BUENOS AIRES

Let’s introduce La Boca, a neighbourhood that was on the top of my list. Not knowing much about the city I just thought La boca was this picturesque colourful vibrant part of Buenos Aires that’s almost always seen in postcards. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely is but it’s also very popular with tourists and crowds. Throughout time, it looks as though it has lost its history as millions of tourists flock to this place, mostly to walk up and down the touristy street Caminito. Just like everyone else, I wanted to see this so called colourful and pretty neighbourhood myself. I later learned about its deep rooted history while on a walking tour and it was absolutely astounding. Let me start by translating what La Boca means. It literally means ‘the mouth’, the mouth of the river in this case. La Boca is a part of town by the river and it’s a neighbourhood where many poor immigrant dock workers used to live. The workers were so poor that they were only able to afford to build homes from cheap corrugated thin metal sheets from the docks, which they would occasionally paint with leftover dock paint. As one colour of paint would not be enough, a different colour would be used resulting in a vibrant patchwork of colourful homes. It’s a symbol of poverty, hard work and a way of life that people from all around the world come to visit. It is best advised to go there only during the day as it is known to get dangerous at night. We then strayed away from the colourful Caminito street and went for a stroll into La Boca. It was probably not the smartest idea however, nothing eventful took place. We admired the homes in the area, barren basketball courts and not a single soul on the streets. There was something eerie about the small narrow streets here. We hurriedly walked to the main street to get our bearings back. The famous football stadium, La Bombonera is also around the corner. You can’t miss this as the streets and corners are flooded with Maradona and Messi statues and pictures. If you’re in town when the local team is playing, it’s definitely worth it to check out a game and experience the magic of football.