El Caminito

El Caminito, which means “little road” in Spanish, is a small section of the La Boca neighborhood. This section of only a few blocks is famous for being a living street museum. It has many little shops that cater to tourists as well as some eateries and a great deal of wall art. The cobbled-stone streets are also lined with artists selling their work.

Along the streets are tenement buildings (conventillos in Spanish) that house several handcraft shops. Originally, this type of tenement buildings housed families of immigrants and the working class. As you can see in the pictures below, the entrance to the tenement is a narrow door that leads to a series of rooms and hallways. Families lived in different rooms crowded together. Each conventillo was like a little neighborhood unto itself.

A striking characteristic of the caminito are the colorful buildings along the way.

In the Caminito, there are tributes to important figures. Of particular interest are the tributes to two very important figures in Argentine history: Diego Armando Maradona and Pope Francis (the first pope from Argentina).

Caminito was also a famous tango song with music by Gabino Coria Peñaloza and lyrics by Juan de Dios Filiberto which was often performed by Carlos Gardel.

Below is the song Caminito performed by Carlos Gardel