New cultural spaces in the city of Buenos Aires

Culture needs its spaces to endure and grow, and those battles begin in the small bastions of the underground. The places where counterculture is born and resists can come in different forms—cultural centers, art galleries, spaces for playing tabletop RPGs, gathering spots, clubs, bars. But the spirit that prevails in all of them is simple: you have to make things happen.

Since 2020, the map of cultural spaces has shifted with closures, transformations, and relocations, compounded by the post-pandemic turning point. We are facing a new era, where people are choosing to keep betting on creating these spaces and events. That is why we review some of the ones that have appeared in recent years, from galleries to RPG clubs. Plus, a conversation with the page Fechitas y Data, which covers underground shows in the province of Buenos Aires and in CABA.

Espacio Moreira

Gallery, cultural space | Sánchez de Bustamante 1063, CABA

https://www.instagram.com/espaciomoreira/

Moreira is a cultural and gathering space focused on art in all its forms. The main idea is that artists can count on the venue to organize presentations, exhibitions, workshops, and seminars. "We understand that this is a very difficult time for culture, which is clearly not a priority for the current government. In response, we thought the best thing to do was to get through it together with friends and have a place to land with projects, a place to create gatherings and, of course, to develop our work," says Sofi Diamante, a cultural producer who, together with artist Daniela Abbate, opened the space in February of this year.

Moreira's programming includes painting workshops (Daniela Abbate), comics workshops (Jony Weis), and RPG nights (Nicolas Mealla), with plans to add more. Events like the film series Muere Monstruo Muere and the Encuentro Fanzinero will also take place there. At the same time, Espacio Moreira functions as a showroom for emerging brands like Tramas Inventadas (textiles), Davy Jones Serigrafía (horror and band t-shirts), and La Brea K.O. (hand-painted jackets).

Club 404

Arcade club, underground venue, bar | Alsina 1475, CABA

https://www.instagram.com/club__404/

A new arcade club in the city of Buenos Aires, located in the Congreso area. This new underground spot is a collaborative project between the Club Argentino de Arcades and Nahuel Moco, housed in Polo Cultural Tacheles. The place features classic arcades, but what stands out is a space dedicated to indie Argentine games, with titles from our underground heroes Tumba Games, Hierofant Games, Andrés Borghi, Shitty Games, Trucho Toys, Manija, and Placeholder Studios, among others.

The space brings together people who have been involved with video games and technology for years, such as the Cybercirujas movement, which will use it as one of its HQs for meetups, as well as the retrowave scene driven by parties like Outrun.

El Portal

Theater, bar, underground venue | Lavalle 3073, CABA

https://www.instagram.com/el.portal.teatro/

In one of CABA's chaotic hubs—the Abasto area—you will find El Portal, a theater that has gradually opened its doors to different underground scenes. Today it hosts plays, workshops, and a thriving emerging band scene that turns the space into a new proto Salón Pueyrredón. I was able to talk to one of the partners, who told me that this year will bring interesting renovations to the space, as well as new events.

La Ciudadela de los Confines

RPG club, fandom | Lima 575, 10th floor, CABA

https://www.instagram.com/laciudadela.dlc/

In late 2024, La Ciudadela opened its doors to create a new gathering place for tabletop RPG players, wargamers, and board game enthusiasts. Beyond the gaming activities, it also serves as a meeting point for genre literature fandoms (fantasy, science fiction, horror) and for sharing information about series, games, and movies.

"The space where La Ciudadela operates was rented in January 2024 to use as a storage unit for our main activity: organizing live-action roleplay sessions. Since 2014 we have been organizing sessions set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, and over the years we accumulated costumes, props, furniture, and all kinds of elements used to set the scene and create an immersive effect," says Emilio, organizer of La Ciudadela.

With the space already rented, the idea materialized into a new nerdy hub in CABA. Under the motto "Wanderers but not lost," this bastion of culture and information features a program that includes RPG sessions, reading groups, talks, movie screenings, craft workshops, and more.

Virtual spaces bonus: Fechitas y Data, digital promotion for the underground

https://www.instagram.com/fechitasydata/

In my search for new places where things happen, I came across a virtual one, focused on promotion, that caught my attention. Fechitas y Data was born in 2023 out of Lau and Mar's need to find underground band show dates. With a DIY spirit, they decided to start an Instagram page that would serve as a promotion platform, event calendar, and archive. Fechitas y Data is looking to grow this year, covering more and more events and supporting bands through promotion.

"It is a self-managed and quite anarchic effort. We look for our own system where we receive flyers and build a database with what people send us, and we promote it all for free," says Mar. She and Lau are also part of the underground as cultural producers. They note that, despite the difficulties brought on by the economic crisis, the negotiations to book gigs, and the nuclear bombs that were Cromañón and the pandemic, it is still underground bands that create and manage many of the scenes that nourish these cultural spaces.

Mar also highlights the recovery of the skate park as an underground venue: "Something that started happening was reoccupying skate parks. Barracas, Laferrere, Hurlingham—they are being used by bands again, with a strong hardcore presence, but there is also a variety of festivals."

Beyond these new spaces, some already-classic venues continue to operate with solid programming and keep giving room for things to happen: I do not want to leave out places like Club V, Casa Rincón, Morrison, and Bar El Destello. If you know of other new spots, you can write to us on our social media and share information to add to upcoming articles where we will keep talking about the places where things happen.