Thursday, April 3rd to Friday, April 4th, 2025 - Colorful Buenos Aries, Argentina

Colorful House on Caminito in La Boca

Shipping to and from Europe was vital to the development of Argentina and the city's first port was situated in an area called La Boca ('boca' means mouth), which is about fifteen minutes drive south of Casa Rosada. Within it is a small walking street, called Caminito (little way) which has became a tourist attraction for its lively spirit and wild colors.

The Old Port at La Boca

The port was established in 1580, and served the country until the early 1900's. The river was shallow, so in the early days, the ships moored offshore and the cargo was ferried to the shore in smaller boats. In spite of a pier being built in the 1800's, the increasing size of ships travelling back and forth led to it being replaced by another port further to the north.  

An 'Unimproved' House Off the Tourist Track

The workers resources were few and they used whatever they could find to build their houses. Here people, even today, do not get loans from the bank to buy houses because the economy has been so unreliable. Instead, they cobble together a home from the materials that are available and in this case, they used corrugated iron, wooden boards and leftover marine paint from the port, to create homes. As time passed and they added on to the structure, the old color paint was no longer available - hence the patchwork appearance.

Caminito Today

The little street, Caminito, used to be the place where residents would toss their trash. This is how it was until a renowned Argentine artist, Bonita Quinquela Martin returned from a successful career as an artist overseas. He had been born in La Boca and the subject of his paintings had been ports, depicting their workers and vibrant life.  He returned here in the 1930's and as the port was no longer as central to the shipping trade, he found it had suffered economically. He began to encourage artists to come here and established charities to help the community. In the 1950's the initiative began, to paint the houses in the variety of colors you see now, which transformed the Caminito trash heap into a vibrant and exciting space, which, not surprisingly, draws many visitors

Art Work for Sale

 Many artists have their work displayed for sale in the street, such as this one above, which shows the colorful houses of the town.

Bas Relief Evoking Quinquela's Work

The stucco walls of many buildings also had permanent art work displayed. This one evoked for me the nature of he work that the sponsor had created for his successful career.

Madonna?

My favorite was a little alcove that had this lovely Madonna in bas relief.

Painted Tiles of the Dock Workers

Many of the permanent works had a plaque acknowledging he title an artist, along with a QR code to get more information.

A Final Glimpse at the Color

It was a lot of fun. There were many restaurants and places to buy souvenirs. When Quinquela was buried, he had already painted his coffin with scenes from the port because he said  'He who lived in color can not be be buried in a plain box'.

Tango Demonstration

We were told that in the early days of Buenos Aries development, many families occupied the small long 'sausage' houses in the working class parts of he city - one family per room, with one kitchen to share. With people coming from many parts of he world, there wasn't necessarily a shared language, so non verbal forms of communication were important - gestures etc. Music provided a way for people to connect. One person might play a guitar, another a bandoneon. Add in drums and you've got something! At La Boca, although the name was feminine, there were not many women, so the men learned to dance with each other and so the tango was born. The early versions are not the exotic versions we see on TV, but a sedate, very proper, ritualized event. I'll share more on that later in the blog.

Mafalda

Before we left La Boca, we were introduced to an Argentinian character called Mafalda. She was a comic strip creation of Quino, an Argentine artist. The character was six years old and spoke of humanity, world peace - reflecting with innocence, the serious voice of a child. The comic strip was published from 1964 to 1973. When the artist was asked why he ended the comic strip in 1973, he said that if Mafalda had continued speaking out, she would have been 'disappeared'!

Teatro Colon

Now, for a look at the other end of society, I took a tour of the opera house - the largest in Argentina and considered one of the ten best in the world by National Geographic. It is also highly rated for its acoustics - experts have rated it the best in the world for opera and second best for concerts, according to Wikipedia. Unfortunately, there was nothing available for the time I was there, but the opening of a Carmen ballet the following night was sold out.

Lobby of Teatro Colon

Construction began in 1889 and the theatre opened in 1908. It is awash with marbles of all colors - all from Italy - and beautiful chandeliers.

Stained Glass in The Lobby

We were told there were separate entrances for the cheap tickets, compared to the expensive one, but I hope the cheap seats were able to see the beauty as they ascended to the 'Gods' at the top of the theatre.

Chandeliers in the 'Golden' Room

There was a separate area they called the 'Golden Room'. It was indeed golden. I presumed it was a reception area. Our guide said it is never rented out for weddings or private events - only for things that are related to the theatre.

