Buenos Aires Guide
Boca
More than any other barrio in Buenos Aires, Boca (also referred to as "La Boca"), in the city's southeast corner, seems to flaunt its idiosyncrasies – resisting gentrification, the riverside neighbourhood continues to hang on to the distinctive blue-collar aesthetic it has had for well over a century. Much of this is a legacy of the poor Italian (mainly Genoese) immigrants who settled here in the nineteenth century, bringing with them a sense of fun, a love of art and a strong community spirit. Visitors to the barrio will find these characteristics manifested in its famous, brightly coloured corrugated-iron houses, a wealth of local sporting and cultural societies and an identification with the football team that makes its home here, Boca Juniors. The residents themselves retain a reputation for playing by their own rules, as well – in 1882 a group of local youths, raising the Genoese flag, declared that the barrio, the "República de la Boca", was seceding from the country. The nascent rebellion was quickly quashed by the army, though the nickname lingers. Today's inhabitants remain proudly working class, and are often referred to as "Xeneizes" (inhabitants of Genoa, in the Genoese dialect), a term also used to describe Boca Junior fans.