The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, opened in 2001, holds the finest collection of 20th-century Latin American art in the region. Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Tarsila do Amaral, Wifredo Lam, Antonio Berni. The permanent collection alone justifies the trip.
Location
Palermo, Buenos Aires
Map
Insider Intel
Start with the permanent collection on the second floor: the Costantini Collection spans 100 years of Latin American modernism. The temporary exhibitions are consistently strong. The cinema programme shows Argentine and Latin American films with subtitles. The café and bookshop are both worth lingering in.
Weekday mornings for the permanent collection with minimal crowds. Thursday evenings (open until 9pm) for a quieter visit after work hours. Check the temporary exhibition schedule — MALBA curates some of the best shows in South America.
Eduardo Costantini founded MALBA with his private collection and built the museum (designed by architects Gastón Atelman, Martín Fourcade, and Alfredo Tapia) to international standards Buenos Aires lacked. The collection includes major works by Kahlo, Rivera, and Fernando Botero. Photography is not allowed in most galleries. The gift shop sells high-quality art books and prints. This is the museum to visit if you only visit one in Buenos Aires.