Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Boca
No part of Buenos Aires is more fun to visit
than La Boca. Its wide raised sidewalks and
brightly painted homes were set three feet
above the ground because the area often flooded
when the Riachuelo River overflowed its banks.
Did You Know
In fact,
porteño
friends told us flooding
happened so often that the sailors and
fishermen who were the district's first
residents kept a canoe tied to their
front doors as a precaution.
When Buenos Aires was growing, to the north
of this district, few people chose the mouth of
this small river as home. But it did become
home to thousands of immigrants, particularly
those from Genoa, Italy. Their spirit is alive in
the lively cantinas that open each evening,
serving delicious Italian food and playing
tarantella music. The life of the local fishermen
takes on a distinct importance in the prepara-
tion of the “catch of the day,” which is literally
“of the day.”
Art and Italians naturally walk hand in hand.
The people that gave us Michelangelo and Fra
Angelico adapted to their circumstances in a
colorful way. You will understand this when
you walk past
Caminito Street
, the dirt-
paved alley that isn't much of a street at all.
The corrugated tin shanties here have been
