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Much of this issue of the magazine came together from a rented apartment in Buenos Aires, which I have visited almost annually since my first trip in 2011. Initially, I was drawn by curiosity — about the steak, the Malbec, and the gauchos. Beyond the existence of those three things, and some pseudo-political lessons gleaned from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, I knew little about Argentina. Still, I quickly found myself enchanted by the place.

There is much to admire about the South American federation of 47 million and about its capital full of sweeping boulevards and grand plazas. In addition to the food and the wine that’s often served in penguin-shaped jugs, I think of the explosion of cycling infrastructure in recent years, the relaxed café culture, the modern-art museum, and the fact that cars are not allowed to turn right on red (which should be the case in any...