In the heart of San Telmo, Plaza Dorrego, famous for its weekly market, is the second oldest square in Buenos Aires. It owes its name to Manuel Dorrego, soldier and twice governor of Buenos Aires, and in the 19th century it was the center of the residential neighborhood of Buenos Aires and witness to all the bars and tango groups that formed around it. Today this colonial square continues to be a lively commercial and cultural area, with its 19th century mansions recycled and transformed into bars, cafes, restaurants and antique shops, tango shows and other live music shows.

Sunday is its most popular day because it is where the famous San Telmo antique market takes place from very early on, with a great variety of stalls selling antiques, curious objects, handicrafts, silver and works of local art. The musicians, dancers and street performers give the market an air of a “sophisticated flea market” for the great enjoyment of porteños and Argentine and international tourists. It was born when, in 1970, the architect José María Peña, then director of the Museum of the City, devised a fair that could revitalize the San Telmo neighborhood: he convinced thirty residents to sell “old things” that they had in their homes and, a year later, the fair was a success with more than 200 antiquarian stalls. Today the district of Defense Street is one of the most prestigious antique centers in all of America.

Plaza Dorrego is a National Historic Monument because it is where on September 13, 1816 the people of Buenos Aires met to reaffirm the Declaration of Independence, promulgated on July 9, 1816 in the Congress of Tucumán.