La Boca, literally translated means “the mouth”, is a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires situated at the mouth of the river. It is a port-side working class barrio, home to La Bombonera, the stadium of Boca Juniors, arguably one of the most famous football clubs in the world, as well as El Caminito (“the little walkway”), one of the most iconic streets in Buenos Aires.
I’d heard a lot of negative reviews of La Boca leading up to my visit. Many people complain that Caminito is a tourist trap, and people are warned not to leave the main tourist area because the neighbourhood is not safe. To deal with the safety issue first, walking from the bus to Caminito, having gotten off a stop or two too early, it was pretty obvious that this really is a poor neighbourhood, in comparison to Palermo and Recoleta and the like. That being said, it’s not a slum, and certainly not the poorest area of the city, comparatively speaking. But it’s solidly working class, and like anywhere in the world where there is inequality, it’s probably best not to flash your wealth around here. All the stories I’ve heard of people running into trouble have the same root cause of people wandering where they probably shouldn’t and whipping out their fancy cameras and phones. You wouldn’t do this in a bad neighbourhood back home, so don’t do it here either.
As for the touristy argument, let me just give you my experience of this neighbourhood.
Caminito’s acclaim comes from its famously colourful rows of houses lining cobbled streets. There is a beautiful charm here, as the modest houses in the heart of hard times were painted bright colours, offering a cheery facade to the world. The main attraction area is incredibly well maintained, and lined with restaurants and tango shows, trinket shops and many vendors aimed at tourists. There is an element of cheesiness, but more overwhelmingly there is a liveliness here that I would describe as genuine. While the picturesque colourfulness is concentrated along Caminito, it extends into the rest of the neighbourhood as well, although with less concentration and less vendors.
A bit of digging into the history of the area explains its aesthetics. The late 19th- and early 20th century saw a massive influx of immigrants, so vital to Argentina’s history, with a particularly large Italian contingent settling near the port of La Boca. As the inhabitants were not well off and working at the docks, they would use left-over paint from the shipyard to paint the front of their houses, resulting in the rainbow-coloured houses. In addition, they would use scraps from the shipyard to build the actual houses, resulting in an eclectic mix of corrugated metal, old wood and other scraps.
Pictures/sculptures on the wall illustrating the working class nature of this area.
A building next to the docks.
The dock side
From the river side, looking out at the port.
Old tram tracks at the edge of what is considered the main tourist area.
Not only is this barrio an important reminder of the city’s immigrant history, it is also central to the history of tango. Tango emerged out of the lower classes of the society, as a dance that was typically between sailors and prostitutes. This style was in fact looked down by high society, because of its lower class associations and its rather scandalously intimate nature, danced as it was by “wanton women” and their suitors. It was not until many years later when it travelled to France and the rest of Europe where it gained popularity in high society, that the upper classes in Argentina started to reconsider the dance, and eventually tango permeated Argentinian hight society as well. The huge prevalence of tango related paraphernalia found along Caminito serves as a good reminder of the working class origins of tango.
The cheerfully bright houses in contrast to the more rough and monotonous docks and the realities of the barrio reminded me of both Mexico and home. There is a similarity with the bright array of colours of houses and buildings in Mexico, as well as the same sharp contrast between cheerful colour and circumstance. It also brought to mind the colour and vibrancy of a township I worked in in the Western Cape, although perhaps less in terms of the same degree of colour, and more a vibrancy of life and music. Without trying to reduce the hardships of a working class life, or romanticising these areas, I do think there is a hopefulness and animation, and I guess vibrancy of life, in these areas that is too often written out of narratives of poverty.
So for me, the vivid colours and thriving tourist industry in La Boca is not a tackiness aimed at tourists, but rather a homage to this barrio’s rich history. It deserves its place as an iconic destination in Buenos Aires, and I would definitively recommend giving it a visit.
Nix Travels 