Who the hell is Johnny Allon?

Returning to Buenos Aires always means a bag of mixed feelings. While a part of me has to take a deep breath and convince myself that it is really not so bad, the other part is looking forward to coming home, to the house, my own bed, everyday life - and of course seeing my husband after a usually longish absence.

There are actually two images that for me somehow represent those two hearts beating in my chest. 

The flight back to Buenos Aires with Lufthansa is a night flight, and we usually reach Ezeiza at around seven in the morning. Approaching the still dark Argentinean capital, the sea of lights stretching out below us is a sight to behold, and if we are lucky, the sun is starting to come up while we are circling and starting to descend. From that perspective Buenos Aires really looks like the metropolis it actually is and I am always feeling a bit lucky and privileged to be living in the city whose name invariably causes longing sighs and shiny eyes from those wanderlust-stricken friends and aquaintances who hear the name and dream of tango, melancholia and a place far, far away. Curiously enough most of them have actually never been there, but that is another story.

Standing in line at immigrations and customs usually puts a little damper on those magic moments up in the air, but what really pulls me back to reality is the drive home. Along the motorway the fairly green area close to the airport gives way to a mix of hideous buildings and billboards that mainly try to sell clothing and mobile phones. And right in the middle of those pretty advertisements stands a board with the picture of Johnny Allon. The background of the poster is a really unpleasant yellow, and this Johnny Allon - and I deeply aplogize to him, his family and friends - is just so ugly that I always give a little start whenever that billboard comes into sight.

     

 When I first saw the guy I took him for some sleazy TV Evangelist and I wondered how someone with such ungainly features and weird hairdo could ever to hope win people over and extract any money from them. In the meantime I have learned that he is a has-been musician who is still active as a TV presenter – which still does not explain why the ugly board is up and who allowed this blight on the landscape.

So which side wins? Looking at the two pictures again I decide to go for the panoramic skyline and the positive outlook on life. And next time I drive to the airport I will do my best to look the other way.