Discover the football neighborhoods in Buenos Aires: 5 highlights you can’t miss to learn more about the history of San Lorenzo de Amagro

Buenos Aires is one of the most passionate football capitals in the world and San Lorenzo supporters are one of the most representative fans of the  awesome football culture. San Lorenzo is from the Boedo Neighborhood, a football loving place; wherever you look is a sea of blue and red. It’s full of wall paintings and graffiti about “El Ciclon” (The Cyclone). There’s one man who can take you into the world of San Lorenzo with all the stories and accompany you in the neighborhood Boedo, home of San Lorenzo.

We caught up with Fabio. Fabio tells us why Buenos Aires, in particular Boedo, is an absolute must-visit for any football fan. For sports fans who love to discover hidden gems and explore football neighborhoods, Boedo is absolutely worth visiting. In this blog, he’ll give you 5 highlights you can’t miss when discovering Boedo in Buenos Aires.

Discover the incredible  ‘Tierra Santa’

This corner is an exciting group of wall paintings, where you will actually enjoy the neighborhood’s amazing street-art. “Tierra Santa”, the land of the saints, is the perfect location to capture beautiful images of the mural that welcomes you. It is a real sight for sore eyes. This area is called like this because one of San Lorenzo’s nick-names is “Los Santos” (The Saints), since one of the club founders was a priest. Obviously, this mural is painted in blue and red with “Filete Porteño”, a unique old popular technique. A type of artistic drawing and lettering with vibrating and contrasting colors that was considered a cultural heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Side by side, there is another thrilling mural. This drawing shows a scrum of players celebrating a goal of the 1968 Champion, the first undefeated champion of argentine football. This team was called “The Matadores” (the Killers), another nick-name of “Los Santos”. Senior argentine people claimed that everyone found pleasure in watching this marvelous team. The footballers from this squad were kind of naughty playboys and there are much more funny stories to be told during in a visit to Boedo.

Besides, in this corner there are other three paintings which depict how people and football supporters have lived since 1900, on this side of the world.

Visit the Chapel where it all began

The club was founded in 1908 in a room of this little chapel. It was an amazing story between a gang of youngsters and a priest who led them down the correct path. San Lorenzo’s roots can be traced back to a bunch of youngsters playing football on the corner of the streets México and Treinta y Tres Orientale in the centre of the city, between the neighbourhoods of Almagro and Boedo.

The local Priest, Lorenzo Massa once watched as one of the youngsters was almost knocked over by a tram. Concerned for the boy’s welfare with the increasing traffic in the city, he invited the guys to play in the chapel’s yard since the streets were dangerous because of the appearance of the tramways during those times. In the end, they finally created the club together: San Lorenzo de Almagro.     

The “Oratorio San Antonio” has been there since the end of XIX Century. This was a humble area with just farms, open fields, mills and unpaved roads.Nowadays, everything looks different. This place has improved however, this little oratory remains standing. You can’t miss it if you want to check out the exact place, where one of the Argentine Big Five was actually founded. There, you can also find a lot of murals depicting the Boedo’s club founding. There are some paintings simulating a church vitraux in honor of the icons of San Lorenzo’s history. 

Visit one of the oldest supporters bars from 1908

Take a good look at this antique bar! This place was opened in the same year of the club`s foundation. Inside, it has been left in its original state. It looks like a museum, full of pictures from all times. There are photos of idols, iconic players, the best singers and of a lot of loyal “hinchas”. It’s a picturesque portion of this neighborhood history. The fascinating Tango still sounds around here, tables and chairs are made of wood and the cracking walls have that special passage of time. The atmosphere in this bar is simply unique. 

To get a cup of coffee here is not easy. Nowadays it’s closed and occasionally opens its doors for special events. But It’s possible to enjoy this charming place if you make an exciting experience with a local host. During my walking tours, you have the possibility to get a cup of coffee here.

The founder of San Lorenzo and it’s old stadium

This is one of the special parts in Boedo. One of the fans’ favorite and also mine. It shows two icons of the club. On the left side, you can see the main character of this story. This is priest Lorenzo Massa who led the young guys to create the team. Because of the black cassock usually worn by priests they were commonly called “Cuervos” (crows); this is where one of the many nicknames given to San Lorenzo comes from; as Lorenzo Massa was its founder.  He is not the only man of God in this club since the Pope Francisco is the most famous “Cuervo” around the world and a passionate supporter.  

On right side of this wall, you can discover their old stadium, the “Viejo Gasometro”. Their beloved former stadium. The media called it “The Wembley porteño” as the most important matches of those times were played there. In the 1970s, the military dictatorship of Argentina expropriated there land and it was then sold to a big French company who ended up building a supermarket right there. Nowadays, the club has recovered the lands after a painful and long struggle to get back the place where they truly belong. As a consequence the supporters are hopping to be able to build the new stadium just on that same spot. 

The Icon ‘El Mono’

Keep your eyes open to enjoy this mural in honor of a great goalkeeper. He played between the 60s and the 70s; he is called “The Monkey” Irusta; he used to climb and hang from the goal post. “El Mono” joined the club when he was a child. He lived in the club itself. In those times, he swept, cleaned and painted the seats of the stands of the former stadium.

Then, he became the keeper with the biggest number of appearances in San Lorenzo’s history.  At present, he is still a club legend and you will be able to enjoy the splendid view of his art of flying on this painting.

The Murals under the Nuevo Gasometro Stands

The current stadium of San Lorenzo is “The Nuevo Gasometro” and it is just ten minutes from the Boedo Neighborhood.  There, the club lifted the Copa Libertadores Cup and won a lot of championships. If you ever plan to visit a match of San Lorenzo, you can find under its stands some absolute treasures: Some incredible walls of paintings all about San Lorenzo. So, If you want to enjoy a complete San Lorenzo experience, you can’t miss it!