San Telmo

San Telmo

Introduction

I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been obsessively thinking about San Telmo. It’s an ancient neighborhood nestled in the heart of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. If you’ve seen the movie “Happy Together,” the bar where Tony Leung worked is there. No, that’s not entirely accurate—it’s actually the place where Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung met, and also where they went into self-imposed exile.

San Telmo captivates me deeply with its faded vibrancy, its decadent charm, its unrestrained reveries, and its aura of exile.

The 19th-century Mediterranean colonial-era architecture once exuded an overconfident extravagance. South America was, back then, a distant dream for Europeans. But the golden tide has long receded, and the dream of striking it rich has faded away too. Now, on languid Spanish-style terraces, tango is reborn from the ashes—tugging and pulling under the moonlight, dressed in flamboyant finery, gazing at each other with a love that defies death.

Argentina, Buenos Aires