La Boca - art, soccer and history

La Boca is located near the port of Buenos Aires, and welcomed many immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's, many from Genoa. In 1882 the barrio seceded from Argentina and raised the Genoese flag. It was almost immediately torn down personally by Argentine President Roca.

Nowadays it's a mix of working class streets, touristy stuff (La Caminita), street art, museums, an effort to clean the river Riachuelo (La Flor de la Vida), faded glory buildings, and the world-renowned Boca Juniors soccer team and stadium. A lot to take in!

Here are some shots of gorgeous old buildings and street art, and a fun music video:

I went to two museums in La Boca, the Fundación PROA http://www.proa.org/esp/ and the Museo Benito Quinquela Martín

https://buenosaires.gob.ar/museoquinquelamartin Both were fabulous, very different! Check their websites for the blah blah blah - here are a few pics from each, first three from PROA, last few from Martín.

Martín lived and worked in the building which now houses the museum. Here is his totally cool bathroom:

The river basin at the port in La Boca has become dirty and full of trash. There's an effort underway to clean it up, with little paddle wheel boats going out and collecting gunk, and a water art installation to bring attention to the issue.

La Flor de la Vida:

Often there are tango dancers in the street at La Caminita but I didn't see any today. I did see a bust of Martín on the street, though, a little worse for the wear but still giving off a great vibe.

Chao (as we spell it down here), amigos y amigas.