Cuando una “esquina” es más que una simple esquina

Abstract

The corners populated by young people from neighborhoods crossed by urban poverty are often associated with the world of illegalism. The present paper problematizes this question. Throughout a year of fieldwork we met young people for whom an important part of their socialization occurs in the corners. Young people who constitute the fifth generation of families who have spent their lives in a marginal neighborhood of the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires (RMBA). The corner assumes great importance because, except for the school, there are no other public institutions where to spend time. While illegalities converge there, the corner becomes that place to find a place, where to be and where to do when there is nothing to do.