La Boca

Thursday we went to the barrio of La Boca. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Argentina, it's one of the first things that comes up when you Google pics of Buenos Aires. We started off by scarfing down some amazing empanadas from La Continental... three jamón y queso for me! And then we hopped into our mini tourbus for La Boca.

Boca started as a neighborhood for Italian immigrants, and today much of that Italian influence is still felt. Many of the colorful buildings originally got their color from their early inhabitants, workers from paint factories that would bring home the excess paint and then use it to paint their houses. These houses are made of wood and sheetmetal (most are no longer houses today, but small art galleries or shops) and very prone to fires. The popular pedestrian walkway "El Caminito" was a corridor for trains to pass (so no buildings have doors that open to El Caminito!) but today hosts plenty of amateur artists selling or showing work. We got to see a tango show, look around and see all that the vendors had to offer (crafts and artwork). Many of us bought souvenirs for our families and friends.

La Boca is also home to one of the worlds most famous soccer teams, Boca Juniors. We passed by "La Bombonera" (or chocolate box), the Boca Juniors home stadium. The rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate is such a big deal that the Coca Cola logos on the stadium are black and white, as opposed to the traditional red and white, the colors of River Plate. There are stencils of Maradona everywhere around La Boca, as he once played for Boca Juniors.

Our visit to Boca concluded with a visit to the house of Argentine artist Benito Quinquela Martin. After viewing his rich palette-knife paintings and colorful house, we all climbed up onto the roof. An amazing view! We could see the small river, and all of Boca, and in the distance, the rest of BA. Our visit to Boca was short, but still fun. I just wish we would have been able to explore more of it :/ .....

-Alessandra