still preserves the muddy fresh waters of Río de la Plata and its inseparable Rambla, the avenue where Montevideo locals promenade with their thermos flasks and mate. It’s also home to centuries-old bookstores like Más Puro Verso (Sarandí, 675); unhurried cafés like Brasilero (Ituzaingó, 1447), for years the haunt of Eduardo Galeano; verses by Idea Vilariño (an influential 20th century poet); Benedetti (a legend); Plaza Alfredo Zitarrosa (who universalised Uruguayan folklore), and the plaque in the building named after Juan Carlos Onetti (Cervantes Prize). That unavoidable fondness for literature leads us into the Escaramuza bookstore (Pablo de María, 1185) to find narra- MONTEVIDEO Librería Más Puro Verso donde se refina el estilo que define Montevideo: el art déco. // Más Puro Verso bookstore, a wonderful exponent of Montevideo’s signature art deco style. © Sergi Reboredo / Alamy Stock Photo El cantante y cineasta Joaquín Peñagaricano, a los pies de la Rambla // Singer and film-maker Joaquín Peñagaricano at the foot of the Rambla