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Published: July 25th 2006
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La Boca
Nicole and I decided that we should check out the neighborhood of La Boca, which is also home of one of the best soccer teams in Argentina, especially because the most famous player in the country, Diego Maradona, played for that team. La Boca is a waterfront neighborhood and its character derives from families who could not afford paint for their homes, instead they used leftover paint from boats which resulted in a prism of corrugated metal, cobblestone streets, and expressive people. It’s a poor neighborhood and many of the well off people would wrinkle their nose at the mention of La Boca and tell us it's not safe to go because it's full of thieves and robbers . . . a funny thing is it’s on the list of the Top Ten things to see in BA.
Nicole and I went during the day at the request of others and immediately saw that this place wasn’t what people were making it out to be. It was clean, there were cafes and restaurants and tango dancers, but because it wasn’t in a rich area like Palermo or Recoleta locals look down upon it and
don’t validate it much as a Manhattanite may describe The Bronx. It’s a perpetuation of a stereotype which perpetuates fear in others and stifles economy and growth in certain areas with fear and ignorance. Being born and raised in various ghettos,” I am cognizant when I see this done and know when to heed a warning or take it with a grain of salt.
We exited the bus in La Boca and walked around the market for a while . . . there were a few interesting things for sale and I chatted with a few ladies for a while but I was most fascinated by the colors of the buildings. My eye catches a little boy toddling along in a tank top (a Boca Juniors team jersey, of course) and a pair of underwear and he was so cute that I just had to say hello. His mom was chasing behind him but he was too fast. Turns out he's just 1.5 years and like most kids in the ghetto at that age, he's potty trained! He was a little pouty at not being allowed to run and wouldn't smile for us, but we learn his name
is Fracuno and his mom is so proud of her little one. She also has another son, Billy, who is in his early 20's. . . talk about a generation gap! That seems to be common here and I know two other guys in the mid 20's with one or more siblings less than six years of age. Anyway, Francuno's mom even took out her camera so she could take photos of us! They were so friendly and warm we ended up hanging out with them for a half an hour before going for a walk around Caminito, the La Boca waterfront.
We walk pass an alleyway that is dim but contains two small children kicking a soccer ball back and forth. I peer down the alley and the smallest one runs away. The other kicks the ball down to me and I kick it back. We repeat a few times and I try to snap a few shots but the light is too dim. Almost immediately a woman peaks out from the end of the alley and motions for Nicole and me to come to the back. By the light falling on her I can tell that
this woman is standing outside so the alley must lead to a courtyard. Nicole and I follow her down the alley and it opens into this cluster of shanty style houses with laundry hanging from a rope, dogs lying around, and two small pools ( 2.5 feet deep, but around 10' x 4.5') full of children splashing about. I counted around 15 kids but they were moving so fast, in and out of the water that I couldn't really tell. But once they saw the camera, the true characters came forward . . . I tell you, between the ‘peace sign’, the ‘thumbs-up’, the ‘stuck-out tongue’ or the ‘pumped-up-muscle-man’, I don’t know which pose was the most popular! Pretty soon Nicole and I are being directed to document everything . . . "Yo y mi hermana" (me and my sister) or " Yo con el" (me with him) or anyone else they wanted their photos with. It was really sweet but the light was fading fast and as I'm not a fan of on-camera flash on children the photo quality lacked a bit.
The mom of about four of the kids came out with freshly fried pastries sprinkled
with honey. I'm not a fan of sweets but she offered Nicole and me before the others so I chugged down the sweet, warm, flaky pastry, but declined another as there didn't seem to be enough for the kids. The Mom told her that a few of the kids, including gorgeous twin girls, belong to her sister who is visiting from Jujuy, a town in the north near Bolivia. The twins are shy, but I befriended one, Camila I believe.
Our favorite child is a precocious nine year old named Javier. He's so curious and asks me about being on a plane and then he starts asking me about different cities in America and if I've visited them (Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.). Then he inquires about September 11 and the twin towers. A 9-year-old boy in the ghetto of BA is inquiring about historic events in other countries? I'm sure you can visit the most prestigious schools in the US and teenagers couldn't tell you anything about the history of Argentina, or cities other than Buenos Aires, so I found his knowledge remarkable. He even wanted to show off his English skills so he pointed to everyone's shirts
rattling off the colors in English, then counting fast, and throwing in a few curse words and phrases. I congratulated him but told him which were bad words. He seemed unfazed; he even asked, "¿Shit es mierda, verdad?" Yes it is, but that's a bad word in Spanish also, which I think he knew so I just let the matter drop.
Soon it was near dark and time for us to leave. The kids were all asking when we would return and we told them sometime during the week, but I want to come with a bag full of goodies for the kids as they were so hospitable to us, inviting us to their homes and offering us food even though it didn't seem like enough for everyone. This is what many people experience when they step outside of the box and see people as individuals and not products of socioeconomic classes. The rich neighborhoods full of old ladies and their pedigree dogs, as well as others have been beautiful to live and visit but we have not experienced even a fraction of the hospitality as we did in the poorer barrios. Just goes to show, "your pockets
may be empty, but if your character is rich you will never run out of things to share." (Okay it's not really a quote, but maybe one day it will be! )
**Shima G.
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