Opposite me in Britanico a man sits, tapping his fingers against the table while assorted persons wander in and out of the café selling pens, socks, jewelry, and religious pendants.

Later, a young African man with his dark sales case containing necklaces, rings, and watches enters through the corner doorway and walks directly towards the elderly woman sitting to my left. She has too much rouge on her cheeks. The African leans over and greets her with a kiss.

A regular customer of his, I assume, but today, after reviewing the merchandise in the case lined with red velvet, she buys nothing.

The African approaches me with a smile.

One of my librarian friends back in the U.S. sent me a link to a project by the University of Chicago library: Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Latin American Cities. Included are digital copies of 2 maps of Buenos Aires held by the University of Chicago Library’s Map Collection.

Like all good online maps these days, these feature that nice zoom-and-pan tool.

Buenos Aires, 1912

This map shows two barrios, Villa Alvear and Villa Malcolm, that have since been re-named as parts of Palermo. Personally, I like the older names.

Since tango is not a part of my Buenos Aires experience (and I don’t really wander around this part of the city too much), I didn’t realize that there is a tango joint called Villa Malcom. And here’s some video of tango dancing at Villa Malcom.

Map of Buenos Aires, 1916

Colorful isn’t it? Plaza Colón looked very nice back in 1916.

The map is quite extensive and covers the entire city, not just the downtown. Note the topographic contour lines showing the elevation.

I find myself at Bar Britanico a lot lately and blogging about its occasional celebrity clientele or El Hipopotamo across the street. But I’ve realized from Google that many people still find my June 2006 posting about the closing of Bar Britanico, which I forgot to update to reflect the re-opening of Britanico….oops.

…A late afternoon photo taken from the window of Bar Britanico, looking out on the intersection of Brasil and Defensa streets.