|
|
|
|
Calle Museo Caminito Review
Read our Buenos Aires sights reviews. Or post your own.
Calle Museo Caminito
- Address: Caminito, between Av. Pedro de Mendoza (La Vuelta de Rocha promenade) and Olivarría, La Boca, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
- Category: Markets/Bazaars, Museums/Galleries
- Location: La Boca
Fodor's Review:
Cobblestones, tango dancers, and haphazardly constructed, vividly painted conventillos have made Calle Museo Caminito the darling of Buenos Aires's postcard manufacturers since this pedestrian street and open-air museum/art market opened in 1959. The name Caminito comes from a tango by Juan de Dios Filiberto, who is said to have composed it while thinking of a girl leaning from the balcony of a ramshackle house like the ones here.
Artists fill the block-long street with works depicting port life and tango, which is said to have been born in La Boca. Although the conventillos still make Caminito a must-see, too long at the top of the tourist list has made the street more commercial than cultural. Tangueros and their sultry partners, dressed to the nines in split skirts and fishnets, spend more time trying to entice you into photo ops than actually dancing. The quality of the art on sale varies considerably, too. If nothing tempts you check out the small mosaics set into the walls behind the stalls, such as Luis Perlotti's Santos Vega. They, at least, hint of days when El Caminito was less about the sell and more about the art.
The market spills over into the square on the other side of Olivarría, which crosses the end of Caminito. Expect to be canvassed by rival restaurant owners here and along every other side street: the best tactic to get by them is to accept their menu leaflets with a serene smile and "gracias." Disused train tracks run along Garibaldi, the first street to the left. The presence of the river has shaped even the sidewalks in La Boca, which are often up to a foot high to prevent flooding; this street has some uneven examples. The forest green and tomato red house that is Number 1429 is the Museo Conventillo de Marjan Grum, a one-time tenement recycled by its artist owner into a gallery and cultural center. Opening hours are erratic but the facade, painted with brightly colored scroll-work known as fileteado is worth a look. Turning left into Magallanes takes you back to the start of Caminito, past more converted conventillos festooned with more fileteado signs and stocked with the tackiest of souvenirs.
The plastic Che Guevaras and dancing couples make the shops in the Centro Cultural de los Artistas (Magallanes 861. Mon.-Sat. 10:30-6) as forgettable as all the others on the street, but the uneven stairs and wrought-iron balcony give an idea of what a conventillo interior would have been like.
- Cost: Free
- Open: Daily 10-6
Get Advice From Other Travelers
- Buenos Aires Clothing
13 responses; most recent on 11/13/2008, 02:18 pm - Older woman needs help with trip to Buenos Aires and Rio in Feb.and early March
8 responses; most recent on 10/13/2008, 11:12 pm - Rio, Buenos Aires or both?
4 responses; most recent on 10/10/2008, 08:33 am - Buenos Aires Street Location
12 responses; most recent on 09/22/2008, 12:30 am
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip >>
- Adventure Travel from
-
Argentina Active
$2,350
Explore the rainforests of Argentina on this... -
Argentina Experience
$2,295
Argentina offers stunning mountain scenery,... -
Patagonia
$7,595
Without a doubt the "Lake District Crossing"...
Buy the Guidebook
-
$18.95
-
$22.95
Get the Fodor's Newsletter
Read the current issue
For more travel ideas, tips, and deals, sign up for the Fodor's newsletter here. Browse previous issues.
