:: Buenos Aires Weekly ::

It is one of the most representative streets of Buenos Aires, and one of the most beloved by the “porteños.” Corrientes is the avenue of the bookstores, the cafes, the theatres, and the pizzerias.

Corrientes runs 70 blocks long from Puerto Madero neighbourhood to Chacarita. Between 1910 and 1938 a great construction was built which expanded the street and turned it into an avenue. Its name, as the nearby avenues Córdoba and Santa Fé, are names of provinces from Argentina. It goes through downtown and the areas of Once, Abasto, Almagro, and Villa Crespo, very typical places from Buenos Aires and with a strong relationship with the tango. An association of friends of Corrientes installed in some of its corners tango scenes with sculpted figures, like the one at the corner with Drago Street.

Most traditional pizzerias are on Corrientes Avenue, especially in downtown: Guerrín, Los Inmortales, Banchero, Las Cuartetas, and El Palacio de la Pizza, but also in Villa Crespo, Almagro, and Chacarita. Around the obelisk, between Callao Avenue and Esmeralda Street (in downtown,) Corrientes has the biggest concentration of libraries and theatres from the entire city.

Practically all the most important theatre halls from Buenos Aires are located in this stretch, such as the Maipo, the Gran Rex, the Ópera, the Avenida, the San Martín, the Astral, the Lola Membrives, the Multiteatro, the Metropolitan, and the Alvear, among others.

The bookstores at Corrientes are usually opened until after midnight, especially on weekends, and the biggest ones have bars and show rooms.

This stretch of the Avenue also concentrates many of the most famous bars and cafes from Buenos Aires, such as La Giralda, La Paz, or El Vesuvio.