El Porteño Prohibido introduces to Milan the atmosphere, folklore and flavors of Buenos Aires, a city shaped by porteños, people coming by the sea, many of whom were Italians
Italy and Argentina: the birth of a multicultural identity
During the Twentieth century, the relationship between Italy and Argentina bonded to the point that a new multicultural identity was born. Before the Italian unification in 1861, several people left Italy for Argentina, moved by economic and political reasons. They gained positions in the agricultural world, opening the way for a further massive emigration. From 1870 to 1960 over two million Italians migrated to Argentina to escape poverty and wars. As a result, nowadays over the sixty percent of the Argentinian population has full or partial Italian ancestry.
However, since the Nineties, a reverse migration pattern emerged. Many Argentinians of Italian descent moved back to their ancestors’ motherland, especially in the aftermath of the Argentinian financial crisis in 2001. These people brought to Italy Argentinian culture, but at the same time rediscovered their Italian heritage.
The key role of food in the identity of Argentinian minorities in Italy
A study conducted by The Altreitalie Centre on Italian ethnic returns migrants discovered that food played a key role in the identity of Argentinian minorities in Italy. Returnees from Argentina not only demonstrated familiarity with Italian cuisine, but also discovered a similarity in the way food was consumed in Argentina and in Italy.
Many interviewees stated that they understood the dynamics within their families much better through their Italian experience. This discovery seemed to be not only useful to further understanding Italian culture, but also to understanding Argentinian culture.
El Porteño, a concept launched by the Dorrego Company and led by Fabio Acampora, Sebastian and Alejandro Bernardez
The cultural and culinary encounter between Italy and Argentina is at the base of the restaurant chain El Porteño, a concept launched by the Dorrego Company and led by Fabio Acampora, Sebastian and Alejandro Bernardez. The first El Porteño restaurant was inaugurated in Milan in 2010, but now the chain counts five restaurants in Milan and three in Rome. Each has its own distinctive character, but they share the same values: diversity and inclusion, the desire to build a bridge between Italy and Argentina.
The name El Porteño is a homage to Buenos Aires, the Argentinian capital, which Italian emigrants reached through a long journey by boat, carried by their hopes in a better life. The emigrants coming by the sea and settling in the city were at the time called in Spanish porteños (‘those of the port,’ ‘those who come from the boats’).
Nowadays, the Argentinian capital has become a metropolis and this definition refers to all the inhabitants of Buenos Aires city.
El Porteño Prohibido, where food meets dance
The Dorrego Company has a mission to offer customers a multisensorial experience. They aim at narrating Argentina, and in particular Buenos Aires, by joining flavors, culture, folklore and lifestyle. This is how El Porteño Prohibido came to life. Opened in 2019 in Milan, the restaurant combines Argentinian food with traditional dance and shows.
The idea was to recreate the Argentinian traditional tango house, a sort of hybrid between a restaurant and a theater, where people can dine with local meat dishes while watching to dancers’ exhibitions. The same experience can be enjoyed in Milan at El Porteño Prohibido, where six evenings a week live shows are performed during dinner, with the possibility to have an aperitif before.
Tango and malambo: two faces of the Argentinian soul
Dance is a crucial part of Argentinian folklore and culture. Two are, in particular, the national dances in Argentina: tango and malambo. They can be regarded as two different faces of the Argentinian soul.
Tango is a partner dance, which originated in the 1880s along the Rio de la Plata, a river on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. First practiced mainly in brothels and port taverns to entertain patrons, it then spread worldwide, becoming a symbol of sensuality and passion. Indeed, the Argentinian tango is characterized by a close embrace between the lead and the follow, who dance chest-to-chest. Tango is the result of a combination of Uruguayan Candombe celebrations, Spanish-Cuban Habanera and Argentinian Milonga. In 2019, it was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
As for malambo, this is a man dance only. Historically, it was employed as a sort of duel by gauchos, the herdsman inhabiting the pampas, the great Argentinian plains. Malambo is characterized by energic leg movements, including zapateados (stomping) and cepillados (brushing, scrubbing). Still, there is no fixed choreography. Every year, in Laborde, a city in the Argentinian region of Córdoba, a national malambo festival is held.
Flores Cócteles and El Porteño Prohibido: a corner of Argentina in Milan
El Porteño Prohibido share the location with Flores Cócteles, also part of the Argentinian restaurant family. When entering the building, customers first encounter Flores Cócteles, a cocktail bar that focuses on classic mixing and reinterpretations of renown drinks. Moreover, every Tuesday it hosts a One Night, an event dedicated to spreading mixology knowledge and promoting responsible and conscious drinking. Here, a black counter, illuminated by two crystal chandeliers, faces a dehors with a mobile roof, which can be opened during the warm season.
Proceeding, customers will enter the restaurant, El Porteño Prohibido. Much of the furniture and the interior décor, starting from the pictures on the walls, come from Argentina. A signature detail is the red color. The black and white floor comes from the tradition of Los Conventillos, characteristic Argentinian collective urban accommodations. The kitchen is on sight and features the parilla, the traditional Argentinian grill. In front of the tables is a stage, hidden behind a red velvet curtain. Here, tango and malambo dancers alternate with malabares performers.
In addition, there are two private halls, one red, called Tango, and the other black, called Polo. The latter is a tribute to the homonymous sport, widely popular in Argentina. Every year, in May, the Dorrego Company hosts a Polo trophy in cooperation with Milanese Mimosa Polo Club.
A visual dinner show directed by Miguel Angel Zotto
El Porteño Prohibido entrusted the artistic direction to Miguel Angel Zotto, Argentinian tango dancer and teacher of Italian origin, who opened his own academy in Milan. The dancers and artists who perform at El Porteño Prohibido are personally chosen by Zotto, who does castings in Argentina for this purpose.
For the 2023-2024 event season Zotto selected four tango and malambo dancers from the provinces of Corrientes, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. Previously, they have been performing in theaters and circuses, such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, as well as television shows, including Argentina Got Talent.
Beside Argentinian traditional dances, El Porteño Prohibido’s visual dinner shows feature poetry, music and malabares. The latter are musical, vocal, and acrobatic performances, which have been designed as a tribute to the folkloristic heritage of the Latin world. They fuse contemporary dance, acrobatics, aerial dance, live music, and multimedia effects through projection mapping.
For example, the current event season will see Zotto’s four dancers performing a number with the bolas, tools once used by gauchos in Argentina as a kind of lasso. Also called boleadoras, they are made by little balls tied on the ends of ropes and were traditionally used with a throwing technique to catch cattle. Later, they began to appear also in Argentinian folk dance.
The visual dinner shows take place at El Porteño Prohibido every night from Tuesday to Sunday. In addition, from Thursday to Sunday customers will find a DJ-set in the afternoon.
El Porteño Prohibido menu: Argentinian and Italian raw materials
El Porteño Prohibido menu places meat at its core, as in the traditional Argentinian cuisine, but features options for vegetarians too. A mixture of Argentinian and Italian raw materials is used, with some international addition. Argentinian black angus and beef alternate with Piedmont fassona, Japanese Kobe beef and black Iberian pork.
Meat is cooked according to the asado, the traditional Argentinian barbequing technique. Every dish is served with guarniciones, a mix of sauces and dressings such as pumpkin cream, French fries, Argentine salad with tomato, cucumbers and onion, Russian salad, mashed potatoes. Alongside grilled meat, customers will find other Argentinian specialties, such as empanadas or chicken en escabeche. As well as a fish proposal, the Salmon Colorado, grilled salmon with Argentine oak smoke and seasonal vegetables.
Vegetarian options include vegetable empanadas, tofu cutlets, and caramelized red onion in puff pastry. The list of desserts features Argentinian specialties, such as Dulce de leche, but also pancakes, mousses, and homemade cakes.
El Porteño Prohibido’s cellar include Argentinian wines, such as Malbec and Torrontes, but also Italian and international reds and whites, as well as a selection of sparkling wines and champagne.
El Porteño Prohibido
El Porteño Prohibido is an Argentinian restaurant located in Milan, in Via Macedonio Melloni, 9. Owned by the Dorrego Company, it serves grilled meat and other Argentinian specialties, including vegetarian dishes. From Thursday to Sunday, visual dinner shows are staged, with Argentinian artists performing traditional dances, such as tango and malambo, and other folkloristic practices.
El Porteño Prohibido shares the location with Flores Cócteles, a cocktail bar the same group.
