Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Argentina : Buenos Aires' Caminito Street, Named After A Famous Tango


Argentina. Buenos Aires. La Boca. Caminito, a street named after a famous tango. The poor Italian emigrants there used to paint their houses with the ends of paint cans that ships left behind at the harbor nearby. There was never enough of one paint to do the job, so they used paints of different colors. At the time I took this picture the government was paying for the paint, whose multicolored effect attracted tourism.
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Argentine. Buenos Aires. La Boca. Caminito, une rue au nom inspiré par un fameux tango.  Les pauvres émigrants italiens qui y vivaient avaient coutume de peindre leurs maisons avec les fonds de peinture que les bateaux abandonnaient au port tout proche. Ils ne laissaient jamais assez de peinture d’une seule couleur, obligeant les propriétaires à user de plusieurs couleurs. A l’époque où j’ai pris cette photo le gouvernement payait maintenant la peinture, dont l’effet de sa diversité de couleurs attirait le tourisme. 

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful shot with excellent composition !

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  2. I don't know if the government is still paying for the paint, but that would make sense, given the general poverty in the surrounding blocks -- where I take my walks in run, from my hood in Barracas! Thanks for sharing, Victor. I was two block away from here just last night, at 01:30, having fallen asleep on the bus, after a long day of teaching, ending up at the end of the #168 bus lines trajectory -- a longer, dard (not dangerous!) walk home.

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