Imagining Argentina

The narrator—in this chapter introduced as “Martín”—works as a journalist, contributing satirical sketches to a French magazine. A few years before Martín’s retirement, Cecilia, Carlos’s wife, joins the writing staff. Many of the male writers objectify Cecilia, attracted by her good looks. Martín, however, recognizes her talent for writing, and the two quickly establish a friendship. One night, Carlos joins Cecilia and Martín at a small Italian restaurant. Martín wonders how Cecilia—always so matter-of-fact—can connect with Carlos, whose intellectualism renders him slightly aloof. However, Martín soon recognizes Carlos’s characteristic passion, as the latter describes his playwriting career. 

Martín immediately likes Carlos but admits that his fondness stems from Carlos’s resemblance to his son Tomas, who had drowned at just 10 years old. Martín remembers the bitter grief that had inevitably estranged him from his wife, Elizabeth. 

Martín’s friendship with Cecilia and Carlos quickly deepens. The Ruedas’ characteristic sincerity encourages Martín to approach his journalism more empathically. Together, they form an unconventional family, with Cecilia and Carlos’s daughter, Teresa, referring to Martín as Uncle Martín.

The next six years pass happily, until the onset of the Dirty War plunges Argentina into chaos. Martín is shocked to realize the junta’s eagerness for violence. Sensing a common program of oppression, Martín compares the Dirty War to other global phenomena, from the Vietnam War to Holocaust-era concentration camps. 

Martín describes Argentinians’ reactions to the junta, noting a common passivity that seems to discourage resistance. However, as more dissidents disappear, concerned activists organize anti-government protests. Cecilia turns to journalism, reporting that the government has forcibly disappeared a group of students advocating for reduced bus fares. On the day that the article is published, Cecilia herself disappears. Nevertheless, the article sweeps across Argentina.

Martín recounts the day that Cecilia disappeared. At around 5 in the evening, Pedro Augustín, a neighbor on Calle Cordova, chats with Cecilia about upcoming dinner plans. A few minutes later, Emilia Lagoda watches as Cecilia parks her car, singing as she enters the house. At around 5:30, Alfonso Márquez, a local delivery driver, hides as three men carry Cecilia, tossing her into a green Ford Falcon before speeding away. 

Carlos returns home around 6 pm, eager to seek feedback about a new play. When he calls out to Cecilia, no one answers, and Carlos notices a wilting plate of crudités left on the kitchen table, not far from a copy of Cecilia’s newly-published exposé. At first, Carlos assumes that Cecilia has simply stepped out. 

Carlos relaxes until Emilia knocks on the door, looking for Cecilia. When Carlos admits that Cecilia hasn’t been home, Emilia mentions that she’d noticed Cecilia enter the house not long before. Trying to keep calm, Carlos promises to call as soon as Cecilia returns. 

Suddenly panicked, Carlos searches around the house. Eventually, he notices Cecilia’s glasses tossed haphazardly on their bedroom floor. When Teresa comes home, Carlos admits that Cecilia has likely been kidnapped. 

After alerting the police, Carlos calls Martín, who arrives at the house the next morning. As Carlos and Teresa canvass the neighborhood, Martín waits for the police, discouraged by their belated response. 

Soon after, friends and family hurry to lend Carlos support. When a well-meaning aunt nearly tosses the crudités, Carlos stops her. Martín remains close by, but he realizes that tragedy has changed Carlos, rendering him almost inscrutable. Carlos reverts to self-blame, regretting that he hadn’t forced Cecilia to abort her investigation. Martín likens such thinking to fantasy but allows that grief has compromised Carlos’s sensibility. 

Eventually, Martín leaves Carlos and Teresa, heading to a bar. As he drinks, Martín accepts that Cecilia is truly gone—maybe not dead, but still never coming back.

Carlos constantly rehashes the details of Cecilia’s disappearance, still hoping for her return, and continues his work at the Children’s Theater. One day, his lead actor, 13-year-old Enrico Garcia, fails to report to rehearsal. When Carlos calls Enrico’s house, he learns that Enrico’s father, Raimundo, was kidnapped the night prior. 

