La Boca

La Boca stands in the area in which Pedro de Mendoza made the first settlement of Buenos Aires in 1536.

La Boca got its name because it is located at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata.

During colonial times La Boca was a barrack area for black slaves, and, during independence times the barracks were replaced by salt houses and leather tanneries.

Buenos Aires’ main harbor was located in this neighborhood but the port was not deep enough for big ships,and following the suggestion of Eduardo Madero,the port moved further north.

Being the busiest port towards the late 19th century, La Boca started to attract mostly Italian immigrants, mainly Genoese who built houses of corrugated metal sheets often mounted on piles or high foundations because of frecuent flooding. They called them “conventillos”, and painted them with the leftover paint that sailors left at the harbor. Since the paint was usually not enough for the whole house, they had to use different colors for each house which gave the neighborhood its particular appearance.

Residents of La Boca and by extension,their football team,the popular Boca Juniors,are known by xeneises (deformation of "zeneixi",genoese in their own dialect).This harbor and proletarian area had its greatest artistic exponent in Benito Quinquela Martin, a painter whose canvas reflected the daily lives of La Boca residents in his neo-impressionist style.

In 1882, a work dispute ended up in a strike, and a group of Genoese immigrants decided to make La Boca an independent region. Following the model of the republic of San Marino they signed a document in which the king was informed that they had constituted “The Independent Republic of La Boca.” They even created their own flag.
The Argentinean president, Julio Argentino Roca, put an end to this conflict rushing to the scene with his army and removing the flag from the pole.

Alfredo Palacios, the first socialist representative in America, was elected by the residents of La Boca in 1905.

In 1884 as a consequence of the frequent fires in the “conventillos”, La Boca witnessed the creation of the first Volunteer Fire Department. Firefighters had a remarkable performance during yellow fever epidemics and periodic floods caused by the Riachuelo overflow.

Arts and Entertainment

The Riachuelo is one of the most touristic areas of the city because of its close link to the history of Tango.
The Riachuelo makes a wide curve at “La Vuelta de Rocha” being “Caminito” one of its most characteristic places. This quaint cobblestone street gave its name to one of the most famous argentinean tangos composed by Juan de Dios Filiberto.
Caminito has an arts and crafts fair and on Sundays Tango couples entertain the audience passing by with their dancing.
Boca Juniors stadium is considered a landmark by the Xeneixes. It is called “La Bombonera” because of its resemblance to a candy box. To watch a football game there is an unforgettable experience not only because of the renown passion of the Boca Junior fans, but for the fireworks and confetti as well.
Along the Riachuelo we can find abandoned ships, the structure of an old iron bridge, silos and several industrial buildings. It was in this harsh environment tempered only by its colourful houses in which Juan Carlos Cobian and Enrique Cadicamo found the inspiration for their famous tango “Nieblas del Riachuelo” (Fogs of the Riachuelo).
In addition to the Quinquela Martin Museum, La Boca has The Proa Foundation Exhibition Hall which has a rich collection of argentinean and latin- american contemporary paintings.

Pedro de Mendoza School and Quinquela Martin Museum (Av. Pedro de Mendoza 1835)

In 1933 Benito Quinquela Martin donated a land lot to build an elementary school and an argentinean art museum. He also built his own house in this lot. He decorated the school with his murals and canvas and initiated the artwork collection found on the third floor.

The Wax Museum (Del Valle Iberlucea 1261)

La casa data de principios del siglo XX; en ella se asentó el Comité Socialista presidido por el Dr. Alfredo Palacios.
En la actualidad alberga el único museo de cera de la Argentina, en el que la esencia del barrio se manifiesta mediante escenas que evocan la epopeya del Sur de Buenos Aires, desde sus orígenes hasta nuestros días.
En cinco salas se expone la obra del escultor Domingo Tellechea, fundador del museo.

We recommend: Museo de cera