Ramón ‘Tati’ or ‘El Negro’ Mansilla was an emblematic worker in the culinary world of the Villa. He was the favourite waiter of the poet Antonio Esteban Agüero and worked until he was almost 90 years old. He died on March 24.
On August 2, 1948, the Argentine Federation of Hotel Industry Workers (FOAIH) was established, currently known as the Union of Tourism, Hotel and Gastronomic Workers of the Argentine Republic (Uthgra). That is why the Day of the Gastronomic is celebrated on this date.
San Luis joins in this celebration and remembers an emblem of the gastronomy of the tourist town in the Junín department.
Mansilla started out as a waiter at Teresita Gallardo’s inn and became the owner of the traditional bar Comechingones, located opposite the plaza in Merlo. He married Aida Godoy and was the father of Ricardo Ramón, Luis Oscar, Arturo and Norma Beatriz, a family that shared his passion for tradition and hospitality in the gastronomic sector.
‘El Negro’, as he was popularly known in the town, opened the doors of the ‘Comechingones’ bar in the mid-1950s at just 18 years old, on the corner of Juan de Videla and Coronel Mercau.
Later, it moved to its current location on Coronel Mercau Street, a few meters from the City Hall. The name of the establishment was suggested by the poet Antonio Esteban Agüero, who considered Mansilla to be a true son of the mountains and therefore deserved to bear that name.
In the beginning, locals and tourists would visit the bar to enjoy a glass of wine or vermouth and play cards. It was the departure and arrival point for the first long and medium distance buses.
Over time, the business adapted to the growing tourism and began to expand its menu with breakfasts. It created the famous ’40-dish snack’an innovation at the time, and set up tables in the square for the development and social life of the community.
At almost 90 years old, ‘Tati’ continued working in the bar alongside his children and grandchildren, who inherited his enthusiasm for gastronomy and service.
‘Tati’ passed away on March 24, 2024. Many called him the ‘Favorite waiter of the poet Agüero’He was a personality loved by the entire community of the Villa, narrator of hundreds of anecdotes and witness of historical events in the town, who dedicated his entire life to the gastronomy of his town.
