Buenos Aires' Best Street Fairs

The neighborhoods of San Telmo and La Boca are the places to spend Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires. This is when each of these neighborhoods hosts a street fair with its own distinct personality. Admission is free for both.

With a couple of coins, you can make mime Marcel Marceau, Eva Peron (Evita), and tango aficionado Carlos Gardel come alive on the streets of Buenos Aires. Stroll by these and other estatuas vivas (living statues) at street fairs, toss a tip in a hat, and they spring to life with animated greetings. Besides making you feel powerful, their antics will get you in the mood to enjoy these colorful afternoons.

If you're in Buenos Aires on a Sunday, you'll find a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds at La Feria de San Telmo, the street fair around the Plaza Dorrego. Located ten blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, at Humberto Primo and Defensa streets, you'll find it here from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As you wander through intersecting streets, you'll hear the sounds of guitars and bandoneons (a type of accordion) and see tango couples sensually dancing. You can watch, mimes, puppeteers with their marionettes, and black out-fitted Argentineans passionately beating drums and twirling bolos. Interspersed with these creative street performers are around 280 stalls filled with antiques where you can find things like aged tools, glasses, silver spoons, records, phones, and radios, mingling with mysterious "what are these" gadgets.

Continue through the cobble-stoned streets to find tango salons, jazz musicians, and artists exhibiting their paintings. (Hint: when you get tired of walking, find one of the street-level or balconied cafes overlooking the action for a great chance to do some people-watching.)

About ten minutes (and $1-$2) away from San Telmo by taxi is another street fair, in the La Boca Barrio. As you approach you'll see examples of the revitalized Argentinean art-form called filete: plaques adorned with brilliant primary colors and fine calligraphy, often providing signs for the local businesses. Once you're in La Boca, head for La Caminito (the "little street"), located near the corner of Avenida Pedro de Mendoza and Puerto de Palos. This shopping promenade is open daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and is the best route to stroll if you'd like to shop for original oil and watercolor paintings, sculpture, and intricately drawn sketches of La Boca.

Of course, you'll also find plenty of artists and craftsmen selling tango souvenirs (and you just might be invited to dance). Tree-shaded cafes and the promenade offer you the sights of La Boca del Riachuelo (Brook's Mouth), including the remains of abandoned shipwrecks. But what I found most astounding were the colors of this vibrant neighborhood: brightly painted houses with zinc-corrugated sidings and swaths of bright colors and designs. You'll also see plenty of blue and yellow everywhere in wall murals and paintings--these are the colors of the Boca Juniors soccer club.

Sandra Kennedy
For International Living