Buenos Aires, Argentina came in as major city #68 on my Major City project and here I’ll share for other visiting photographers a few first impressions covering the city with my camera during my work there, from a personal street photography perspective…
7 First Impressions of Buenos Aires
(From a Street Photography Perspective)
1. My first city living abroad, but first time truly seeing this huge city
Buenos Aires was the first city I lived in abroad, seven years ago. It wasn’t a long time, but long enough to have my own apartment in the heart of the city and truly experience the city more as a local. I loved it at the time and it was all a such a new experience before I’d lived in other countries, so it’s held a special memory for me ever since. But I wanted to see how much that memory changed, as I returned with photography as the focus this time. For the most part, it was as special as I remembered it.
One of the most surprising parts of working on this project is how much of each city I see, photograph and experience. And how much even locals, let alone visitors, never really see. It’s not an exaggeration that in a week I walk more parts of the city than many locals have their whole life. Locals, especially in big cities, tend to stay in their neighborhoods. They go out around their home, their work and maybe another favorite area, but really stay contained in those specific neighborhoods around the nearby metro stations. Tourists, of course, always stay in the tourist sections and rarely venture out at all past where their guide book mentions, but even locals tend to stay in their comfortable bubble of places they know. Too many times I talk to locals that really haven’t been many places in their own city.
Back when I first lived here, photography was starting as a hobby, so I ventured out more than most people I knew, but in reality, I hadn’t seen as much of the city as I did in the first 3 days of my return. Buenos Aires is gigantic and has so much variety and area to explore. If you spend the time, there’s an endless variety of places to experience and photograph. I’ll share some top spots here that attract many, but I’d recommend venturing out all over the city. Pick a different metro station to stop and explore the surrounding area, there’s always life around you here.
2. Europe meets Latin America
Buenos Aires, and Argentina in general, has a reputation of being more “European” compared to the rest of Latin America. There is definitely truth to that and much of it comes from their history and European influence. Parts of Buenos Aires, like Recoleta, can feel like walking through Paris, while the Italian influence is felt all over the city. Unfortunately, this also can come with European prices in Buenos Aires today, when it comes to certain things. A recent study had Buenos Aires right in line with Paris when it came to the cost of a cup of coffee or eating out. Still, this unique blend of Europe and Latin America provides a very interesting and unique atmosphere that is hard not to like.
The architecture, the cafe and bar culture, the trendy boutiques and streets, and the life of the city is full of latin energy and edge, mixed with a European flavor.
3. Buenos Aires keeps it busy, but cool. Love the hip, rough character
Buenos Aires is a very cool city. Not in temperature, although it does get chilly in the winter, but more in character. It’s trendy and hip, but with a roughness and edge. The interesting mix of older architecture comes with grit and graffiti. That mix of Latin and European influence comes together perfectly. You have the Parisian cool of a Recoleta near the bohemian cool of a Palermo or San Telmo. The city is filled with art, cafes, bars and life that goes well into the night. Parks and squares packed with mate sipping socializing and endless winding cobblestone streets of character. Buenos Aires knows how to mix things all together so you get the right amount of everything to keep it cool.
4. San Telmo Sunday Fair is a good one
Many cities have a Sunday fair or market, but Buenos Aires has one of the more famous and popular ones around. The San Telmo Sunday Fair could fill your day up for street photography with all it has going on. San Telmo is already a popular and interesting neighborhood that attracts visitors any day of the week, but on Sundays it fills with street vendors and packs with life. It has a big focus on arts, crafts, antiques and interesting old collectible items, so it’s more interesting and unique than your normal Sunday market. It’s also huge and goes on forever, while including some large pockets of vendor stands, street performers and music. It needs at least a half day of your time and is a must for photographers. Although, it’s overly photographed and touristy, it still is one of the more unique events in Buenos Aires and comes with plenty of life, character, and visually pleasing scenes.
5. La Boca (Caminito for everybody, venture outside for the adventurous)
La Boca is one of the more interesting neighborhoods in Latin America, and home to one of its most colorful and photogenic neighborhoods. There’s a lot of history here, but its biggest claims to fame are La Caminito and Boca Juniors. The latter is a football club famous the world over for its success and rabid fanbase. Its reputation has gained it overwhelming popularity, to the point a Boca Juniors jersey is maybe the most popular tourist souvineer going in Buenos Aires today.
