Trip of the week: A tiny artistic haven in Uruguay
Pueblo Garzón has seen an influx of artists, enchanted by its ‘time-warp nostalgia’

Founded by ranchers in the early 20th century, the village of Pueblo Garzón, in the southeast of Uruguay, flourished for a few decades, then withered when the railway that ran through it closed. By the 1970s, it was all but a ghost town – but lately it has seen an extraordinary rebirth, says Mark Johanson in the FT, as restaurateurs, wine-makers and artists have moved in, “enchanted by its unpaved streets and time-warp nostalgia”.
Owing to the influx of arty visitors, “rustic-chic” boutique hotels are opening in its abandoned 1920s houses – yet the settlement retains its quiet, “dilapidated” charm.
It was the Argentinian celebrity chef Francis Mallmann who precipitated the village’s revival, by opening a restaurant and a five-room hotel, Garzón, on the edge of its “palm-lined” plaza. It drew its clientele from the chi-chi beach resort of José Ignacio, 30 minutes’ drive to the south, and from further afield (Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, is 90 miles west).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Then the businessman Alejandro Bulgheroni planted vines in the surrounding countryside, which now produce excellent “Tannat-heavy” red blends, including an elegant Balasto. In 2016, he launched a “lavish” winery, Bodega Garzón, outside the village, and other boutique wineries have since opened, including Compañía Uruguaya de Vinos de Mar, which has a good restaurant.
Among the first artists to arrive was the US photographer Heidi Lender. Her creative institute, Campo, has a canteen where visitors mingle with resident artists. The Uruguayan artist Pablo Atchugarry has recently opened a sculpture park and a contemporary art museum, MACA, nearby, and there are several other new exhibition spaces in Pueblo Garzón, including the “ambitious” Walden Naturae.
The period from late December to late January is particularly lively, with three festivals to enjoy – the Campo Artfest, the José Ignacio International Film Festival and Este Arte, in nearby Punta del Este.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The delightful, smutty world of Jilly Cooper
In the Spotlight Millions mourn the ‘Mrs Kipling of sex’
-
Lee Miller at the Tate: a ‘sexy yet devastating’ show
The Week Recommends The ‘revelatory’ exhibition tells the photographer’s story ‘through her own impeccable eye’
-
6 eye-catching rounded homes
Feature Featuring a central spiral staircase in Michigan and a Balinese-style estate with ocean views in Hawaii
-
A House of Dynamite: a ‘nail-biting’ nuclear-strike thriller
The Week Recommends ‘Virtuoso talent’ Kathryn Bigelow directs a ‘fast-paced’ and ‘tense’ ‘symphony of dread’
-
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: a ‘haunting’ history of modern Afghanistan
The Week Recommends Lyse Doucet’s sensitively written work traces over 50 years of Kabul’s ‘Inter-Con’ hotel
-
The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson is ‘magnetic’ in gritty biopic
The Week Recommends The wrestler-turned-Hollywood-actor takes on the role of troubled UFC champion Mark Kerr
-
Shadow Ticket: Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in over a decade
The Week Recommends Zany whodunnit about a private eye in 1930s Milwaukee could be the 88-year-old author’s ‘last hurrah’
-
Southern barbecue: This year’s top three
Feature A weekend-only restaurant, a 90-year-old pitmaster, and more