The name
Barrio Norte refers to the area around
Avenida Santa Fe, encompassing parts of
Retiro,
Recoleta, and
Palermo. The name
Barrio Sur was used in the past to encompass the southern neighbourhoods. This name has mostly fallen out of use, but survives in the lyrics of the
tango Sur, which refer to specific places in
Nueva Pompeya and
Boedo, and in the short story "
The South" by
Jorge Luis Borges, where the conventional wisdom is recalled that "the South begins when crossing
Rivadavia Avenue".
Abasto is sometimes used to refer to the zone around the
Abasto market (now a shopping mall), many times in association with the life of singer
Carlos Gardel. It encompasses north-western
Balvanera and north-eastern
Almagro.
Congreso is the area around
Congress square, encompassing southeastern Balvanera, northern
San Cristóbal and western
Monserrat.
Catalinas Norte is the high-rise district next to Retiro transportation center and to the financial district, while
Catalinas Sur is used (quite rarely) for the lowlands south of
San Telmo (notably the area around
Cosme Argerich hospital and at the bottom of Parque Lezama). Palermo is the largest by area and has several informal subdivisions;
Palermo Viejo is the name usually given to the area between Coronel Díaz, Córdoba, Scalabrini Ortíz and Güemes;
Palermo Chico and Barrio Parque, the most upmarket part of Palermo, is on Palermo's north-eastern edge, includes the
National Museum of Decorative Arts and the
Museum of Latin American Art, and many of the wealthy and famous old homes some now used as Ambassador's residences;
Palermo Soho, the city's fashion district, refers to Plaza Julio Cortázar and its surroundings;
Palermo Hollywood is a distinctive quarter located in the northern edge of the where radio and television stations, movie producers and workshops have settled in the late 1990s.
Las Cañitas refers to a few blocks around the
Campo Argentino de Polo, crowded with trendy bars, fancy restaurants and nightclubs.
Palermo Queens is used sometimes to refer to the parts of
Villa Crespo close to Palermo Viejo. Other than Palermo Viejo and Palermo Chico, these names are of recent vintage (1990s and later) and are related to the
gentrification process that Palermo and its peripheral areas are undergoing.
Parque Centenario is sometimes used to refer to the area around
Centenario park, at the limit of Almagro, Caballito, and Villa Crespo. The southern parts of
Flores were reclaimed from swampland, and the names
Bajo Flores and
Bañado de Flores are used for these areas. Within
Belgrano, there are Belgrano "C" and "R" (widely and incorrectly believed to signify "commercial" and "residential", respectively) and Bajo Belgrano ("Belgrano lowlands"), which since the late 1990s includes a small
Chinatown. A tango song named "Cien barrios porteños" (), sung by
Alberto Castillo, is sometimes invoked (informally) to support the claim that there are indeed a hundred neighbourhoods in the city. This number may be reached by including some suburbs in the tally. ==References==