Palermo, from Hollywood to Freud: what are the new denominations and up to where goes an infinite neighborhood?

The myth indicates that Buenos Aires has 100 neighborhoods. This has been repeated over the course of history: the 100 neighborhoods porteño. But this is not true. The truth is they are barely 48 years old. However, there are ways to name them within each of them, which increases the payroll. Thus, we talk about Barrio Norte or Tribunales, two "barrios" who are not. O Congress, which is not an official denomination either. It happens that the conformation of a city follows several courses: that of the cartography (that indicated by the maps) and that of the citizen (that determined by its inhabitants). It is in this second that are born, develop and develop the myths of the infinite city that is Buenos Aires.

And in this fantastic world, there is a scandal a winner in terms of the number of sub-neighborhoods. This is of course Palermo. It is currently the largest of the 48 official neighborhoods (15.6 square kilometers). It is the one that counts the most bars, restaurants, parks (the forests of Palermo, for example, are the lungs of the city). It also has endless nomenclatures.

"It was an entire block and in my neighborhood: in Palermo", says Jorge Luis Borges in Mythical Foundation of Buenos Aires, where he plays with the theory that it all started there: "The apple pair that persists in my neighborhood: Guatemala, Serrano, Paraguay, Gurruchaga". He spoke of a unique Palermo, then understood inside what was Palermo Viejo, which was converted until today in Palermo Soho.

This is not the only one Neobarrio inside the Russian matryoshka which is Palermo. The names are often heard in conversations, in real estate ads, they are reproduced in the collective imagination. Palermo Soho, Hollywood, Palermo Old and New, Palermo Chico, Palermo Queens, Green, Dead, Palermo Polo, Palermo Sensible … until Palermo in Italy. Following? Just pick a random concept and some blocks will simply fit.

The lights are on: Palermo Hollywood

Scene one. The girl has a yellow jacket and glbades. Smoke an armed cigarette by itself. On the table, in a clay bowl, a coffee with foam drawings. We do not know if it is a symbolic and rounded heart that tries to imitate a real one. This is by no means a clear design. The girl laughs a lot about what another girl says in front of her. He has a sports jacket of two sizes larger than he would like if he wanted to wear a jacket to the body. In an instant, the two explode with laughter and the one in yellow says "you go there like a hipster".

This is happening in one of the dozens of cafes in the area. This one in particular is calling Wild and it is in Dorrego between Gorriti and Honduras. In front of her, one of the reasons for the Hollywood denomination: there is the audiovisual hub of the city. But previously, in these blocks (from Santa Fe to Córdoba, from Dorrego to Juan B. Justo), several television production companies were installed: Underground, Endemol, Mandarina, America TV. Is there his name? This is very likely, but the origin of informal names is still a mystery.

In Palermo Hollywood, the epicenter of the bicycle boom in the city is also produced. In the street Gorriti (which has one of the first bike paths) began to appear bike shops. The hipster component can find its greatest splendor in its streets. One of these bike shops is Rouen and is located in Gorriti and Juan B. Justo. His owner, Andrés Mut, says it's installed there by chance, not knowing that it will be a pole of brands and bike shops later.

"In my case at least, it was not the product of a market badysis or planned, it was the place where the opportunity arose, j 's I simply installed the store in a garage where we continue until today, "he says. And he defines the wildlife that runs through the neighborhood: "There is a lot of diversity: the foreigners, the people who live and the people who come as expected, a diagram that I can notice, related to my activity, is there a greater awareness of urban cycling. I could say that the trend was adopted earlier than in other areas. "

For him, all the Palermos that already exist are enough. And if you could invent one more? A personal Palermo for your neighborhood? He does not answer. "I would prefer to start removing Palermos rather than adding."

God save the queen: Queens Palermo

Matías is a merchant. For him, denominations are a fable in joke. "If I talk to a supplier or a customer, I tell them that the warehouse and offices are located at Villa Crespo, I do not have any complexes with the neighborhood," he says. "Now, if I talk to a capable girl, I tell her I'm working in Palermo Queens, but I'll tell her a joke. Are there really people who use these names seriously? For me they are ironic"he adds.

But is it really a joke? At one time, a little over ten years ago, the bang Realtor found that changing the name of things was an effective publicity stunt. Thus began to appear the infinite Palermos that accompanied what, in the beginning, was only an almost poetic game ("the poet does not keep his word if he does not change the name of the things, "writes the Chilean Nicanor Parra). But of course, there was no poetic hobby among sellers, but a pecuniary hobby. But does he really manage to name in a new way what we already know to increase the price? Everyone has their own book about it.

"Some think that the addition of Palermo and those who believe that it is better to place Palermo in Palermo and Villa Crespo in Villa Crespo," says Marcelo Goldstein, Director of Goldstein Properties, who works in the area more than forty years ago alone. According to him, the neighborhood is still one of the most sought after in the city because people still want to buy and rent in Palermo.. "It's a neighborhood that has past, present and future," he says. Which Palermo is more successful at the time of sales? All, but with different audiences, he thinks.