La Caminito is located just a few blocks from the famous Boca Juniors stadium, La Bombonera, and is one of the city’s top tourist attractions due to its brightly colored buildings and Tango culture. El Caminito means “little path,” so we’re talking about a small area, but it packs a punch of interest, and plenty of visitors. It’s more of an ‘open-air’ museum today and is purely for tourism, but it’s unique and visually interesting enough that photographers won’t want to miss a visit.
Argentina is, of course, famous for the Tango dance and La Caminito is lined with fully dressed tango dancers, as the street inspired the music for the famous tango “Caminito.” For most tourists, the bright colors are what bring them more than anything, though. The neighborhood is lined with brick and metal shacks that were brushed with leftover paint that Genoese port workers got from the ships back in the day. Today, this mix of colors and character are a magnet for photos. Seeing if you can make a photo that doesn’t look like millions of others is the challenge, but if you like color, it’s hard to resist trying here.
The rest of of La Boca gets edgy and not recommended by locals to explore alone, but if you’re adventurous and like taking some risks, it’s definitely interesting and where I like to wander with my camera when I’m in the area. Just be careful and observant if you want to take the risk. Safer spots are most near La Caminito and La Bombonera stadium, where tourists will be, if you need to get away from suspicious activity.
6. Palermo has a great vibe for walking
For staying, Palermo is my favorite part of the city. This is where I lived years ago and it’s where many choose to stay when they visit or want to live in an area filled with things to do. It attracts a younger vibe while surrounded by bohemian character. It’s the largest barrio in Buenos Aires, so it’s divided into sections by nickname. Palermo Soho is the most popular and packed with interest, but I also like walking nearby Palermo Hollywood.
Palermo is filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, art, shopping and nightlife. There’s a mix of culture and cool here, and you’ll see graffiti all over the neighborhood across the shorter bohemian buildings. Maybe my favorite part of Palermo are the busy squares, though. Two of the most popular are Plaza Serrano and Plaza Armenia, with Armenia being my favorite. Serrano is surrounded by bars and cafes, and is home to weekend art markets, but Armenia is more of a park space and fills with life. People of all ages come to hangout with friends, family or catch some relaxation alone. Here, you’ll see plenty of mate sipping, as friends pass the gourds around. There’s also a small amusement park, playground, park gym, a variety of spaces, and sometimes street performers. It’s a great plaza to walk around with your camera for the variety of life and interest.
Buenos Aires has so many more spots to explore for street photography, but Puerto Madero’s Waterfront makes for a nice change of scenery in the city and when in Recoleta, stopping around its famous cemetery of elaborate tombs can actually make for some interesting scenes too.
7. Mate, Steak and Malbec…
I haven’t talked about food or drink, but Argentina is extremely well known for a few items: mate, meat and wine. No where in the world do they consume more steak per capita than here in Argentina. If you eat meat, then odds are you love steak, and here not only is it really good, but also cheap. I always eat too much steak when I’m here, but it’s hard to resist when you can’t get it like this anywhere else. I like going to the small butchers for the best prices and grilling it myself, but there’s endless restaurants and parrillas. Plus, it goes great with wine and if you like red wine, you’ll have many options of Agentina’s famous Malbecs at amazing prices.
Then, of course, there’s mate, a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink made by soaking dried leaves of the yerba mate plant in hot water. If you’re not familiar with it, you’ll notice it here by the calabash gourds locals drink it out of with a long metal straw, along with thermos of hot water for refills. It’s a big social tradition here to share and drink it with friends, which I really came to enjoy when I lived here. Other than Uruguay, you won’t see people with more love for mate than here, and it really becomes part of the life and character of the city.
If any of you have been to Buenos Aires before, tell me about your experience and impressions of the city and country in the comments below! And stay tuned for more on Buenos Aires, including some of the best Street Photography shots I captured while there.
Click Here for More First Impressions on Cities Around the World
(from a street photographer’s perspective)
Excellent article and beautiful photographs … Congratulations! … Boca Juniors is the most popular soccer club in America in relation to the number of inhabitants and constitutes a social phenomenon due to its mystique, its fans and its field, the mythical Bombonera.