I recently learned that you can google anything and anyplace for images, and get to ooodles of photos that are in the public domain. In fact, we found some of our own photos there. It just about makes taking and sharing one’s own photos obsolete, except for the personal touch. So here, for your reading and viewing pleasure, is another post, this one about our visit to the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca. I’ve included some personally taken pictures.
Sunday 12/28/08: If I were a poet I would write poem about how the green parrots flying across the sky with their loud squawking are taken for granted and about the lady sunning herself on the balcony of the apartment across the street, having a cigarette, with her little dachshund playing around at her feet. And about how I, a foreigner, having breakfast on the balcony of our apartment in Buenos Aires, don’t take these birds for granted.
We rented bikes and went to the neighborhood of La Boca. In doing some research about it I learned that La Boca, which means The Mouth, is located at the mouth of the river and was an area settled early on by Italian immigrants who worked in the shipyards.
The neighborhood of La Boca is situated along the original port at the mouth of a river. It was build by Italian immigrants from Genoa who worked in the shipyards. It is still a working class neighborhood, but also a major tourist attraction. This view of La Boca (drawbridge no longer functions) is recognizable by all and the subject matter of many paintings in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
Close-up of the drawbridge, landmark of La Boca
Boats still carry people across the river in La Boca.
The Italians who settled in La Boca used left-over paint from ships to paint their houses. What was once done out of necessity became a trademark of the neighborhood.
I also learned that the soccer team from there, La Boca Juniors, is the most popular club in Argentina and is virtually undefeated. The timing was right for me to be interested and to re-read an article Zach sent us about Diego Maradona, the best and most famous player in Argentina who played for that team, about his problems with drugs and obesity, and about how, after many years of inactivity and various hospitalizations, he was appointed, not without some controversy, to coach the men’s national team to, hopefully, increase their chances of winning the World Cup.
La Boca Juniors is said to be the best soccer team in Argentina.
La Boca, a major tourist draw, is full of action during the weekend days. We enjoyed the street fair and all the tourist activity. In addition to booths or stalls where people were selling clothes and all sorts of Dollar Store type stuff, there were artists displaying and selling their work, street performers and people eager to take your photograph in a tango get-up.
Musicians entertain the tourists in La Boca.
La Boca street scene.
We had lunch of ravioli in a fun and funky place, then went to the new modern building of the Foundation Proa (which mean the bow of a ship) whose mission is to promote contemporary art, and enjoyed going through the Marcel Duchamp exhibit for several hours.
Fundación Proa (means bow of a ship) in La Boca, promotes contemporary art through exhibits and educational activities.
A wonderful Duchamps retrospective at Fundación Proa, La Boca.
We got back to the bike rental place at 7:45 p.m. (they closed at 8 p.m.) and returned the bike. As we’ve done with so many people, we referred the lovely young woman working there, whose English was actually quite good, to Zach’s web site, hablamejoringles.com . Then dinner followed by ice cream on the way back to the apartment. Quite tired as you can imagine.
Steve and Rebecca as happy tourists.
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