#33: The Lord of Balloons

(alt version of Balloon Man)

I’ve been going up and down the avenue asking a question: has visto últimamente al señor que andaba por acá vendiendo globos? Have you seen the man who used to sell balloons around here? I never need to describe him or explain. They all know exactly who I’m talking about. And the answer is always no, though sometimes my question comes as a reminder, and a conversation begins. Sí! Qué pasó con ese señor? No lo he visto desde la pandemia, o antes. Right, whatever happened to that guy? I haven’t seen him since the pandemic, or before.

Sometimes we chat. If the shopkeeper or garage attendant seems amenable, I keep going, trying to glean any information I can about Balloon Man. Because I know nothing. No one knows anything. In all the conversations I’ve had, I’ve never met anyone who could tell me his name, where he comes from, any details about his story, or where he’s gone. The kiosk owners along Echeverría seem to have had the most contact with him. We struggle to avoid slipping into the past imperfect, but the descriptions are the same: un tipo amoroso (a lovely guy), un personaje (a character), muy callado (very quiet), un misterio. But no one has any concrete information.

To give you an idea of how far back he goes in the neighborhood, on one of our first trips to Buenos Aires, my father-in-law (ever the enthusiastic tour guide) brought us to a small plaza where we could stretch our legs and where our daughter Ana, then four years old, could run wild in the playground. There were swings, a metal slide, seesaws, a roundabout and a sandbox. And Balloon Man was there. This must’ve been around 1998. We gave Ana a peso. She ran over, chose one of the pink ones, and ran back with the change. Inflation (ahem) being what it is, these days we’d have to give her 500 pesos at least. And there would be no change.

I’ll keep asking about him, trying to find out anything I can. His name would be a good place to start. Around here we call him El Señor de los Globos. We mean something like “the fellow who sells balloons”. Another translation might be The Lord of Balloons. I’ll let you know the second he appears.

Here’s an alt version of the song. It contains a verse mysteriously absent from the version that came out on Not Far Now. I think I just forgot about it! Thanks to Ron Greitzer for reminding me. Enjoy.

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[Edit - November 21, 2023] Some reconnaissance on Balloon Man. I have it on good authority (the security guard at the church by the park where the little ones play) that Balloon Man lives in the neighborhood. Before the pandemic he had been grumbling about all the time on his feet. He retired!

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Balloon Man (alt version):

(violin - Sara Milonovich)

The Lord of Balloons, circa 2017