Walking along La Boca
La Boca is one of those neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires where you can still breathe the porteño flavour. It was the landing point for immigrants as well as artists and stevedores quarter in the past, today is a mix of tourist attraction and a working-class neighbourhood with multicoloured sheet metal houses. In some ways it reminds me of the Cabanyal district in Valencia.
I had arrived in Buenos Aires the day of the presidential elections. I was lodged two steps from the Obelisco. The place was brimming with people, so I lived the vote counting in the street and I witnessed how half of the people celebrated Macri’s victory while the other half tried to assimilate the defeat.
Even though we had been advised against it, a German colleague and I decided to take a bus to La Boca. The bus dropped us far from Caminito, so the photo safari was longer than expected. The first target was a Falcon Rural, the Argentinian station wagon version of the old Ford. In the post about the Argentinian Falcon you can see a rear picture of the same unit. It was complete and possibly the residence of someone who was in need of a roof. On the walls of those deserted streets the posters of the recent presidential election campaign alternated with graffiti that expressed all kinds of claims and complaints.
Every neighbour we crossed warned me about taking care of the camera, however since I could not resist taking pictures of everything that seemed interesting, I did not pay too much attention to them.
We passed near the "bombonera", the Boca Juniors stadium. Later, three steps away from Caminito, we found a Fiat 125 Sport. This Argentinian endemism looks like an 850 Coupé, only the front grille denotes that the engine is in the front, however when you approach it becomes evident that the Argentinian coupé is bigger. It is a rather curious car, the body
is based on the early 60's 1500 Coupé Vignale, but upon the arrival of the 125 to Argentina, Fiat Concord decided to modify the rear end, with a fast-back shape that gave it a more modern air. The restyling also helped to stop hanging to pay royalties to the Turinese coachbuilder. The outcome is what you can see in the pictures, it was produced until 1978.
In Caminito tango is part of the quarter’s life, tourists swirl around the couples dancing between posters of Mafalda and Bergoglio. The dancers entwine legs and press their the bodies together spreading a sensuality that captivates the spectator.
In the back street, instead, next to some abandoned railroad tracks, a DKW 1000 lies in the shade. This curious car, with a 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine, was also manufactured in Argentina and currently contributes to give even more character to this quarter. The port of La Boca, today so calm, remembers a frenzied past, a amazing place to end an excursion that, whether you like old cars or not, is really worthwhile.
