It is one of the oldest Argentine corners of the City of Light, perhaps the oldest. It is located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, close to Sorbonne, Notre Dame de Paris and the Pantheon. It was founded as a showcase of our country’s gastronomic and artistic culture, but quickly became a meeting point between French and Argentinians and a refuge for art lovers. Today he continues his legacy, trying to renew himself and conquer a new audience.
Nothing seemed to predict Gonzalo Cruz to become a successful entrepreneur. He studied philosophy in Buenos Aires, but did not complete his studies and decided to leave Argentina in 1985 to travel the world as a backpacker. He traveled, among other places, to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, Mexico and the United States. The following year he traveled to Europe and North Africa. During a stay in France he met a young French woman with whom he fell in love while attending a grape harvest.
Shortly afterwards, the young man from Buenos Aires settled in Madrid, where he maintained a relationship with his future wife. He stayed there for several years, managing to save the capital necessary to dream of starting a business. During a trip to Argentina, the idea for the future company arose: the opening of a dulce de leche factory in Europe.
In 1990, Cruz, already married, settled permanently in France with the aim of setting up his own factory with his wife. It came from Picardy, a region north of Paris that combined the two essential ingredients of dulce de leche. “Since there is milk and sugar in the region, it seemed logical to me to make dulce de leche and offer the synthesis of these two things” he said. He was born the same year French-Argentinian, the first industrial dulce de leche factory in Europe.
Soon they received numerous orders from customers asking them to import and manufacture other Argentine products. At that time, another idea arose to open a restaurant where all of their products could be exhibited and Argentine culture could be made known. “Café El Sur was born, in a sense, as a showcase of our gastronomic culture, conceived as a meeting point between Argentine and French cultures, through what unites us most: gastronomy, music and art.“, he described.
To implement the idea, I needed the right place. Cruz, who had resumed his philosophy studies at the Sorbonne, often passed by Avenue Saint-Germain, a central area of Paris full of cafes and bars frequented by students. “I often went to a cafe called Philo and I loved the concept of bringing people together to talk and exchange ideas with artists or intellectuals.“, he remembered.
One day he saw the place that would become El Sur empty. It was an ideal place, although everything was wallpapered and looked deserted. But “two or three weeks after I saw the empty space, an agency called me and told me it was available. When they gave me the offer, it was exactly the maximum I had set for myself.” The place was so perfect that I decided to make the effort“, held.
At this point, Cruz already had three children and La Franco-Argentine took up a lot of his time. He needed help managing the new space, so he convinced his friend Oscar Naranjo join the project.
After several months of work and renovations, they opened their doors in 2002. León Gieco, the well-known Argentine rock singer, sang on the opening day. The place quickly became a meeting place for many compatriots, but especially for the artist community. “We gave small music concerts almost every week; Painting exhibitions once a month, book presentations, philosophical lectures… All activities that made the place a lively cultural space“, he remembered.
Their success led to them being chosen for one of the most important shows on French radio. “We were chosen by France Culture in 2003 to host a fairly important program within their program, which was a series of lectures, debates and book launches Travaux Publics. France Culture broadcast the show live from our café three to four times a week. Back then we got numbers like Bernard-Henri Lévy, Mario Vargas Llosa, Philippe Seguin (former French labor minister) either Bernard Kouchner (former French foreign minister),” Cruz said.
From then on, the café began to attract an increasingly French clientele. “We began to get many French people interested in Argentine culture. For me it was a real success because the idea was not to create a place of nostalgia, but to create a meeting place where the French could learn about our culture,” he said.
In 2008, the show’s host, Jean Lebrun, took a management position at Radio France and was unable to continue the show, so it ceased to exist.
So in 2004was born The Southern Collective also known as The collectivea group of artists sponsored by Ricardo Mosner, Argentine painter and sculptor, regular customer and friend of coffee. “Mosner began organizing solo exhibitions. He acted as a curator: every month he presented a different artist. Until he came up with the idea of organizing a group exhibition on this topic Julio Cortazar. “That was kind of the starting point,” Cruz said. Over time, the exhibitions acquired thematic curators: each edition revolved around a common idea and the artists created works based on this axis.
The dynamics of the space also led to the emergence of the Southern Short Film Festival, which was launched in 2011 2008. “It was an annual competition with awards. We organized it together with an employee who was a film director, Camilo Pinilla, and with several friends from the film world. “We put together a jury of people from the group and started getting films,” he recalled. The festival remained active until shortly before the pandemic.
In 2016, the restaurant was closed for three months, from July to October, for renovations.
El Sur was not only a bridge of encounters, but from the beginning it tried to mix people, create intersections and let things arise naturally without planning them. There were many nights like this, with no preparation. The protagonists were in one of them, in September 2019 Coti – friend and regular customer – and several Paris Saint-Germain players. “Coti brought it with him once Say Mary, Leandro Paredes And Cavaniwho came to spend an evening with music and friends.” He happened to meet people from Quilmes who were visiting and something very spontaneous and friendly came together,” Cruz said.
Another often spontaneous celebration was the Fêtes de la Musique, the traditional French festival that marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer with music in the streets (June 21st). “It was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. We gathered a lot of Argentine musicians and spontaneous antics were organized between renowned artists. It was an incredible atmosphere,” he recalled.
In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, they took advantage of an unexpected opportunity: the space next to the café was empty. “During the pandemic, restaurants couldn’t open, so we set up a small Épicerie there called ‘Epicerie’ Argentinian taste. At first it worked as an alternative, then it became an independent company.“Cruz explained.
“The idea is to bring everything we can from Argentina in good condition and at a good price. Now we combine, for example, Mantecol type nougat with our own brand Gusto Argentino; fatty cookies, seeds and an excellent dulce de leche liqueur – he listed -. We are constantly adding new things.”
Many of the people who pass by the restaurant later visit the store. “If you liked a wine you can buy it next door. “Today we have a French clientele looking for wine, meat, yerba mate, alfajores… and it has allowed many to discover our products,” he said.
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Currently, Café El Sur maintains a quieter profile due to the numerous restrictions that limit the ability to carry out cultural activities without being considered a bowling alley or a nightclub. “The artistic part was greatly reduced. The music remained mainly for regulatory reasons,” he explained. When we did tango lessons, they viewed us as a nightclub; When we did theater there were different requirements. All this somewhat limited cultural activity.“, he explained.
However, the spirit within these regulations is still alive and relevant. “We do two to three exhibitions a year, some conferences and about once a month there is music, stand-up or something like that,” he added.
Coffee is also provided World Cup 2026with the intention of being a meeting point again in every game of the Argentine team. During the World Cup 2022the place was one of the epicenters of the Argentine community in Paris.
“It was complete madness. We were almost behind closed doors every day.. The day of the final was an apotheosis: French television came to film how we experienced the game. They broadcast simultaneously with other channels and showed Argentines celebrating in France. It was an unforgettable day,” Cruz recalled.
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Its main goal is to attract a young audience. “It is important for us to continue to renew ourselves and remain attractive to young people. Today, for example, it is one of the first places visited by Argentine students, whether for or because of it work and vacation or for some other reason,” he explained.
“Our clientele changes over time. Many of those who came at the beginning have already died. We were the young people and they were the old; Today we are the old ones and they are already on the other side“, he concluded.
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