La Boca

While in Buenos Aires recently, I visited its most colorful, interesting and authentic neighborhood (barrio). La Boca literally means 'the mouth' in Spanish, as the barrio sits at the mouth of the river Riachuelo. In the mid-19th century, it was home to Italian immigrants who worked in meat-packing plants and warehouses. They used leftover paint to color the corrugated metal they used for building their houses. Today it is partly an artist colony and mostly a working-class barrio. The most famous street in La Boca is El Caminito and is the center of tourist activity with artists showing off their work and street tango performers. I particularly enjoyed taking a lot of pictures of the buildings and streets in this area.

colors of la boca

As a massive football fan, no visit to La Boca was complete for me without going to La Bombonera (the Chocolate Box) - home to Boca Juniors, one of the biggest football teams in Argentina. Just four blocks from El Caminito, it is worth checking the football type graffiti near and all around it. Because of my somewhat tight travel schedule, I was unable to catch a game in Buenos Aires so a stadium tour of La Bombonera was the next best thing. For a club of Boca Juniors' stature, I found the stadium rather small and the facilities modest but what it lack in size, it more than make up with its character and ambiance. It is uniquely shaped (D-shaped) with yellow-blue design which are the official colors of the home team.  I think first-time Buenos Aires visitors should definitely make an effort to come see La Boca. A word of caution though, visit only in the day and stick to El Caminito and the streets around it because the rest of the barrio is not considered safe.

el caminito

one of the many interesting looking stores

this one's called yellow house

football graffiti

laundry day

more graffiti 

building outside the tourist streets

la bombonera

shops around the stadium

statue of the great one at the stadium museum entrance

take a photo with the trophies for a price