La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the

Matanza River The River The Matanza River is known by several names, including, in Spanish, Río de la Matanza ("the slaughter river" in English), Río Matanza ("slaughter river"), Río Mataderos ("slaughterhouses river"), Río de la Manzana ("the apple rive ...

) is a neighborhood (''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

'') of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, the capital of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It retains a strong

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

flavour, many of its early settlers having originated in the city of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Geography

La Boca is located in the south-east of the city, near its old port. Another of the 48 '' barrios'', Barracas, lies to the west;

San Telmo San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antiqu ...

and

Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land ...

are to the north.

History

In 1882, after a lengthy general strike, La Boca

seceded Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

from Argentina, and the rebels raised the Genoese flag, which was immediately torn down personally by then President

Julio Argentino Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the Generation ...

. Among sports fans, Boca is best known for being the home of the world-renowned

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

. The club plays its home matches in Estadio Alberto J. Armando, popularly known as

La Bombonera The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands ro ...

(Spanish for "the bonbon box"). La Boca is a popular destination for

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s visiting Argentina, with its colourful houses and pedestrian street, the Caminito, where tango dancers perform and tango-related memorabilia is sold. Other attractions include the La Ribera theatre, many

tango music Tango is a style of music in or time that originated among European and African immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay (collectively, the " Rioplatenses"). It is traditionally played on a solo guitar, guitar duo, or an ensemble, kn ...

clubs, and Italian

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

s. The actual area visited by tourists is only a few blocks long and has been built up for tourism very actively over the last few years, with many market stalls and restaurants catering to tourists. Outside this tourist area, it is a fairly poor neighborhood that has had many regular occurrences of petty crimes reported. It has also been a centre for radical politics, having elected the first

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

member of the Argentine Congress (

Alfredo Palacios Alfredo Lorenzo Palacios (August 10, 1880 – April 20, 1965) was an Argentine socialist politician. Palacios was born in Buenos Aires, and studied law at University of Buenos Aires, after graduation he became a lawyer and taught at the univer ...

in 1935) and was home to many demonstrations during the crisis of 2001. As of 2016, the health of over 1,000 La Boca citizens is threatened by the pollution of the Matanza-Riachuelo River (which contains high levels of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, due to centuries of unrestrained pollution).

Gallery

File:Buenos Aires - La Boca - Wenceslao Villafañe 385.jpg, Nineteenth-century ''Ghost Tower'', on Wenceslao Villafañe Street File:El Caminito de La Boca - Buenos-Aires.jpg, The Caminito of

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

lore, an example of the colour of La Boca attributable to local artist

Benito Quinquela Martín Benito Quinquela Martín (March 1, 1890 – January 28, 1977) was an Argentine painter. Quinquela Martín is considered the port painter-par-excellence and one of the most popular Argentine painters. His paintings of port scenes show the activ ...

File:Puerto La Boca Riachuelo Transbordador.jpg, The riverwalk at the Rocha Bend of the

Riachuelo River The River The Matanza River is known by several names, including, in Spanish, Río de la Matanza ("the slaughter river" in English), Río Matanza ("slaughter river"), Río Mataderos ("slaughterhouses river"), Río de la Manzana ("the apple rive ...

File:LaBomboneraStadium.jpg,

La Bombonera Stadium The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands r ...

File:Buenos Aires - La Boca - Bizcochos Canale - 20071215a.jpg, The former Canale Biscuit Co. factory, now upscale lofts File:CABJ vendor La Boca Buenos Aires.jpg, Boca Juniors-themed street vendor File:La Boca in Buenos Aires.jpg, Typical local street File:Transbordador Avellaneda Pueyrredón.jpg, Puente Transbordador

References

External links

A Flags of the World article about flags used in La Boca

A Brief Look into the History of La Boca
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