This neighborhood to the east of El Centro has seen it all. It was settled in the 1700s by the Franciscan Recoleto friars. The needs of the spirit eventually gave way to those of the flesh, and the neighborhood became home to brothels and tango halls. In the late 1800s, the elite swarmed here to escape yellow fever, and the district remains upscale and European in style. People-watching at sidewalk bars and cafés here is an art.