Café La Biela (in English: The Connecting-rod Café) is a traditional café in the Recoleta district of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 ''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now ...

, 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 Veredita" 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, 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 (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fa ...

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

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

, 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 visitors

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe La Biela Tourist attractions in Buenos Aires Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Coffeehouses and cafés in Argentina 1850 establishments in Argentina