Working with four Argentine journalists, Alex Galarza, a graduate student in Latin American history, has produced a documentary film titled Ciudad Deportiva. The film is based on his doctoral dissertation supervised by Dr. Edward Murphy.
The film tells the little-known story of the Ciudad Deportiva (Sporting City) of Boca Juniors, Argentina’s most popular soccer team. Conceived by Alberto J. Armando, the president of Boca, it was one of the most ambitious architectural projects in Argentine history. Construction began in 1965 on seven islands on the Rio de la Plata, with plans for a 140,000-capacity stadium, swimming pools, tennis courts, and ample spaces for recreation.
Through fascinating interviews, rare footage, and archival documents, the film shows how and why this massive urban renaissance construction project failed and, in doing so, sheds new light on the important role of soccer clubs in the “glocal” history of urban planning, politics, and everyday life.
Congratulations Alex and team on the film and thank you for making it freely available online in Spanish with English subtitles.