Eventually, Carlos visits Martín, explaining that Enrico’s father has disappeared. Martín attempts to console Carlos, assuming that his grief stems from sympathy, but Carlos shrugs and leaves shortly after.

Enrico misses a whole week of rehearsal. Though Carlos encourages him to think positively, Enrico despairs, explaining that his father, a university professor, had spoken critically of the military government. When a group of boys organizes a post-rehearsal soccer match, Enrico stays behind. As he sits on the edge of the stage, Carlos joins him. 

Carlos feels close to Enrico, as if he’d somehow infiltrated his thoughts. Suddenly, Carlos is overcome with a vision of Raimundo, sleeping in his prison cell. Though Carlos wonders if the vision is fantasy, it continues to unfold. At first, Carlos is tempted to conceal his vision, but he remembers his own feelings of hopelessness and decides to encourage Enrico’s optimism. 

Carefully, Carlos details his vision. Raimundo, as Carlos attests, will hear footsteps outside his cell. When Raimundo opens his eyes, he will behold an officer dressed in a colonel’s uniform. Beside him, another man will bear a tray of food and wine. The colonel will approach Raimundo, explaining that there’s been a mistake but still cautioning Raimundo to be more careful in his teachings. Finally, Raimundo will join the colonel in a black car and drive back to his own neighborhood, free.

Afterwards, Carlos discredits his vision as make-believe, but Enrico’s spirits renew. The next day, Enrico finds Carlos at rehearsal, ecstatic that the vision has come true. 

The next day, Martín waits for Carlos at Cafe Raphael, a popular lunch spot. Martín arrives early, admiring the cafe’s many portraits of artists and athletes. When Carlos finally arrives, Martín senses that he’s changed. Carlos tells Martín about Enrico and his extraordinary vision, gesturing wildly in the midst of his passion. Carlos’s sincerity earns Martín’s faith. Martín wonders if Carlos might apply his gift to the search for Cecilia, but Carlos doesn’t mention it. As Carlos leaves the cafe, Martín anticipates that Carlos will no doubt extend his gift to those in need.

Carlos returns to the Children’s Theater, where he’s directing a play based on folk tales. As he choreographs an elaborate dance, he imagines that the children multiply, almost like a blooming carnation. In his vision, Cecilia joins them, surrounded by a large group of people. Together, they chant Carlos’s name, calling for help. Suddenly, a Falcon crashes through the imaginary crowd, and the vision subsides.

Carlos appears lost in thought until Esme, a theater assistant, calls out. Roused, Carlos hurries back to his car. Almost unconsciously, Carlos steers toward the Paraná River, remembering the happy afternoons that he and Cecilia spent along its banks. Carlos is stunned to notice other park-goers’ nonchalance but admits that he may be judging them unfairly. Suddenly, a new vision dawns. Carlos imagines a cave where a group of generals detain Cecilia. At their suggestion, he tries to bargain for her escape, reciting poetry and playing an old guitar. When Cecilia tries to run for him, she disappears, only her voice echoing. 

Carlos remembers the vision in his dreams. One day, at Cafe Raphael, Carlos explains the vision to Martín, recognizing new dimensions in his gift. Carlos feels as if patriarchs of yore are speaking to him, comparing his gift to a delicate instrument. Carlos realizes that to use the gift selfishly—and to apply it only to Cecilia’s rescue—would be to undermine the gift’s intent. Sitting across from Martín, Carlos grows eager to help people.

Martín wonders at how eagerly he and Carlos have expanded their sense of reality. Though Martín considers himself practical, he nevertheless believes Carlos and anticipates his spiritual potential.

One day, as Carlos works in the theater, Esme interrupts him, explaining that a large group of women have gathered in protest. Abandoning his script, Carlos joins Esme as she heads toward the Plaza de Mayo. Ever since Cecilia’s disappearance, Carlos has avoided the Plaza, afraid to face the seat of government—the Casa Rosada—that looms at the Plaza’s edge. As they approach the Plaza, Carlos turns away from the Casa Rosada, focused instead on the swath of protestors.

