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INTHE HEART OF BUENOS AIRES,
just off the avenue that honors the day Argen-
tina won its independence from Spain, is the
Teatro Colón. One of the most acoustically
perfect theaters in the world, the 2,500-seat
venue was designed by Italian architects using
Belgian and Austrian marble, with French
furnishings and floors made of oak from the
forests of Croatia. Like Buenos Aires itself, the
theater is a combination of the best of Europe,
built at a time when the emergent city
sought to become the Paris of South
America, before its tortured run of
brutal military dictatorships interspersedwith
fragile, contentious democracies (one featuring
Eva “Evita” Perón, the charismatic first ladywho
posthumously became an international icon).
Today, newly reopened a er a three-year, $100
million renovation, the TeatroColón is a symbol
of a thrumming metropolis as eclectic as they
come, not only in its architecture but also in
the mélange of nationalities and cultures that
blends European sophisticationandLatin spice.
The result is a diverse, thriving city that
is wholly South American and, at the
same time, absolutely unlike any other.
CENTER STAGE
The refurbished Teatro Colón; opposite, from top, taking a stroll in the Recoleta neighborhood; dining at the steakhouse Fervor
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