Renaldo (18 page)

walk away. Lonfranco was frantic for information and raced after the doctor,

physically grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.

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“What is happening here, doctor? My wife and child, are they alright? I

must be with Maria! Where is she? Where is she?”

It was only after the last question had passed his lips that Lonfranco was

able to focus clearly on the surgeon’s face. The tears that had been welling in

Mercedes Plata’s eyes were freed to fall slowly down his cheeks by the irate

husband’s jostling.

“Please, Señor, kindly step in here.” The men entered a small room

containing cleaning supplies, obviously not the original intended destination

of doctor.

“Señor De Seta, in all my years of medical practice, I have never gotten use

to conveying the news that I must tell you now. Your wife and unborn child

have left this world to be with our Savior, Jesus Christ. May God have mercy

on their souls! I have called for a priest to attend to their last rites. He may be

of some help to you tonight as well, Señor . . . ”

The baby had been stillborn. The medical cause of Maria’s death was a

condition known as ‘placentia previa.’ Lonfranco was told that this was a tearing

of the mother’s placenta away from the wall of the uterus, causing massive

hemorrhaging. She basically bled to death internally.

Lonfranco could not fathom such a thing. He had rarely heard of birthing

problems among the privileged classes in Buenos Aires. He assumed the finest

surgeons and medical equipment were only blocks away from Casa San Marco.

He and Maria had given lavishly and unselfishly to the Rivadavia Hospital’s

modernization campaign. Society ladies never had trouble giving birth, not

that he had ever heard of.

It was left to Dr. Lujan to explain the realities of life to Lonfranco. “There

are far more problems with conception and birthing that are sanitized and left

behind private drawing room doors than any member of the male Porteño

society will ever know about. The male’s job is to induce conception, then

step back until it is time to pass out the cigars. Everything in between is left

to the women and their specialists. It is not within the realm of a gentleman

to want to know the intricacies of what goes on during childbirth. Besides,

it is a frightfully messy ordeal, much like fighting a pitched military battle.

When things go wrong, especially with those people in the upper strata of

society, a trip abroad or to their estancia is planned for several months until the

perceived scandal dies down. Thus men hear nothing of these things, and the

women gossip and speculate until word is sent from the grieving family that

such and such happened a few months back, and that they would be returning

to the capital in time for the next social season. I have personally attended to,

and been instrumental in carrying off, more of these deceptions than I care to

remember.”

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All of this gibberish did nothing to appease Lonfranco’s ire. There must

have been some terrible mistake at the hospital for them to allow Maria to die.

Someone would pay for this. He would not rest until the person responsible was

hung, drawn, and quartered.

It was Maria’s lady-friends who were responsible for convincing Lonfranco

that her tragic death was an act of God, and not due to incompetence by the

medical staff. Avril Galaria, Maria’s maid of honor at their wedding, spent

many torturous hours at Casa San Marco consoling and reassuring the desolate

husband.

“Sometimes these things are necessary, so that those left behind can follow

the true path that God has ordained for them.”

Lonfranco was not a religious man, but he found solace in the tender words

of Avril Galaria. By the time Maria and their unborn male son were placed in the

family crypt beside the general, his wife, and their three daughters, Lonfranco

was at peace with himself and the world. He would accept Maria’s passing as

something that must have been necessary, for whatever reason. He would never

fully understand why, but he knew that the Roman Catholic Church would

provide him with spiritual answers if he ever chose to seek them out.

The widower returned home to Casa San Marco alone after the funeral and

began charting out the course that his life must now follow. Certain adjustments

were easier to make than others. Death had been a factor in Lonfranco’s life

before, but to lose a baby, a son that was his own flesh and blood, that was

something that was especially hard for him to come to grips with.

“Maria is in heaven, reunited with her family,” or so his religious friends

told him.
Perhaps a gross oversimplification
, thought Lonfranco,
but the idea seems to

give solace to so many people that possibly their theory has some virtue.

Eventually, Lonfranco convinced himself that this train of thought was

the only way to ease his heartbreak. He decided to focus on his business

activities as a means of escaping the pain in his heart. The last thing on his

mind was his social standing, yet paradoxically, the tragedies that had befallen

him had only elevated his status within the Porteño social set. He was sought

after with great fervor as a distinguished guest at many of the finest tables

in the capital. Lonfranco, while not really caring for all the pretensions that

accompanied so many of those ‘puffed-up’ people, was wise enough to play

their games to his own advantage. When it suited him, he could be the host

of some lavish fête at Casa San Marco, or he would invite a select group to visit

Buenos Recuerdos for a long weekend or holiday. He not only catered to the

local Porteño establishment, but also entertained throngs of foreign investors.

His connections with the succession of politicians that followed President Roca

in the nation’s highest office were always based on his ability to drum up the

appropriate amount of foreign capital for whatever project the government of

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the day had in mind. He traveled extensively through Europe and the Pacific

rim over the four years following Maria’s passing, but his preferred investors

remained the British.

