Serrano Street

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Serrano is a street that runs through Villa Crespo and Palermo neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina and goes from southwest to northeast, parallel to Scalabrini Ortiz Ave. and Juan B. Justo Ave.. It starts on Warnes Ave. and ends on Santa Fe Ave.

It was mentioned by the argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges in Fundación Mítica de Buenos Aires (The Mythical Founding of Buenos Aires). In this poem, he situates the mythical founding of Buenos Aires in a particular square block in the Palermo neighborhood, where he lived when he was a boy: the block surrounded by Guatemala St., Serrano St., Paraguay St. and Gurruchaga St.

Borges wrote: "Una manzana entera pero en mitá del campo / expuesta a las auroras y lluvias y sudestadas. / La manzana pareja que persiste en mi barrio: / Guatemala, Serrano, Paraguay, Gurruchaga." ("A whole square block, but set down in open country, / attended by dawns and rains and hard southeasters, / that block which still stands in my neighbourhood: / Guatemala - Serrano - Paraguay - Gurruchaga.")

That's why the part of Serrano St. that runs from Honduras St. to Santa Fe Ave., was renamed to Jorge Luis Borges St.