El Caminito is filled with small businesses such as souveneir shops, bars and restaurants. Walking down the street, you can hear the familiar sound of international accents being spoken, camera flashes snapping and cutlery clinking; all this taking place as the unmistakable sound of Tango plays in the background.
El Caminito is characterized for its extremely compresed and colorful buildings.
When hearing that one is about to visit El Caminito, locals are quick to advise caution and against straying into the adjacent streets. Having walked to the famed neighborhood, Andre and I were given a better understanding of their reasons for concern. Out of all the parts of Buenos Aires we've been to, La Boca is certainly the most run down and poor; it's a bit scary to walk through. My advice, if ever in BA and you want to visit El Caminito, take a cab to and from. In all its beauty, it's sometimes easy to forget that this isn't some fabricated tourist location, but that people actually live here.
One more thing needs to be said about El Caminito and thus, La Boca. This is the birth place and home of Argentina's, arguably, best and most famous soccer team, Boca Juniors. Being that soccer is a religion in Argentina, I can only begin to express the pride they feel over the success of their sons. It's great to see that even in a place where financial and social situations may be a bit difficult, the paint job on their houses is not the only thing that shines.
No comments:
Post a Comment