I was having coffee with my friend Felipe
Occhiuzzi in the venerable Café
Retiro. This is a restaurant built by the British in the cavernous Victoria-Station
like Retiro which is the end station terminal for the Mitre Line of which I have been
most familiar with since my youth.
During my stint in the
Argentine Navy I would arrive at Retiro and go directly to the man in charge of
the train schedules. I had befriended him. He always knew what I wanted. He
would sign a document with lots of flourish in which he stated that my train
had arrived 45 minutes late and would cite a time 45 minutes after he handed me
the document. From there I would go to Café Retiro and order my tostadas (huge
and very thin toast) and café con leche. Once I arrived at my office none of
the corporals or non-commissioned officers ever questioned the frequent late
trains.
I told Felipe that I
was going to the men’s room and to watch my bag and camera.
Today I picked up the
film which I used in my Nikon FM-2 camera in Buenos Aires. It is Fuji colour negative 800 ISO Superia film.
Within the pictures I took there is this strange anomaly. It is an image I have
no memory taking. I suspect that Felipe (who is not a bad photographer in his
own right) took pictures of this delightful couple (note she is holding a
sophisticated digital Nikon). I cannot imagine a smiling Argentine young man
with a Joy Division T shirt.
I wonder, who are
they? And why are they so happy?