While Dan was away in Ecuador, for the qualifying rounds of the South American Cup, I had quite a few days to explore Buenos Aires by myself. So while reading TripAdvisor and a few other expat blogs I stumbled upon Foto Ruta. I was beyond excited! Creative street photography + Buenos Aires = I was in! While living in Buenos Aires, I was absolutely craving photography! I haven't been shooting much and thought this was the perfect way to get out of my photo slump.
So on a hot and humid Saturday, I boarded the subway and headed over to the Chacarita neighborhood of Buenos Aires. I was told the walk from the subway to the Full City Coffee, the meeting stop for the tour, would only be 15 minutes walk but after a sweaty 35 minute trek I finally arrived with a pretty sweet stain on my shirt. Lovely! I had no idea Buenos Aires would be that hot in November! Sweaty yet content, I enjoy walking through the quiet neighborhood of Chacarita, where lots of beautiful single family homes lined the streets, tall trees shaded the sidewalks and an older Buenos Aires barrio vibe could be felt. Chacarita is known as the classic Buenos Aires barrio, one that has not undergone a chic, urban transformation such as its neighboring Palermo. One can observe porteños sweeping and washing the pavement outside their houses, locals chatting at cafes and people sharing traditional mate.
There were a couple of people at the cafe when I arrived, all sitting around in comfortable lounge chairs talking to Joss, one of the founders of Foto Ruta. The concept of the tour was very interesting: each week one neighborhood of Buenos Aires would be selected to explore, after a quick photography briefing you would pair up and venture out into the neighborhood to photograph ten clues. The clues vary weekly and range from hard to easy but all make you step out of your photography comfort zone and think creatively. Since the Chacarita tour was right before Halloween, most of our clues were in the spirit of Halloween: "Spooky & Spoiled," "Ghostly," "Reflections of the dead," and "This is what Halloween is all about."
Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the tour:
So on a hot and humid Saturday, I boarded the subway and headed over to the Chacarita neighborhood of Buenos Aires. I was told the walk from the subway to the Full City Coffee, the meeting stop for the tour, would only be 15 minutes walk but after a sweaty 35 minute trek I finally arrived with a pretty sweet stain on my shirt. Lovely! I had no idea Buenos Aires would be that hot in November! Sweaty yet content, I enjoy walking through the quiet neighborhood of Chacarita, where lots of beautiful single family homes lined the streets, tall trees shaded the sidewalks and an older Buenos Aires barrio vibe could be felt. Chacarita is known as the classic Buenos Aires barrio, one that has not undergone a chic, urban transformation such as its neighboring Palermo. One can observe porteños sweeping and washing the pavement outside their houses, locals chatting at cafes and people sharing traditional mate.
There were a couple of people at the cafe when I arrived, all sitting around in comfortable lounge chairs talking to Joss, one of the founders of Foto Ruta. The concept of the tour was very interesting: each week one neighborhood of Buenos Aires would be selected to explore, after a quick photography briefing you would pair up and venture out into the neighborhood to photograph ten clues. The clues vary weekly and range from hard to easy but all make you step out of your photography comfort zone and think creatively. Since the Chacarita tour was right before Halloween, most of our clues were in the spirit of Halloween: "Spooky & Spoiled," "Ghostly," "Reflections of the dead," and "This is what Halloween is all about."
Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the tour:
Vultures on top of Jorge Newberry tomb at the Chacarita Cemetery: "This is what Halloween is all about"
Flower vendors outside of the cemetery gate: "Too many to choose from"
A family mausoleum at Chacarita Cemetery: "Reflections of the dead"
Building tiles: "Follow the yellow-brick road"
I paired up with two girls, one Brit that was traveling through Buenos Aires and an American, who has been living in Buenos Aires for five years. They were both really nice and we had a fun time exploring the neighborhood for two hours. We walked through a lot of little streets as well as the Chacarita cemetery. We figured that's where most of our Halloween photos could be found! If you are looking to explore the cemetery make sure you hide your camera till you get past the security guards, sometimes they don't allow you to take pictures inside the cemetery. Interesting, since the Recoleta cemetery is run by the same management and there no one cares if you photograph the mausoleums. After a hot two hour walk we met back at Full City Coffee to look through and discuss our street photography, as well as enjoy a much needed cold glass of white Argentine wine! It was very fun to see how people interpreted the clues and how unique everyones photos were.
Overall, a great day and fun unique tour experience! Highly recommend it!
Overall, a great day and fun unique tour experience! Highly recommend it!
Enjoying a refreshing glass of Argentine wine back at Full City Coffee.
Here are a couple of "Things Not to Miss" in Chacarita provided to by Foto Ruta:
- Enjoy watching mate drinkers and circus performers.
Housed in an old railway station offering a healthy selection of organic treats
A huge stadium sized selection of antiques, some of the city's best selection of restored furniture and retro signs
- Parque Los Andes
- Enjoy watching mate drinkers and circus performers.
- El Galpon Organic Market
Housed in an old railway station offering a healthy selection of organic treats
- Mercado de las Pulgas
A huge stadium sized selection of antiques, some of the city's best selection of restored furniture and retro signs
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