It is said that when tourists come to Buenos Aires and only have one day, one of the top three places they go includes the barrio La Boca. Gaby wanted to show us "the real Boca" on our tour of the neighborhood. La Boca is a neighborhood where the port-side is colorfully geared for tourists while the rest of the neighborhood is slums. Unfortunately, this neighborhood is not unique in the fact that the tourist-oriented street vendors don't live in La Boca so the neighborhood stays poor. On our "real" tour of the neighborhood, Gaby took us to companies run by La Boca "born and raised" owners. We had lunch at a co-op that was aspiring to become an alfajore factory. We then walked past the La Boca Juniors fútbol stadium to a co-op that recycles cardboard into covers for books. After, we went to a conventillo (very old slum-like apartments with a central patio) that is 120 years old, is a national historical landmark, and now serves as a workshop for two local artists. We only had 4 hours for the tour of the neighborhood since we had midterms the next day, but I am definitely planning on returning for a day of exploring this quirky neighborhood!
Co-op alfajores. (Let me know if you want to buy some and I can bring them back- it's for a good cause!)
La Boca Juniors Stadium "graffiti"
Book shop co-op from the outside
Conventillo turned art factory
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