The Marble Staircase

You can see here the elaborate carvings on the marble staircase leading to the boxes on the Mezzanine level. In other places there was also green tinged marble. We were told where each of the types of marble came from, but I decided it was too much work to hold that in mind. You'll have to research it yourselves!

The Stage

The staging for the ballet that was to open the following night looked very spare inside the glamor and glitter of the auditorium itself. There were lights everywhere and the largest chandelier hung above it all.

The Boxes

The boxes has a little curtained off parlor as one entered, with two cushioned benched on either side. I wasn't sure if this offered a private space for making deals, making out, or a place for people to take their 2nd Act snooze! The theatre is able to seat about 2,500 people. The very top two levels are for standing room for 1,000 additional folks. As they say, they're up in the Gods. I'm not sure I'd want to be up there for Wagner's Ring Cycle! It would take a dedicated soul to stand through many of the longer operas.

Terminal Fluvia de Tigre - on Tigre River

 Having seen the working class tier, and then my trip to the contrasting splendor of the opera house, our tour took us to the lower Parana Delta to Terminal Fluvia de Tigre. Here, we were to see how life is lived on a river delta where there are no bridges connecting homes to the mainland.

Originally a Social Club, Now Owned by a Union

In the colonial Buenos Aries, as prosperity grew, the richer inhabitants gradually moved out of the center of the city to less crowded neighborhoods. In the late 1800's there was an outbreak of yellow fever, so the wealthy sought places further afield. However, I understand that these delta islands were more resort, rather than permanent homes at that time. Since then people have continued to build on the islands, living a simpler life - if you like boats!

A Charming Homestead

The houses are raised above ground level, as flooding is common - not due to rainfall, but the convergence of water being pushed up the river by wind and tides - tidal surges. The day we went, the water was very high.

Supemarket Boat

When you live on the river, going into town can take time, so what better than a supermarket boat nearby for those things you forgot on your weekly trip to town.

In a Hurry!

There was boat traffic of all sizes and varieties - kayaks, rowing skulls, dinghies and large tourist boats. This was one of the larger local boats. Because the water was so high, I was surprised that he was creating so much wake so close to the shore. Perhaps we were in his way!

A Better Pace of Life

These folks cam up from behind us, but did not seem to be in a rush. I like the way the front of the boat looks like a face, with its two eyes.

Put Your Boots On & Don't Mind the Water

In spite of the high water, people seemed to be going about the business of life. I asked if it would be in the papers/news as some kind of disaster, but was told that as long as people's houses are not flooded, it is not newsworthy.

Yay! Laundry

This was the only laundry I saw. I was wondering how long it will stay on the line before someone comes around to collect it!

The Church

The community also had a school and church. I'd be curious to know how they manage parking here on a Sunday. Perhaps there are paths on land that help out.

For Sale!

Perhaps the high water has led to some disillusionment here. I feel sorry for the realtor trying to sell this property today!

Patchwork House

There were some lovely houses here. Modern ones, some had lawns and were raised above the floodwater. I like somewhat quirky houses, so this was one of my favorites with its patchwork look. There were side canals also, Some people do not like living on the main drag where all the boats go by - including the tourist boats, We were told the side canals are for those folks. We could see little bridges back in those areas, but were not able to see the houses there.

Life goes on.

t was a beautiful day. People were out in the sunshine. Perhaps they were waiting for a taxi or ride, but there did not seem to be distress around the high water. It was a glimpse into a different way of living here, outside the hustle and bustle of the city.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar

I told you I would keep this blog more cheerful than the last, so I hope you don't mind that I'm going to take you to visit to a cemetery for a moment. Back in colonial times, this cemetery, which started in 1822, was 45 minutes away from town, so the city founders thought it was a fine distance from where they were living. Today it is a brief drive - say 10 to 15 minutes from the center of the city. This church, built in 1732, a Franciscan order, was associated with the cemetery and located on its outskirts.

Recoleta Cemetery

The reason I am taking you here is that it is regarded as one of the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world, so is definitely worth a visit. There are many fine citizens buried here and the style, as you see from the photo, is reminiscent of the mausoleum type cemeteries of New Orleans. It is now built to capacity - there's no new space.

