La Salada at 9 on a Sunday morning (J. Renteria)

La Salada, whose 20 hectares are lined along the south of the Rio Matanza in Buenos Aires, claims to be the largest informal market in Latin America. Given the thoroughness of pieces like this one, I thought I would instead share my personal experience with La Salada in hopes of providing both a more textured understanding of its context and insight on how it is perceived by some.

At the recommendation of a Buenos Aires-based architect, I decided to visit La Salada, located south of the Rio Matanza, just outside of the city of Buenos Aires’ boundaries and a part of the generally impoverished region of the South, which is largely characterized by poor infrastructure and few social service amenities.

Stands teeter over the Rio Matanza (J. Renteria)

Those less interested in La Salada as subject, knowing it only as an unsafe, chaotic place, repeatedly told me I should not go. I justified my insistence in going by assuming that it could not be terribly bad. Hundreds of thousands, from all of over the country and outside of it, bus in regularly to shop at this place, I thought. Tens of millions of dollars are generated from sales on a monthly basis! What is there to fear?

By the day of the trip, I had recruited a hostel companion to accompany me, thus somewhat assuaging the apprehension I was feeling about the trip at that point. When we jumped onto the bus to get to our destination, I let the bus driver know where we were headed and asked if he could give us a heads up as our stop neared. “Sure, it’s the last stop,” he said and, like many others before, asked if I knew where I was going. “Yes, I do know.” He shrugged and on we went. Read More…