Exploring Palermo (with visit to 2 museums)

• The MALBA was defined by the New York Times as one of the best art museums on the American continent

This afternoon, we'll head to Palermo Neighborhood to visit the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA), referred to by The New York Times as one of the best art museums on the American continent. The museum's permanent collection spans the entirety of the 20th century, and is particularly rich in the modern paintings from Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba and of course, Argentina. Nearly every Latin American country and important style of the past 100 years is represented here. It includes major works by such world-renowned artists as Xul Solar, Diego Rivera, Antonio Berni (including some of his most forceful oeuvres, with political and social overtones), Frida Kahlo and Jorge de la Vega; in addition to many other modern masters from Latin America.

We'll then visit the Xul Solar museum, also in Palermo. Xul Solar is one of the most singular representatives of the vanguard in Latin America and has been compared to Salvador Dalí in terms of his eccentricities and talent. Friend of Jorge Luis Borges, he illustrated several of his books and collaborated in his various editorial enterprises. With vast cultural experiences, his interests took him to the study of Astrology, Kabbalah, I Ching, Philosophy, religions and beliefs of the Ancient East, of India, and the Pre-Colombian world, among many other branches of knowledge. He also remained busy with the creation of two artificial languages, the "neocriollo" and the "panlengua". The museum was defined by Xul Solar as a "a meeting place created for a cultural purpose for artist and intellectual people", and the works that exhibited were initially selected by Xul Solar himself. These works constitute the permanent exhibition of the Museum, along with objects, sculptures, and documents that belong to his personal archive.

Finally, we'll head to Palermo Viejo Neighborhood (now split into "Palermo Soho" and " Palermo Hollywood"), a peculiar area that combines the flavor of an old, working class neighborhood with aspects of a globalized city. Its eclectic mix of cultures combines ethnic restaurants, contemporary design, theme bars, and a key area for the immigration of Armenian, Polish and Italian to Buenos Aires. We'll also come across the mythical borgesian block, where the argentine author Jorge Luis Borges founded his own personal city as well as his literature.

This afternoon private tour will start go from 2 to 7 PM. You'll have the option to return to the hotel at the end of the tour, or stay in the Palermo area to further explore it.