Quinquela Martin’s living museum: ‘El Caminito’
La Boca is a neighborhood in the southeast of Buenos Aires city, it lies near the old docklands at the mouth of the Riachuelo river and has a fascinating history. The neighborhood has long been a center of radical politics. At one point it even seceded from Argentina, prompting the infamously tough President of the time, Julio Argentino Roca, to personally rip down the flag of independence they’d hoisted over the neighborhood. The barrio then voted into power the first socialist congressman of the Americas, Alfredo Palacios, who became a pillar of progressive polices in Argentina. Quinquela Martin, an artist renowned for his brightly coloured paintings of La Boca’s port scenes, designed the renovation of an old train line in the neighborhood, which became known as ‘el Caminito’. This living museum soon attracted more artists and bohemians. The sort of influx that often marks the start of a neighborhood becoming fashionable and eventually wealthy; La Boca never made this leap and has remained stubbornly rough around the edges.
Today the Riachuelo has the dubious honour of being named one of the most polluted waterways in the world and El Caminito is an infamous tourist trap where no self-respecting Argentine artist would dream of visiting.
The artist Garcia Uriburu dyeing the Riachuelo in protest of its pollution
However, La Boca does have one very very good reason to visit: La Bombonera stadium. The home of Boca Juniors, one of Argentina’s most important football clubs. The stadium is the best place to witness the famous fanaticism of Argentine football fans. Whether you like football or not one of the big games at La Bombonera is a crazy, exhilarating, at times a little bit terrifying and unforgettable experience.
La Bombonera warming up
