Art Basel, Latin Style

Though auxiliary events and parties began days before, the highly anticipated 2012 installment of Art Basel Miami Beach officially starts today, December 6. In honor of all things Latin, we’ve got the low-down on all the food-art to which you can say hola. Here’s a quickie guide to where you can find the best of Art Basel's Hispanic arts and eats:

Tonight, the Miami skyline lights up above Chef Richard Sandoval’s month-old, pan-Latin steakhouse, Toro Toro. Located in the InterContinental Miami, which recently completed a $30 million renovation, Toro Toro will celebrate its official grand opening at the same time as the architecture around it goes digital. Two 19-story, LED “canvases” that reach above Biscayne Bay will be showcasing spectral art permanently throughout the year, and be turned on for the first time tonight. As guests nibble on Sandoval’s creations and sip Latin premium spirits, they can also browse the additional exhibits, including renowned photographer Patrick McMullen’s “Light Show” and one of Warhol “Superstar” Ultra Violet’s 9/11 sculptures. The evening, beginning at 6 p.m., promises to be illuminating, indeed.

Also opening tonight is Mestizo City, a 6,700-square-foot, interactive installation and a metaphor for the nation’s burgeoning influential Latin culture. The site-specific space, created by Henry R. Muñoz III, an activist-designer based in San Antonio, Texas, explores this politically potent demographic with overblown, archetypal symbols of Latin culture, including Jarritos bottles and a taco truck. The installation is only accessible through inflatable storefronts, meant to represent “the border.”

Once inside, visitors are exposed to street art, including photos of makeshift fruit markets, a map built from coffee, pinto, and black beans, and will have the opportunity to gather for good eats and gossip at a taco truck. Events at Mestizo City continue with “Breakfast Tacos at Tiffani’s,” a curated discussion partially moderated by the artist, on Friday, December 7 at 10 AM and on Saturday, December 8 at 9 PM. The exhibit concludes with a concert by El Chingon, which is a band led by Spy Kids and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez.

If you want to take a breather from Basel but not drift too far away, check out Bloom, a Latin-Asian restaurant that’s hung 24/7 with visual art. Bloom is offering generous lunch deals this week that diners can pair with signature drinks like the “Tequila Beets", a mix of Don Julio Tequila, lime, house-made chamomile syrup, roasted beets, and whiskey barrel aged bitters.

Throughout the weekend, lounge in a reliably Latino atmosphere at indoor-outdoor space Cafeina (right). Located in Wynwood Art District, Cafeina features a collection of media curated by artist Alejandro Mendoza, and the exhibition’s meet-and-greet takes place Thursday, December 6 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, at which point a global line-up of DJs will kick off the party. The beats continue through Saturday night, December 7, when artist Miguel Paredes (work pictured above) with Cone presents a Mural Reception at the Rouge Garden, and Sunday, December 8, during the Grand Closing “Brunch n’ Basel” feast in the Big Garden and Gallery.

For more information, check out MiamiBeach.ArtBasel.com.