La Boca y futbol

Buenos dias!

Another beautiful sunny day in BA, though still a little on the chilly (not Chile) side!! haahaaa

Well as you probably know, soccer is a National obsession here in Argentina. They are absolutely crazy about it, and yesterday I took a trip into the lion's den as it were and visited the neighbourhood of La Boca, home of La Boca Juniors futbol team.

La Boca is one of the poorer neighbourhoods in BsAs, but also one of the most charismatic (assuming you don't mind a bit of a touristy flavour). It means "the mouth" and was settled by Italian immigrants. The reason for its charm is the fact that all the houses are painted in a patchwork of bright colours, with cute little windows and corrugated tin roofs.

The story goes that people living here used to steal the paint from the people painting their boats and use it to paint their houses. So, as you can imagine, the colours weren't usually the same and they just took what they got, resulting in a lovely mismatch that makes for some nice pics on a sunny day! Now though, the government pays for the houses to be maintained to keep the money rolling.

Things are a little touristy, what with the Tango shows and restauranteurs hustling for your business ¨oooooh you from Australia, ACDC!!!¨(well guess it makes a change from kangaroo!!). But it has a nice, fun atmosphere and there are lots of artists set up in the street selling paintings, photos, crafts etc. And football jerseys of course!

At the home of the Boca Juniors, we visited the stadium and museum and got the low down on all the security issues etc. There are big plastic screens with barbs on top and huge wire fences. The supporters are all separated, and the opposition supporters only get one little area of the stadium (2500 seats) in which to sit. Our guide told us how her friend had crushed ribs from being pushed into the bars (standing room only, and very steep!), and how being in the lower stands, beneath the opposition, leaves one vulnerable to flying objects, and, well, ¨liquids¨shall we say.

So with all this in mind, I went along to a game last night... a showdown between La Boca and Velez. Ridiculously enough we had to be there 2 hours before the game, stood the whole time, then had to wait for half an hour after for the opposition to leave to prevent any scirmishes on the way out. But it was great fun, and they really do go nuts! I´m sure that all the chanting is simply to stop a bit of boredom during the game...and to warm up!! But the passion the supporters show I´m sure would rival any die hard Collingwood fan, they are soooo into it and have so many chants etc it is a really great atmosphere.

Meat-lovers stay tuned, I have a steak story to tell and pictures that´ll make you drool!

Hasta luego,

x Felicity