Café La Biela is a traditional café in the Recoleta

Recoleta

Recoleta is a downtown residential neighborhood in the city of Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; it is an area of great historical and architectural interest, due, particularly to the Recoleta Cemetery located there...

 district of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 situated at 600 Quintana Avenue on the corner of Junin street, opposite the church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar and the adjoining Recoleta Cemetery. The café has a large terrace in front with outdoor tables under the shade of a giant rubber tree

Ficus elastica

Ficus elastica, also called the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush is a species of plant in the fig genus, native to northeast India and southern Indonesia....

, and is a popular with locals and tourists alike.

Origins

In the middle of the 19th century Recoleta was an area of farmland and on the site today occupied by the café was a general store. When it opened as a small pavement cafe in 1850 it was baptized "La Viridita" by its Spanish owner but its name later changed to the Aero Bar because of its popularity with members of the nearby Argentine Civil Pilots Association.

For many years popular with politicians, writers, artists, actors and media celebrities, La Biela acquired its present name in the 1950s when it became a popular meeting place for racing car champions, including the five times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...

, and for fans of the sport.

Interior

Black-and-white photos of racing car champions, together with a variety of motoring memorabilia (including radiator grills, connecting rods, lamps and horns) decorate the walls of the traditional interior which has wood paneling and curtains at the windows.

Behind the bar are photographs taken by the Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares

Adolfo Bioy Casares

Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and wrote what many consider one of the best pieces of fantastic fiction, the novella The Invention of Morel.-Biography:Adolfo Bioy...

, who used to frequent the café along with his writer friend Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...

, and who took these photographs to illustrate a book they wrote together.

Today

In 1999, Café La Biela was declared a Place of Cultural Interest by the city.

Notable visitants

Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...

, Jose Froilan Gonzalez

José Froilán González

José Froilán González is an Argentine former racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One debut for Scuderia Achille Varzi in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix...

, Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...

, Jackie Stewart

Jackie Stewart

Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...

, Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall

Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....

, Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...

, Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...

, Adolfo Bioy Casares

Adolfo Bioy Casares

Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and wrote what many consider one of the best pieces of fantastic fiction, the novella The Invention of Morel.-Biography:Adolfo Bioy...

, among others.

External links

• Official website