Today we took a tour of the neighborhoods La Boca, San Telmo , Plaza de Mayo and Palermo. It was more focused on the artistic side of Argentina’s culture, as well as its rich history. La Boca is an old neighborhood that was home to poor immigrants centuries ago, but through their art they were able to express their hope towards the future. Today many artists gather around this area to sell their art to tourists and locals. Palermo was similar, with many murals and graffiti around the area, however, it also had a flea market, which had unique items for sale for cheap. San Telmo was a shopping district, having one of the best markets in the city. Finally, Plaza de Mayo celebrated Argentina’s history through statues and its government buildings.

Argentina was once a colony of Spain, so they many of their buildings have catholic influence, seen through the cathedrals scattered through the city. After its independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina had many political struggles, ultimately culminating in a military government from 1976-1983. While the United States had internal struggles throughout its existence, Argentina’s military government kidnapped and killed its people who disagreed with their rein. The pain of people who lost their family is shown throughout many of the murals in the city, with a cemetery dedicated to remembering them. Both the United States and Argentina celebrate their independence from their colonial ruler, shown through their nationalistic murals in La Boca. In La Boca there was a bunch of art relating to Messi and Maradona, communicating their proudness towards their success. This is a lot more than people in the United States would do to support their icons, communicating a distinct difference in idolization in their history.