Barracas is a ''
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 delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
'', or district, in the southeast part of the city of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina. It is located between the railroad of
Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano
The General Manuel Belgrano Railway (FCGMB) (Spanish: Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano), named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, is a railway and the longest of the Argentine system. It was one of the six s ...
and the
Riachuelo River, and the streets ''Regimiento de Patricios'', ''Defensa'', ''Caseros'', ''Vélez Sársfield'', ''Amancio Alcorta'', ''Lafayette'', and ''Lavardén''. The name Barracas comes from the word ''barraca'', which refers to a temporary construction of houses using rudimentary materials.
History

In the 18th century, "Barracas" began to grow on the banks of the
Riachuelo River, becoming a slave quarter, as well as an area for leather
tanneries, and
abattoir
In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...
s.
On March 24, 1791, a bridge was built that gave the neighborhood an important strategic value during the
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...
. In 1858, part of this bridge was destroyed by flood and was replaced by a new iron bridge in 1871. There were a series of problems with this new bridge until the inauguration of its replacement in 1931 that still stands today.
Throughout most of the 19th century, the neighbourhood was home to some of the wealthiest families of the city. Santa Lucía avenue was the principal centre of activity and contained many of the city's most famous stores at the time. However, an 1871
yellow fever epidemic that swept through many southern parts of the city forced most wealthy families and the area's middle class to relocate to the north of the city, leaving the neighbourhood to become the working-class area that it remains today.
A number of wealthy Argentine families retained properties in Barracas during much of the 20th century, maintaining them as rental units of varying quality. Immigrants, especially
Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
, started to settle here and it became popular with the working-class. Modest cafés were opened, attracting people with a lower financial status. Factories dominated the economy of the area up until around 1980, although they continue to provide an important source of employment.
The factories of Barracas began to close afterwards, and fewer train services were operated through the area. Freeway construction during the 1980s resulted in the loss of over 20 residential buildings and two public parks. The ''barrio'' set the stage for activist director
Fernando ''Pino'' Solanas's 1987 film
''Sur'' (''South''). A chronicle of the lives of a group of friends and stockyards co-workers during Argentina's
last dictatorship, ''Sur'' was as much an ode to Barracas as it was a narrative of the havoc many working-class Argentines lived through in that era.
The painting of colorful façades on Calle Lanín by local artist
Marino Santa María during the 1990s has helped foster a number of redevelopment projects in the area, notably the conversion of the former Piccaluga textile factory into upscale lofts, which was completed in 2008.
Design District
Inside one of the sector of the neighborhood there is a 'Design District', an initiative tending to create a design and manufacture center. This effort, is intended to help the south part of the city and to consolidate Buenos Aires as a UNESCO city of design, the project is based on easy credit and possibilities for those entrepreneurs who are willing to move their offices and manufacturing plants to this center, that is between the avenues Pedro de Mendoza, Velez Sarfield and the streets Australia, Brandsen and Herrera. Between the strategies for this center there are preferred loans, tax exceptions, marketing strategies and subsidies to repair real state that is too old.
Art

The "Sistine Chapel of Football" is an artwork exhibited at the Sportivo Pereyra club in Barracas. It honors two of the greatest stars in the history of
Argentine football:
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
and
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
along with other leading figures such as
Juan Román Riquelme,
Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, A ...
,
Mario Kempes
Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (, ; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker or Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder. A prolific g ...
,
Sergio Agüero
Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded as one of th ...
,
Claudio Caniggia
Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of bot ...
,
Ricardo Bochini and
Ariel Ortega
Arnaldo Ariel Ortega (born 4 March 1974) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. His nickname is "El Burrito" (''The Little Donkey''), thus he is called "Burrito Ortega".
Ariel Ortega first played f ...
. It is inspired by
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
's classic
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
''
The Creation of Adam
''The Creation of Adam'' (), also known as ''The Creation of Man,'' is a fresco painting by Italian artist Michelangelo, which forms part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Sistine Chapel's ceiling, painted –1512. It illustrates the Bible, Biblica ...
'' found in the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
's
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...
in Rome. It was created in 2014 by the Argentine
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...
and artist Santiago Barbeito (a.k.a. ''Santuke'') but it was not until May 2018 that it became globally popular thanks to the viralization of a video filmed by an amateur who uploaded it to
social networks
A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of meth ...
.
Gallery
File:Buenos Aires - Barracas - Calle Lanín - 20071215g.jpg, Lanín Street
File:Otoño Barracas.jpg, An autumn day in Barracas
File:Buenos Aires - Barracas - Sociedad Unión Israelita Sefaradí Or Torah.jpg, The Sephardic Jewish Synagogue
File:Buenos Aires - Barracas - Plaza Colombia - 20071215c.jpg, Colombia Park
File:Buenos Aires - Barracas - Plaza Herrera - 20071215a.jpg, Herrera Park; at left, a monument to Argentine patriot Juan Larrea
Notable houses
Casa de Esteban de Luca
The Casa de Esteban de Luca, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a historic house, once inhabited by the Argentine poet, soldier, Esteban de Luca, who wrote odes to General José de San Martín, as well to his victories in the battles of Chacabuco, ...
References
Barracas Barrio Guide and Map
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Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires