Father and son

Buenos Aires, street photographer, ca. 1930

Family album: • Alba, 1867 • Hong Kong, 1897 • Marseille, 1900 • Paris, 1904 • Valenciennes, 1918 • Buenos Aires, 1930

Far from the famous studies, far from the family photographers and their academism – a picture stolen by some paparazzo, by one of these itinerant photographers who, standing on the corner of a street, unexpectedly take photos of the passersby.
The street is in Buenos Aires, around 1930, the passersby are father and son, and they do not understand each other.
The son is back in Argentina after a long education in Switzerland. The father expects a lot from this education de luxe: after all, the son should succeed him in the business. In these times of crisis, it is good to have a heir at this height: polyglot, mastering the intricacies of finances, knowledgeable in world trade, and whatever else…

The father stops, it is him who buys the picture of  the street photographer.
The father is so proud of his son, a son so great, so intelligent, so athletic, so mundane.
The son is well above this street folklore, it is certainly not him who would throw two dimes for this kind of junk. He feels well above this city, well above this father whom he barely knows, a father so small, so poorly dressed, so provincial.
And he only dreams of returning to Europe.

The father is proud but cautious.
He will not give him over immediately all the company he founde and made grow, but he will only entrust him a branch. The European branch, it will make him happy, the son.
He trusted it to him – and some months later, the European branch was ruined. A formidable boy, the son.