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2 years ago
LA BOCA - LOS PIBES COMEDOR: SLIDESHOW
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINAThe first picture above is the only picture that I managed to take of the inside of my volunteer placement in La Boca in Buenos Aires. I spent my time at a place called “Los Pibes Comedor,” which doesn’t really translate well literally. It is something between a soup kitchen and a community center - perhaps a community eatery would be most accurate.
The Comedor is in the heart of La Boca, as mentioned one of the significantly poorer areas of Buenos Aires. The first picture above was taken on my blackberry phone during a community meeting, for although it primarily functions as a kitchen where everyone in the community comes to eat breakfast and lunch - in which capacity I was enlisted to help - the center is also an important sociopolitical staple of the community.
The second picture above shows the entrance, the garage opening behind the car, through which I entered each day. The space itself is an old warehouse, and this is not a neighborhood through which I can wander freely with my camera. And it would not have been appropriate for use inside. The third picture shows the street corner and the old warehouse next to the Comedor that was burned down a few years ago. A number of homeless families were squatting inside when the building caught fire, and a number perished, including women and young children. Many actually suspect the government of being responsible, but at the same time paranoia and government suspicion are widespread here in this strongly leftist neighborhood.
But before I get into that, I’ll discuss my some basics. The people down here eat communally obviously because it is cheaper than each person being responsible for their own meals, but in exchange each household does have to pay a very small amount per month in order to eat there daily. That said those in the community less able to pay are afforded leniency. Also most take turns working in the community center so everyone shares the commitment and responsibility.
I spent most of my time working in the kitchen preparing the meals, but of course with a variety of social and political things going on I helped out where needed, mostly with lifting, stacking, and moving really. The people were generally very friendly, and the amount of people rolling through and their general curiosity ensured I got ample Spanish practice, although ultimately my Spanish isn’t particularly good. I would classify my German as almost competent.
Besides the main kitchen area, there is an extensive upstairs, where there are administrative offices, political offices, a library filled with leftist political literature (in Spanish), a few bunks, and another large open space for meetings and the like. The roof was actually very cool and it’s a shame I never managed to get my camera up there.
Ultimately the center represents a significant part of the community. The government regularly sends food and money, a large part of which the center distributes throughout the rest of La Boca.
Despite the government aid the people who work hard to make Los Pibes an important and effective part of the community pride themselves on their self-sufficiency, so while they were happy to humor me it’s not exactly as if they’re convinced they need outside help. It never got hostile, although considering the fact that the place was littered with signs that said “GRINGAS BASES FUERA DE AMERICA LATINA” (Gringo [military] bases out of Latin America!), I was curious as to what they thought of the fact that Western “gringos” were relatively often around getting involved.
As previously mentioned Los Pibes Comedor is definitely a leftist organization - up on each wall are pictures of Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales (President of Bolivia), and of course Lenin and Che Guevara (who as it turns out was born in Buenos Aires). They also seemed to be holding regular marches in the city, so it was definitely cool to see the inner workings of the political movement. That said I feel like I got some looks while some of the guys would be plotting what my paranoia would deem “communist things,” but that seems a bit much. I suppose it makes sense that these people embrace such a leftist viewpoint considering their socioeconomic situation, but it does seem more inherited than developed.
At the end of the day the community of La Boca is extremely poor and it was very interesting to watch them take care of themselves and try to develop and create with their own hands something powerful and significant, capable of representing them and providing for them. I didn’t get quite as into it as I did with my work in Germany, but it was nonetheless a vastly different and interesting experience.
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