Barracas

The journey offered by @gustatrips through the neighborhood of Barracas is absolutely a must.

It starts on Montes de Oca Avenue, right on the corner of the Pedro de Elizalde Children's Hospital, the oldest in America, where the Casa de Niños Expósitos (Foundling Home) used to be located. It was there that Benito Juan Martín spent his early years before being adopted by the Chinchella family and becoming Benito Quinquela Martín, one of the most famous Argentine painters.

During the tour, Gustavo endeavors to share every detail of the fascinating stories of the characters that gave life to the neighborhood, be it the tragic existence of Felicitas Guerrero, with the church that bears her name despite the fact that she was not a saint; The Frenchman Abel Saint, founder of the Águila chocolate empire, whose factory is a symbol of the industrial strength and elegance of the buildings of the early twentieth century; or the house of the Díaz Vélez family -Casa de los Leones- where during the engagement party of a daughter, because of a poorly closed fence, one of the animals escaped and attacked the fiancé. In the garden of the mansion, the sculptures that the singular owner had made after the tragedy are still preserved today.

In addition to the stories, Gustavo offers to discover the works of outstanding artists and to appreciate architectural gems, such as the Masonic houses with their iconic symbolism, with the square and the compass as remarkable elements.

In the artistic field, the mural of the great Milu Correch, at the corner of San Antonio and Alvarado, stands out among many others. It is simply huge. The large-scale figures, the infrequent tones used, the message, the perfect composition.

The hyperrealistic and 3D style of the Mexican Juandrés Vera can be seen in the girl with the mate near the corner of Suárez and Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.

Obviously, you can also walk along Iriarte Avenue. There, its old pharmacy, the house of the Barracas Cultural Circuit with its Community Theater, as well as the now famous Central Park, a rainbow in a former printing press that became the atelier of the most renowned contemporary artists of Buenos Aires, are not to be missed. The multicolored façade was created by Pérez Celis and from then on all the art happened.

A commotion happens when arriving near the railway bridge, on the Brandsen road. It is the Lanin passage, a corridor designed by the enormous Marino Santamaría, who transformed his street into an open-air museum. Fortunately for @tripticity_ the artist generously received us in his workshop, showed us his work and shared a memorable conversation.

The end, near the Pueyrredón bridge, allows us to appreciate the largest mural in the world made by a single artist. The return of Quinquela, manufactured by Alfredo Segatori, is a huge masterpiece in front of the Riachuelo. It measures more than two thousand square meters and narrates representative scenes of the neighborhood, just as Quinquela did last century: dock workers, factories or industrial warehouses, the working life and above all the portraits of the neighbors themselves.

All this in a period of time that can extend -unintentionally- to five hours, after which, despite the tiredness in the legs, the spirit flies before so much beauty, with the feeling of having lived an unforgettable day, one of those experiences that surpass the real and go to the podium of the best tales to remember.