Amie Tsang explores what Barracas, home to the rich in the 19th century before the yellow fever epidemic swept them all to the north of the city, has to offer in the 21st century.

In the city where nothing seems to stay the same and Tango reigns supreme, the regular ‘Conciertos del Mediodía’ have accomplished the impossible in running for five decades straight. The 16 yearly concerts, aimed at giving regular citizens the opportunity to hear world-class music, are free of charge and open to the public, as they have been for the past 50 years.

Take a walk around the streets of central Buenos Aires and you will spot people of varying colours and races, but most of the Chinese faces will be peering out from behind a till in an autoservicio or a Chinese supermarket. There are around 70,000 Chinese immigrants in Argentina and most of them are associated with the supermarket trade or, to a lesser extent, with Chinese restaurants.

The feat of navigating the streets of Buenos Aires is not overly taxing. The city’s very regular grid system – although vast – proves utterly manageable, once armed with a trusty ‘Guia-T’ and some sense of where you are and where you are headed. Rather, the enigma of BA’s plethora of 2,159 calles, avenidas, pasajes and autopistas surrounds their names, origins, stories and peculiarities.