended soccer fans, plans for a similar shrine to soccer demigod Diego Maradona are in the works).

Finally, BA wouldn't be BA without tango. In a city of otherwise cosmopolitan tastes, the melancholy wail about evanescent loves and dashed dreams is perhaps the only homespun blanket every porteno, sooner or later, snuggles back into. It's possible to dance tango nearly 24 hours a day at one of the city's hundred-some dance halls, known as milongas, which generally welcome onlookers as well as the eternal sufferers. Visiting provides a far more authentic look of the dance's contemporary resonance than do the overpriced, high kicking dinner shows. For an intimate intro to the music, you can't beat tango seductress Maria Volonte's Thursday-night cabaret show at Cafe Tortoni, the classiest of the city's old-world cafes. While there, don't forget to order an espresso. You'll need the boost to keep up with the fast-paced natives.

BEST RESORT

For time/but from business appointments, for family vacations or conventions, Costa do Sauipe since its inception in late 2000 has become one of Brazil's prime attractions. The resort has five major hotels, a convention center and a replica of a Brazilian Colonial Village, called "Vila Nova da Praia" with six themed inns lining its cobblestone streets, plus restaurants, bars, shops, a church and street entertainment.