When Larisa Zmud taught a series of cooking classes in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Argentina, she didn’t understand why the women who lived there asked if they could start a soup kitchen and cook the kinds of foods they’d made in the classes — artistic dishes that focused on taste and aesthetic. “When I asked why, one of the women looked at me like, ‘What a stupid question to ask.’” Zmud, an independent curator of contemporary art who coordinates Comedor Gourmet, laughed to the Herald .
“She told me ‘In the city you go out to eat at least once a week. We want to eat differently at least once a week too, we just can’t afford it.’” Comedor Gourmet is an initiative of art collective Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito, co-founded by Fernanda Laguna, a prominent character in the Buenos Aires art scene.
Laguna is well-known for starting the art collaborative Belleza y Felicidad in 1999 with Cecilia Pavón. The Almagro-based collective also operated as an art gallery and cultural center, as well as a publishing label and a gift shop. Against the backdrop of the country’s 2001 financial and social crisis, Belleza y Felicidad became iconic in the Argentine art scene for its eclecticness, collectiveness, makeshift approach and accessibility — selling artworks at extremely low prices and opening the space for artists to perform and exhibit a variety of works.
Laguna went on to start Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito with Isolina Silva in 2003. The Villa Fiorito c.