The feeling was mutual, by all accounts. Along with their financial

interests in Argentina, the British had established a foothold in Buenos Aires

and its environs that was beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. Scientists,

technicians, and manufacturers were joined by bankers, tradesmen, and teachers,

many bringing their entire families with them. The British community inside

Argentina had attained with pound sterling what they could not accomplish

some years earlier with saber and cannon.

Initially, the British had arrived in Buenos Aires from the high seas

during the later part of the eighteenth century. Most of them were smugglers

or pirates. During the Napoleonic wars in the early nineteenth century, British

Commodore Sir Home Popham decided to invade the city, claiming it in the

name of his king. The arrogant Europeans were rudely expelled by the local

militia and citizenry, but they soon recognized the bounty that extended

peaceful relations with this unexplored and untapped market could reap for

them. Overtures of peace and economic aid were offered in place of armed

aggression, and this time, the Porteños welcomed the Brits with open arms

and wallets.

English preparatory schools, or private schools, became established to

educate the children of the United Kingdom transplants. St. Andrew’s Scots

School, the English High School, and a school that Lonfranco would give his

particular attention to, the Sir Isaac Newton Academy of the Sciences, were all

flourishing in the post-Great War era.

As an adjunct to all their business interests, the British had also brought

with them a peculiar game that seemed to be quite the rage among all levels of

society. Originally, according to one of Lonfranco’s English acquaintances, the

sport was meant to be played by gentlemen of the upper classes as a means of

keeping the body as well as the mind physically fit. The more prominent teams

in England came from famous schools such as Eton, Oxford, or Cambridge.

The sport was called soccer by the gentlemen. It soon became apparent

that such good-natured physical release could benefit the toiling masses in

various industries. Form a company team, keep the men in top condition, keep

them out of the pubs and free of shenanigans, and give them pride in their work

through association with that company team.

The factory owners and gentlemen were soon rubbing shoulders with the

average working man out on the playing fields, the common denominator being

the love of the sport the workers called ‘football.’

The Italian immigrants that had arrived in ever-increasing numbers in

Argentina had added their passion to the sport as well. It was not uncommon

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to see groups of young boys and men kicking a ball, or whatever object they

could find, into a makeshift net.

The Argentine Football Association had been formed in 1883 by a group

of Englishmen with Alexander Watson as its founding president. This was the

first organized soccer association on the South American continent. The initial

teams all had a link to the British community, whether it be an industry such

as the railway club, an English suburb such as Quilmes Athletic Club, or a

school team such as the English High School Alumni.

Over the years, the English role in the local version of the sport diminished

as football was embraced as the national passion by Argentines of diverse

heritage and social standing.

Teams sprang up throughout the country. Boca Juniors were supported

primarily by the Italian community, while Racing Club was founded by French

residents of the capital. Rosario Central Football Club was a British endeavor,

as were the River Plate and Independiente clubs. The first international match

pitting Argentina against neighboring Uruguay was played in 1901.

Lonfranco’s involvement with the Isacc Newton Academy of the Sciences

started as a result of the academy founding the first veterinary college in

Argentina. Both equine and bovine studies were of particular interest to the

scientific community at the academy. Several of the top practitioners and

researchers in the field had arrived from England, having been lured away to

join the impressive faculty.

Through a philanthropic foundation that he had set up in Maria’s name,

Lonfranco gave generously to the academy. He was consumed with perfecting a

breed of beef cattle that would not only become the finest stock in Argentina,

but would also stand as a premium export product. In addition, he had acquired

the general’s passion for thoroughbred racehorses and polo ponies, which he

continued to breed at Buenos Recuerdos.

Lonfranco spent so much time at the Newton Academy that he was offered

a seat on the board of governors by his close friend and fellow polo enthusiast,

Dr. C.W. Reynolds, who was its chairman. The widower graciously accepted

the appointment.

The Newton Academy was a school of two separate entities, the lower

school and the university program. The lower, or preparatory school, catered

to highschool-aged male students who had a propensity for the sciences,

particularly medicine. While there was a sprinkling of liberal arts courses to

round out the scholastic character of the young men, the emphasis was definitely

on the sciences.

Admission to ‘the prep,’ as it was called, was the most highly sought-

after placement in the entire country. The entrance examination took an entire

weekend to complete. With the aid of an extensive scholarship program, boys

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from all levels of Argentine society were put on equal footing in the selection

process. Preference was given, of course, to English families if there was a tie

for a placement opening, but the applicants were never aware of the unwritten

regulations that really determined admission.

Upon graduating from the prep, a student had the opportunity to

continue on to the academy’s university level programs that were affiliated with

the University of Buenos Aires. This institution turned out the finest medical

doctors, veterinarians, bio-chemists, and researchers on the continent. With a

faculty that was world-renowned, students were guaranteed the most thorough

and up-to-date educational experience available.

Like all the other English schools in and around the capital, the Newton

Academy believed in a sound body as well as a sound mind. The prep soccer

team became an attraction in itself, traveling the length and breadth of the

country to showcase its skills and teach the sport to anyone who cared to