Jose Antonio Castano, 1866

Given that there are 4,691 vaults in the cemetery, we were only able to see a few. The one above was a wealthy Spanish trader who died in 1866. It gives you an ideas of the type of splendor they often created for their 'eternity'.  Our guide, Sol, told us that once they were buried, it was not customary for the families to visit the graves again after he burial. However, the  crypt was built to allow numerous family members to be buried - even with stairs inside and levels underground to get more space. She also mentioned that they might request that bodies be exhumed and then rearranged to fit into smaller spaces!

Federico A Leloir Family Tomb, 1906

This mausoleum is the tallest in the cemetery and noteworthy, because the yellow color in the mosaic design on the ceiling of this somewhat Grecian 'topper' is gold foil. The original family member, Federico A. Leloir,  was a large landowner and had died while visiting Paris in 1906. It was a very splendid tomb.

Rufina Camabaceres

One of the most beautiful ones w saw was that of Rufina Camabaceres. She was an heiress to a cattle ranching fortune and was found lifeless at the age of 19. The mother called a doctor, who told her Rufina was dead. The mother didn't believe it, because she was so young, so she called a second doctor. The second doctor also said Rufina was dead, so mother called yet another doc, with the same outcome. In enormous grief, the parents buried Rufina. 

Not long after, noises were reported to have been heard from the crypt and when people checked, they found the coffin had moved. When they opened it, they found that Rufina was dead indeed, but it was clear that she had come to life in the coffin and struggled to get out. It is speculated that she had suffered from catalepsy before she was buried and then died of suffocation in the tomb. It is a sad story and is the reason that bell chimes were later installed in coffins in Buenos Aries.......just in case.

Duarte Family Tomb - Eva Peron's resting place

One of the most visited tombs is that of Eva Peron. She was not buried in the family tomb until 20 years after her death. She had been so popular, that people were getting crushed among the visitors to view her embalmed body. Her post-mortem popularity was a threat to the military government that had deposed her husband, so they kidnapped her body and sent it to Italy under an assumed name. After another change of government, she was recovered and sent to be with Peron who was in exile in Spain. You would think that would be the end of her travels when Juan Peron returned to Argentina, but he left her in Spain and his third wife (who became President) had the task of bringing her home and arranged for her to be laid to rest next to Juan. I wish I could tell you that was the end of the story, but that was not so, as another military junta took the body and gave it to her family - the Duartes. In order to ensure that no one else came to dig her up, they put her in a part of the crypt that is far underground, so she can finally rest in peace.

Tokens Left at Eva Peron's Tomb

As Eva is still a popular figure with some, there are gifts of flowers left, but people will also leave their 'receipt' that they are given when they vote. This is the blue ticket you see here. They want her to know that they are participating in democracy.

Plans for a New Crypt

I had mentioned earlier, that the cemetery is full. The only way that a person can buy a plot now is if a family has neglected their crypt. The common grounds are taken care of by caretakers and families can pay them to take care of the properties - cleaning them, repairing them etc. If the family doesn't pay and doesn't come themselves, the crypts start deteriorating. We saw some with broken glass, vegetation growing inside and out. In this case, it the family can't be contacted, they will re-sell the property. This photo shows the plans that are being followed to re-build a crypt that was acquired this way. As you see they are quite elaborate and you can see the multiple layers that are often found inside.

A Milonga

This has been a long post, but I don't want to leave Buenos Aries without sharing with you a brief video I took at an event called a 'milonga'. We had a tango lesson and were told this is a place where people go to dance. I was surprised to discover that this more traditional style of tango is a much slower dance than I had imagined. Very often we see the showy, North American style used by competitive dancers, but that is not what we saw here. 

It is important for the couples to all move around the room in one direction in order to avoid collisions.  Our guide explained that it is very ritualized - men sit on one side, women on another (unless they choose to sit in a mixed area, which we did). Through non-verbal eye contact, the men and women signal their interest in dancing and when a new set starts, the men get up and escort the women to the dance floor. Each set lasts three songs and couples chat as they wait between numbers. Then, after the third number, they all sit down and the whole thing starts over. I found it very dignified, and I loved the structure it provided. We gringos all figured that it is really a pick-up joint, but our guides assured us that it is really all about the dancing. It was a delightful event to witness, but I was glad I was not sitting in the women's section. My brief tango lesson would not have equipped me for this!

The next blog will be from an Argentinian town called Bariloche, which is just on the eastern side of the Andes. There we start to see some of the beautiful scenery in the mountains, I hope you will join me.