HIDDEN PARADISE

A quiet area in Uruguay, filled with extraordinary art, is South America's destination of the moment.

- Rima Suqi

Heidi Lender visited Garzón, Uruguay, on vacation 14 years ago. Within three days, she owned a home there with 80 acres. "Garzón is the best-kept secret on the planet," says Lender, who has been a fashion writer, photographer, and creative entrepreneur. The small Uruguayan town she calls home is part of an area known as the Hamptons of South America, whose summer season runs from December to March.

Garzón has fewer than 200 residents, yet has eight art spaces, a sculpture park, and a winery. There's a rustic-chic hotel and bucket-list destination restaurant from renowned chef Francis Mallmann. Mallmann's a pioneer in the area-in 2003, after decades in nearby José Ignacio, he and a friend-turnedbusiness partner bought the building that houses both of his establishments. The oceanside town is about a 30-minute drive from Garzón and now draws a jet-setting crowd. In a 2019 interview, Mallmann recalled that when he arrived in the late '70s, Garzón had "no roads or electricity, and water was delivered via donkeys." Times have clearly changed.