"At the moment when real estate activity is not in its splendor, I think modern Palermo has a better pricebut everyone has a future. In the area they call Hollywood, young people are more interested in you, while in the Santa Fe and Malabia area, for example, there are more important people or familiesHe says and adds that one can know the age of the people by the way they name the neighborhood.

"Regardless of Palermo and despite the current economic situation, real estate investment remains very important as a guarantee of value and future profitability. And in this context, Palermo remains a remarkable bet"he concludes.

To interpret: Palermo Sensible

Scene two. A boy leaves a two-storey house on Honduras Acuña street in Figueroa. He is dressed in a shirt and has a backpack. By the same door through which he goes out, a man about sixty years later comes in. The dynamics will be repeated throughout the day, from Monday to Saturday. Not only in this house, but in many others in the area. This is what some call Palermo Sensible or Villa Freud and owes its name to the number of psychologists who have their office.

"I went to the psychologist in Palermo for four years, but I did not finish with her very well and started going to counseling. coach, also in Palermo, Julián Álvarez and Charcas ", explains Carla, one of the many porteños who give meaning to the name of Villa Freud.

The heart of the sub-district is on Plaza Güemes (next to the Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, in Charcas and Salguero) and its extension extends from Honduras to Santa Fe, and Scalabrini Ortiz to Coronel Díaz.

If in Buenos Aires there is an badyst for 120 inhabitants, at Villa Freud, the proportion increases. More now, but at the time there was a bar called Freud in relation to that. Why are so many psychobadysts here? Hard to know, but the trend began in the 60s and continues until today, where everyone can discuss his conflicts with Palermo in the intimacy of a therapy..

Scene Three Now it's Sunday. The sun no longer shines on Avenida Álvarez Thomas, because it's late, but it's still daylight. In the corner that crosses with Lacroze, dozens of boys are gathered. At the height of a first floor you can read the huge sign that indicates Vorterix. This is not a recital or show that summons the boys, but a mbad.

Like every Sunday afternoon, the theater functions as an evangelical temple. There are four cults each Sunday and about 4,000 people pbad by. "Come as you are," is the motto with which the Hillsong Pentecostal Church (of Australian origin) calls its faithful. Is this happening in Palermo? Technically no, potentially yes.

It is that for a while, this corner of Chacarita or Colegiales is considered by some as an extension of Palermo called "Chacalermo", or directly from Palermo Dead. The name is obvious: a contraction between the two neighborhood names. The second is almost a joke and refers to the proximity of the Chacarita cemetery (why "Dead", which means "dead" in English).

This is not the only Palermo bound to the Faith, all Palermos have temples. One of the most emblematic temples of modern history of Buenos Aires is the mosque that remains on Bullrich Avenue, built at the time Carlos Menem. This area is called Palermo Nuevo. Origin unknown.

There is also Palermo Morris, named in reference to the important work of William C. Morris in the area at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to being a social activist, he was an evangelical pastor who founded many Anglican temples in the city of Buenos Aires. One of the most famous is the church of San Pablo, located in Charcas 4670. However, the complete territory of a theoretical Palermo is located between the streets Güemes, Oro, Soler and Armenia.

Everyone knows him as Palermo Viejo. It is the most traditional Palermo. Inside are the famous Alto Palermo (shopping center), the Botanic Palermo (near the Botanical Garden) and the Palermo where today, with the University of Palermo installed, can be considered as a bastion of Latin America in the neighborhood. Is it in Cabrera and Mario Bravo is the seat and many foreigners come to study?

Any of them: Palermo Chico (Malba region and embbadies, also called Barrio Parque); Palermo Soho (the clothing brands sector, from Santa Fe to Córdoba and Scalabrini Ortiz to Godoy Cruz); Las Cañitas (between Luis Maria Campos, Olleros, Del Libertador and Chenaut, in which is also the area called "La Imprenta"); Palermo Green (so-called future two green acres between Godoy Cruz, Honduras, Soler and Juan B. Justo streets).

Or even, Palermo that seems closer to arriving (and which will be inside Palermo Hollywood): Palermo Italy. It is an initiative of a group of gastronomic entrepreneurs of Italian origin settled in restaurants in Palermo. The leader of this idea is Adrián Francolini, owner of Il Ballo del Mattone and organizer of the Al Dente festival.

For him, Gorriti Street between Dorrego and Humboldt could be called Palermo Italy, just as in New York there is a Little Italy on Mulberry Street. This may seem overkill or too marketable, but since the Manhattan neighborhoods found their mirror in Buenos Aires, it would not be strange.

Whatever the idea that appears, there will be a Palermo to receive it. The day will come when the neighborhood will be bigger than Buenos Aires itself. So, this happens in a story of Macedonio Fernández: a pumpkin starts to grow on a small piece of land. He grows and grows steadily, until the day he pbades this little piece of land, then the planet and then the cosmos itself. That day, the dreams of many will come true. All porteños will live in Palermo.