A group of women, of a variety of backgrounds, walk silently across the Plaza. They all wear white scarves and carry signs, asking for the government to restore their loved ones. On their signs, some mothers have included pictures. Carlos realizes that all the women are mothers, joined together in grief. 

Holding Esme’s hand, Carlos turns to finally face the Casa Rosada. He watches as a soldier trains a telephoto lens on the protest. Carlos suddenly steps away, returning 20 minutes later with his own makeshift sign. Carlos’s sign offers his help, explaining that he has similarly lost his wife. Defiant, Carlos joins the mothers in their march. After the crowd breaks up, some of the mothers linger near Carlos, eager for his help.

Back at Cafe Raphael, Carlos tells Martín about the march, and Martín wonders why Carlos would risk such exposure. Briefly, Martín doubts Carlos’s ability, until he remembers Carlos’s vision of Raimundo Garcia. 

One night, Martín visits Carlos and Teresa at their home on Calle Cordova. A group has gathered to petition Carlos for news of their loved ones. They gather in the Ruedas’ garden, which Cecilia had once tended with care. As he prepares to face the crowd, Carlos looks over some old pictures of Cecilia. To Martín, his process seems almost ritualistic, resembling that of a priest. 

Carlos sits among the crowd, and many volunteer their stories. One woman, Concepta Madrid, worries that her grandson, Victor, will soon be shot by his kidnappers. Carlos, however, conjures up a more optimistic vision, tracing the events of Victor’s disappearance. Per Carlos’s narration, Victor is quickly abducted after leaving school. Piled into a Falcon with several men, Victor briefly attempts to escape. However, he fails, and his captors beat him mercilessly. As he suffers, Victor remembers his grandmother. 

Eventually, the car stops in a eucalyptus grove and the men shove Victor out the door. However, a group of gauchos—or South American cowboys—startle the men, exchanging fire. In the confusion, one of the gauchos carries Victor to safety. Victor joins the gauchos in their bunkhouse and decides to live among them.

Hearing that her grandson has escaped, Concepta Madrid is ecstatic. More people speak up, and Carlos applies his gift accordingly—though not always with a happy ending. Eventually, Carlos breaks, realizing that he needs to imagine Cecilia’s fate. With Teresa’s help, Carlos enlightens the crowd. 

In Carlos’s vision, Cecilia answers a knock at the door. Men wait to ambush her, recognizing that her writing poses a threat to the state. As they attack, Cecilia escapes to the bedroom, but it’s not long before the men subdue her and corral her into the waiting Falcon. 

Cecilia arrives at a warehouse. She waits in a small, dark room under the supervision of male guards. One night, a group of guards repeatedly rapes Cecilia. Then, they torture her with electric wires, hoping to extract information. At first, Cecilia resists, but overwhelming pain forces her to relent. 

After her confession, the rapes stop, and Cecilia slowly regains her strength. One day, when using the bathroom, Cecilia seizes an opportunity to escape through some loose concrete. Once outside, she recognizes the neighborhood and hopes that some old woman might shelter her. However, her escape is quickly discovered, and the guards escort her back to prison. 

Carlos’s vision suddenly falters. As his narration ends, people slowly depart. Martín and Carlos, alone in the garden, gaze up at the stars, while a bird alights on a nearby mimosa tree. After Martín leaves in a taxi, Carlos rediscovers his imagination, following a bird to Buenos Aires’ La Boca neighborhood. Carlos explores the neighborhood, nearly despairing until he notices an open fence. Though the fence does not exactly resemble that from his vision, he enters anyway—only to be attacked by a Doberman. Carlos retreats to a local bar to nurse his wounds, but a group of patrons attack him without provocation. 

Back home, Teresa tends Carlos’s injuries. As he begins to relax, Carlos dreams, imagining Cecilia running out of the familiar cave. However, this time, a helicopter appears in the dream, dumping Cecilia’s body in the river below. Carlos jumps in but finds himself walking along a cobblestone street instead. An old woman greets him as though she’d been expecting him. As Carlos awakes, he thinks about his dream.

