A Face Only a Mother Could Love

A Dog Walker at Plaza de los Dos Congresos, Buenos Aires.

I’ve heard it said that dogs resemble their owners. Whether this is ‘a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance’ I am not sure. When people choose a pet do they choose one that reflects their qualities or the qualities they would like to possess?

Whatever the case may be in general, it is true, that for the case of a regular visitor to the Café Origen, she has chosen her pet to reflect her own qualities.

The British Bulldog is not well known for being nimble or svelte but it is famous for having a face only a mother could love. So it also holds true that it has been a long time since the lady holding the dog’s lead could claim to have broken into a sprint and her visage, it is being kind to say, is homely.

Taking into account the poisonous relationship between Argentina and England I would have suspected that the breed would be unwelcome here in Buenos Aires. Obviously the ire does not extent to canines.

Dog ownership is high. Considering the density produced by apartment living, it is a quirk I cannot fathom. Dog walkers, employed by those who have neither the time or the desire to walk their pets, are a common sight. Released from the confines of their homes the dogs make merry. The result is footpaths littered with shit.

The desire for Portenos (residents of Buenos Aires) to foul their own nest does not stop here. Everything is discarded in the street. Rubbish is placed on the footpaths in garbage bags in the evening. One of the ways to scrape together a living is to collect plastic and paper to be sold for recycling. So as the bags are placed on the footpath, collectors tear them open to search for recyclables. The remainder is left to the winds.

Trucks come early in the morning and as the bags have been torn, a lot of the rubbish misses the trucks as the bags are tossed in. To complete the job, street sweepers follow the trucks on foot to collect the remainder.

As the city wakes, business owners and residents alike can be found hosing their footpaths and sweeping them clean only for the whole process to begin again.

It is a paradox that personal pride in appearance does not extend to their streets. Buenos Aires is a fascinating city, not despite this behavior, but because of it.