The Boca Juniors stadium towers over traditionally painted buildings in the colourful district of La Boca.La Boca is an area of Buenos Aires well known outside of Argentina thanks to its famous football club, Boca Juniors; the club of Maradona and Argentina's most supported team. It is a fairly centrally located, working class suburb which fell on hard times when the port was moved to another area in the city. It still has an edge to it and tourists are advised not to visit after dark.
Many of the buildings are in the original style, constructed of wood and corrugated iron and painted in bright, primary colours; this due to a tradition of begging left-over paint from ships returning to port. This vibrancy has led to one part of Boca becoming a tourist hot spot with a plethora of souvenir shops, dodgy art and tango displays in bars.
We spent a nice few hours wandering around the streets, into a few galleries and along the old docks. Down by the stagnant river is where you get a feel for the real Boca (and at the football ground on match days of course). Despite a recent effort to clean the river ( it must have been foul before) there are many signs of a bustling industrial past. Old, disused bridges and mighty warehouses still stand in testament.
Overall, it was not the most endearing place we visited in the city, mainly due to the naff tourist aspect, but the obvious and interesting history behind the district made it well worth the visit.
Many of the buildings are in the original style, constructed of wood and corrugated iron and painted in bright, primary colours; this due to a tradition of begging left-over paint from ships returning to port. This vibrancy has led to one part of Boca becoming a tourist hot spot with a plethora of souvenir shops, dodgy art and tango displays in bars.
We spent a nice few hours wandering around the streets, into a few galleries and along the old docks. Down by the stagnant river is where you get a feel for the real Boca (and at the football ground on match days of course). Despite a recent effort to clean the river ( it must have been foul before) there are many signs of a bustling industrial past. Old, disused bridges and mighty warehouses still stand in testament.
Overall, it was not the most endearing place we visited in the city, mainly due to the naff tourist aspect, but the obvious and interesting history behind the district made it well worth the visit.
The sign on the front of this huge warehouse reads 'Barrio Bonito' or 'Beautiful Suburb', the irony made complete with a fake Nike swoosh.
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