Carlos, Teresa, and Martín meet for dinner. As Carlos explains his adventure in La Boca, Martín tempers his reaction, afraid to upset Teresa. Finishing dinner, Carlos invites Martín to their house the following week. Teresa, suddenly eager, begs Martín to accept.

A few days later, Martín visits Carlos and Teresa at their home. Another group has assembled to seek Carlos’s wisdom, including some mothers from the protest. As they all gather in the garden, Martín is surprised to recognize Silvio Ayala, Carlos’s colleague from the theater, amongst the petitioners. Martín doesn’t like Silvio and worries that his cynicism might disturb the ritual. 

As before, people share stories of their loved ones. When María Márquez speaks up, wondering about the fate of her son, Carlos obliges. In Carlos’s vision, Octavio—a university student—presents his thesis to his philosophy professor, Professor De Anza. De Anza reads the thesis privately and is shocked to recognize its subversiveness. Fearing potential consequences, De Anza reports Octavio to the authorities.

One day, Octavio is apprehended and escorted to the Naval Mechanics School, a holding facility for detainees. For two weeks, Octavio is brutally tortured, as the guards deliver electrical shocks to his tongue and testicles. 

One day, Octavio is led to a car. Forced to lie on the floor, Octavio counts the minutes until the car stops on an unpaved road. Eventually, Octavio is released, and he joins two men awaiting him beside an old farmhouse.

At this point, Carlos encourages María Márquez to return home, promising that a white van will soon come to collect her. As Carlos continues, Silvio shifts anxiously, and Martín wonders if Silvio might challenge Carlos openly. However, Silvio offers his own story, explaining that the authorities have recently kidnapped Rubén Masson and his family. A former colleague of Carlos and Silvio, Rubén is a professional filmmaker.

As Carlos narrates, Rubén is developing a secret documentary about the disappeared people. However, one of Rubén’s actors betrays him to the authorities. Rubén and his family leave in a black-paneled truck and head for the Naval Mechanics School. 

Once detained, Rubén is separated from his family. As he endures electrical shocks, he hears his wife, Marta, screaming in the distance. Eventually, Marta’s screams cease. One day, the cell door opens, and a guard drops Felicia, Rubén’s only surviving child, in Rubén’s lap. As he waits in his cell, Rubén discovers a small opening in the wall, and he and Felicia escape. Carlos predicts that Rubén will eventually relocate to Brazil.

Soon, the group disperses. Carlos, Silvio, and Martín decide to chat over drinks. Silvio, though affected by Carlos’s vision, still harbors doubt, hesitant to accept this new reality. As a Falcon cruises by the table, Carlos thinks on the Argentinian spirit, comparing its lived tragedy to similar experiences in Auschwitz. Carlos ultimately argues for the power of imagination, suggesting its relationship to perseverance. 

As Carlos, Silvio, and Martín drift home, Carlos tells Martín that he plans to travel south for a while. Though Carlos hopes to find news of Cecilia, Martín still insists, privately, that she’s dead.

Even though Martín loves Carlos, he’s eager to spend time apart. Martín, now retired, spends his days walking through Buenos Aires, a city he truly loves. One day, Martín happens upon the Plaza de Mayo, where he witnesses the mothers’ silent march. Martín also notices the nonchalance of the passersby, criticizing them as willfully obtuse. 

With Carlos still gone, Martín decides to meet up with an old friend, Eugenia Rosas. Almost immediately, Eugenia recognizes Martín’s distress. When Martín explains his experience at the Plaza de Mayo, emphasizing the aloofness of other onlookers, Eugenia remains optimistic, deciding that everyone shares a similar fear. Martín, however, is unconvinced and turns his criticism toward himself. Though he has published anti-junta pieces, Martín has only contributed to a foreign magazine, under an assumed name. Martín recognizes this subterfuge as necessity but also admits some element of cowardice. Luckily, Carlos returns promptly, full of hope.