Buenos Aires Tourist Guide: Barrio La Boca - Travel & Discover

Along with its unique architecture, the La Boca neighborhood identifies itself heavily with its resident soccer team, the Boca Juniors, Argentina's most famous club, and another big tourist draw. Despite the barrio's popularity, visitors should be aware that it is still very poor and should avoid wandering in its quiet areas away from the main sights. La Boca, Spanish for the mouth, is perhaps the most colorful area in Buenos Aires. This port-side neighborhood is composed of an assortment of brightly painted low-rise houses made of wood and metal, giving it an almost Nordic feel. But La Boca was built by immigrants from Italy, Genoa to be precise, who worked in nearby warehouses and meatpacking plants. La Boca is partly an artist colony and mostly a working-class neighborhood. Many artists display their work on the sides of the main street, the colorful Caminito. The neighborhood has long been known for its radical politics, a tradition that dates back to 1882, when La Boca seceded from Argentina after a lengthy general strike. The rebels raised the Genoese flag, which was immediately torn down by then-president Julio Argentino Roca. The typical houses of La Boca have walls made of scrap corrugated metal and other materials that early residents found left over in the shipyards. The metal was then painted with bright colors, a tradition brought over from Genoa, creating a construction style that gives the neighborhood its unique personality. Together with the port and the railroad station, Vuelta de Rocha, La Boca comprises a unique district, rich in immigrant history and heritage, yet somehow emblematic of Argentina itself.