Colourful La Boca

Local artist Benito Quinquela Martin (1890 - 1977) is commemorated with a statue on the waterfront.

He was a painter who lost confidence in his artistic ability.  One day, he had an epiphany.  It came to him that he should create works of his 'village'.  In other words, he should paint the people and places local to him in La Boca.  He did this and got his mojo back!  He also began to y art to local working people, particularly dock workers who would come to class when their shift finished.

Many of Benito's students were from Genoa, a colourful town in northern Italy.  He noticed a melancholy about them.  They were homesick, missing the bright colours of Genoa.  Benito sourced hundreds of tins of paint in primary colours and encouraged the Genoese to use them to brighten up their neighborhood.  The tradition of colourful buildings and walkways continues in La Boca to this day.

Uniquely, the district of La Boca has very high pavements to protect the buildings from flooding.Read more