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San Telmo - La Boca
In their heyday when La Boca was the city´s port these neighbouring barrios were buzzing with life. At the end of the 1800s European immigrants arrived in their thousands hoping to start a new life and crammed into inns where they lived until they had the means to set up home. When the cholera and yellow fever epidemics hit Buenos Aires in the 1880s the upper classes fled, leaving the working classes to make the portside area their own. Tango, said to have originated in San Telmo, remains a big part of the barrio´s culture, which, along with its cobbled streets and fine architecture make it a sure-fire hit with tourists. San Telmo´s biggest attraction is undoubtedly Plaza Dorrego, the city´s second oldest square after Plaza de Mayo and a site of national historical importance. On Sundays they say its big pull is the antiques fair, which is fairly dull if you‘re not into old trinkets, but it‘s really the tango dancers, local artists and musicians who bring life to the streets. You´ll probably see more fellow tourists than porteños but it´s worth going to anyway and an easy place to find presents if you´re on your way home. La Casa Minima in Pasaje San Lorenzo is an interesting place – a tiny house (2.5m wide) where slaves lived after being declared free men. Also the Museo Histórico Nacional on Defensa charts the story of the 1810 revolution which led to the independence of Argentina (open Tuesdays-Saturdays 11am-6pm). San Telmo has loads of restuarants which host tango shows, but watch out for the meal-inclusive options because they can be extortionate, with some at around 170 pesos. On Sundays El Balcón puts on a free show for eaters, although don´t expect the food to blow you away. For jazz-fans there´s a cosy little bar on the corner of Estados Unidos and Bolivar which has some great live jazz every Sunday from 9pm. It´s free entry but you‘re obliged to slip a few pesos into the donation envelope on your table. If you´re more of a hungry-horse than a twinkle-toes you´re in good company in San Telmo, which is a top spot for a good, cheap steak. Don´t get all dressed up to eat out – parrillas are noisy, down-to-earth places where you‘ll have your plate more thrown than placed on the table. And the waiters have got amazing memories. One of the best parrillas in town has got to be El Desnivel. It may sound like we´ve been stuffed a fiver to say this, but the simple truth is that this recommendation comes of the back of 30 visits. The meat is simply succulent, the tortilla de papa (chip omlette) is to die for and you´ll leave a few pounds heavier in the body and a measly couple lighter in the body with a silly smile on your face. San Telmo‘s main tourist drag at night is Chile, between Defensa and Independencia. Here you´ll find lots of standard eateries but if you have a wander around a bit you´ll happen upon long-established cantinas serving proper traditional Argentine grub, such as locro (soup type thing) and estofado (casserole type dish). Brave staring locals and give it a try, although if you´re more at home in a pub the only place is Gibraltar, which serves normal pub-grub as well as good international dishes. It´s one of the few busy places in San Telmo on a Sunday night and has got a pool room out back, but prepare to wait as there´s only one table. The Museum nightclub is huge and probably the most popular nighclub in San Telmo, attracting the same kind of crowd as Opera Bay. Wednesdays is also after-office here so get in early. La Boca will show you the rawer side of Buenos Aires - it´s a spit and sawdust, buy-a-choripan-on-the-street kind of place. It has retained a strong Italian influence, due to the thousands of immigrants who settled here in the 1850s from Italy. It‘s nice on the eye after the blandness of the centre of Buenos Aires, and along the waterfront you‘ll see bright murals with some of Argentina‘s favourite sons. The jewel in its crown is, of course the Bombonera, the home ground of Argentina´s favourite badboys and Maradona´s old football club, Boca Juniors. The fans, notorious for their passion, fill the barrio with blue and yellow shirts on match days but stay clear if you suffer from nerves – they‘re not people to mess with. Large parts of La Boca were shaped by an Italian immigrant and painter, Benito Quinquela Martin. He was part of a group of neighbours who organised the construction of the 100m long strip of corrugated iron houses painted in bright colours, which is, in effect, an open air museum. It´s here along Caminito, named after a famous Tango song, where tango dancers and artists do their thing. A museum in Martin‘s name is nearby, which exhibits works by him and other local artists, and was actually his house and workshop. But the barrio´s most famous bar, La Perla, founded in 1880, has a welcoming atmosphere, paintings hanging off every wall, and strangely resembles an Irish pub. Stop off here because prices in the nearby parrillas and cafes in the tourist zone are surprisingly high, although the traditional ‘cantinas‘ serve more basic food at rock bottom prices. Any day is good for a visit to La Boca because the fayres are always on but what ever you do, get out before darkness falls – it‘s not a place to hang around at night. But, before you head back to your room, wherever that might be, if you´re after English reading material then note that the Walrus Book shop is dedicated entirely to English books. Situated in San Telmo this shop has a fab collection representing all travellers could possibly want to read. Geoffery, the educated American owner offers broswers great advice too. The Guru Team |
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