Little Italy, Southern Hemisphere Style

May 1, 2009 at 11:56 AM | by BS | 0 Comments

Hey, Little Italys aren't just for the states.

More than 1/3 of Argentina's population is of Italian descent, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of the continent's oldest Italian nabes is found in Buenos Aires.

The main draw of "La Boca" is the scenery, particularly the brightly-painted houses along Caminito, the main street that's packed with artists, tango dancers and all kinds of hawkers every evening. The strip elicits the same complaints as Manhattan's Little Italy�too noisy, full of chintzy souvenirs and too many tourists�but a little further into La Boca, there are some genuine Italian-Argentinean haunts to be found.

Food: As you can imagine, Italian + Latin American = some hearty fare. One of the neighborhood's best, El Obrero, does everything from mussels to ribs to seafood pasta to tortilla Espanola � and despite being pretty well-touristed, still does it all well.

Drinks: Then again, if you're thinking Little Italy, you're looking for at least a little cheesiness right? From red-and-white-checkered tablecloths to the New York skyline on the ceiling to copious free-flowing red wine, Guido's Bar doesn't disappoint.

Sights: You can hardly make a trip to La Boca without noticing Argentina's most vaunted house of worship looming in the background � the Boca Juniors football stadium. Known colloquially as La Bombera, the stadium houses Argentina's most popular club team, where soccer legend Diego Maradona made his name. Tickets are difficult to come by, but if you can't catch a match, the stadium has an adjacent museum and offers tours.

Related Stories:
· El Obrero [Frommer's]
· Guido's Bar [Official Site]
· Estadio Alberto J. Armando [Wikipedia]
· Littley Italy travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ikerender]

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