If it is about colourful art, with a scent of tango and the Porteño aspect, we cannot be wrong, we are in “Caminito”: the most popular corner of La Boca neighbourhood. A famous street even in the lyrics of the tangos. Full of tourists, cameras in hand, anxious to capture the most colourful houses or the most sensual steps of tango. It is worth strolling quietly among the dozens of craft stalls and pictures that try to capture some of the spirit of that Porteña and popular street.
At the beginning of the 20th century, La Boca neighbourhood was a neighbourhood of humble and hard-working people; it was the usual home of Italian and Spanish sailors. Their houses like “conventillos” –precarious houses, painted with loud and strong colours, with a great deal of life– characterize it since its origins; it was a neighbourhood custom that was spread by the distinguished boquense painter Benito Quinquela Martín, who transformed Caminito into an outdoor museum to favour the artists and craftsmen in the 1950s. Its beautiful and different colours used to be symbols of poverty and bad taste, but since the 50s the inhabitants have given it the personality that it has today and have turned it into an obligatory crossing point in Buenos Aires. Very close to it is the Bombonera, the stadium of Boca Juniors. The façade of the stadium has the colours of their shirt, blue and yellow. The fans, called “Bosteros” or “La mitad más uno”, are proud of the internationally obtained titles, which is why the club has won the respect and admiration of many foreign tourists.
Caminito is pintoresque, happy and different. La Boca neighbourhood is the result of a mixture of cultures, and especially the great Italian influence can be perceived there.
It is rather nostalgic to walk on its cobblestone streets, where tango can be felt in the blood and the milonga can be enjoyed skin-deep. Along the tour we can observe a commemorative plaque of the musician and composer Juan de Dios Filiberto, the creator of the famous tango that immortalized this incredible little street and that merits the name of “Caminito”.
Caminito is all art. It is the artistic expression in complete purity, its music and the delight of tango dancers who dance on the corners. The picturesque canteens that watch closely from the balconies above the street, the exhibitions of street art, murals, and the painters exhibiting their works create, without a doubt, a stroll to renew the spirit.
Tango Caminito by Carlos Gardel: http://bit.ly/1gf9ktn
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