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Colorful La Boca


Of wall the many attractions in Buenos Aires, I found the neighborhood of La Boca to be the most fun and interesting of the bunch. Though the conventillos (tenements) here are restored and freshly painted, this neighborhood is still one of  the oldest, the home for many Italian immigrants in the 1940's.


Colorful buildings shown above line the streets of La Boca. It is said that past residents of this barrio used remaining paint they found in the docks to coat their wood and corrugated zinc dwellings. This explosion of colors adds a festive air to the neighborhood.


Narrow alleys like this separate the conventillos in La Boca. Living in such close quarters, there's not much privacy in these tenements. The courtyards became the living room of residents and this is where the celebrated tango was performed by the immigrants who were said to have introduced the tango to these shores.


A whimsical mural in the Antiguo Mercado de La Boca reminds visitors that this barrio is the birthplace of the tango.


Dancers entertain restaurant patrons along the bustling Caminito, the famous pedestrian street in La Boca.


The first paragraph of the sign above reads: "How many stories, happy and passionate moments, troubles do these walls or those of other conventillos guard?"  How many indeed!  And the bright colors mask "la verdadera identidad de Caminito" (the true identity of Caminito).

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Images by TravelswithCharie

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