Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LA BOCA'S COLORS & THE RIACHUELO
In the mid-19th century, La Boca became home to poor Spanish and Italian immigrants who settled
along the Riachuelo - the sinuous river that divides the city from the surrounding province of Buenos
Aires. Many of them came during the booming 1880s and ended up working in the numerous meat-
packing plants and warehouses here, processing and shipping out much of Argentina's vital beef.
After sprucing up the barges, the port dwellers splashed leftover paint on the corrugated-metal siding
of their houses, unwittingly giving the neighborhood what would become one of its main claims to
fame.
However, La Boca's other leftover industrial materials have also eventually found their way into the
river. Decades of untreated sewage, garbage dumping and industrial wastes have taken their toll, and
today the abandoned port's waters are trapped under a thick layer of incredibly smelly rainbow sludge.
For years politicians have vowed to clean up the river, but funds have been misappropriated by the
corrupt and very little money has actually gone into improving the river's situation. Rusting boat hulks
have been removed and other efforts have taken place, but the Riachuelo's health does not look to be
improving in the near future. If you can stand the smell, take a walk along the riverfront path to get a
close-up look at the poor Riachuelo - and hope that some day, someone in power will actually do
something to clean it up.
