Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Boca
Blue collar and raffish to the core, La Boca is still very much a locals' neighborhood. In
the mid-19th century La Boca became home to Spanish and Italian immigrants who
settled along the Riachuelo, the sinuous river that divides the city from the surrounding
province of Buenos Aires. Many came during the booming 1880s and ended up working
in the many meat-packing plants and warehouses here, processing and shipping out much
of Argentina's vital beef exports. After sprucing up the shipping barges, the port dwellers
splashed leftover paint on the corrugated-metal sidings of their own houses - unwittingly
giving La Boca what would become one of its claims to fame. Unfortunately, some of the
neighborhood's color also comes from the rainbow slick of industrial wastes on the river.
El Caminito
, near the southern edge of La Boca, is the barrio's most famous street,
and on weekends busloads of camera-laden tourists come here for photographs and to
browse the small crafts fair, while watching tango dancers perform for spare change. A
riverside pedestrian walkway offers a close-up sniff of the Riachuelo, while a few mu-
seums provide mental stimulation.
Fundación Proa
MUSEUM
( 4104-1001;
www.proa.org
; Av Don Pedro de Mendoza 1929; admission AR$15; 11am-7pm
Tue-Sun)
Only the most cutting-edge national and international artists are invited to show
at this elegant art museum, which features high ceilings, white walls and large display
halls. Stunning contemporary installations utilize a wide variety of media and themes,
while the rooftop terrace is
the
stylish place in La Boca for relaxing with a drink or snack
- it boasts a view of the Riachuelo. Plenty of cultural offerings include talks, lectures,
workshops, music concerts and cinema screenings.
Museo de Bellas Artes de
La Boca Benito Quinquela Martín
MUSEUM
( 4301-1080; Av Don Pedro de Mendoza 1835; suggested donation AR$10; 10am-6pm Tue-Fri,
11am-6pm Sat & Sun)
Once the home and studio of Benito Quinquela Martín (1890-1977),
this fine-arts museum exhibits his works and those of more contemporary Argentine
artists. The top floor displays Martín's surrealist paintings, whose broad, rough brush
strokes and dark colors use the port, silhouettes of laboring men, smokestacks and water
reflections as recurring themes. There are outdoor sculptures on the rooftop terraces, and
the top tier has awesome views of the port.
