Coquito, the Elf

   Omar Hernán Villalba, better known as "Coquito" in our town, was born in Buenos Aires to a rich family. By the age of 20 coquito and his twin sister lost their parents, so they came into the big fortune that their family had....

   Before the story continues, we have to tell you, that Coquito was a special man... Not only on a "mental" way, also in a physic way... He was kind of a little man, with an acute voice, an old man in a child body... 

   It is said that his sister and his brother in law wanted to keep all the money for themselves, so as they knew Omar was kind of differet and special, they invented  a story... They told him that the president Juan D. Perón, had chosen him as his personal assistant and had assigneed him a very special tasck in a little town in Patagonia, called, El Bolson.  In the year 1950 Coquito arrived at the train station in Bariloche and a huge crowd was waiting there... As he didn't understand too much, he asked "Is it today 25th of may that there's so many people?" and a police officer answered "No Sir, it's because of you" 

   In El Bolson, his job as a presidential delegate waws to find out what people needed (Such as food, beds and little things that they needed) then he informed the president. In Bariloche his brother in law intercepted the mail repart and with the money of the hereitage he bougth whatever he asked for... But with in time he started asking for "impossible" things like helicopters, so they have to stop with that lie and tell the truth...

   One morning a police officer appeared saying that Omar was a liar, that he wasn't Perons assistant and that everything was a hoax. So, they took him to prison... He stayde there for a while and then suddenly everyone saw him walkin in Bolson with a shoeshine kit clining boots around. In the 70's, with the hippies, he started to be known as "Coquito th Elf". He used to carry a little notebook where he asked tourists and local people to write something down... 

   Coquito was just another character in El Bolson history, and because of him the story about Elfs existing in our town is kind of true.

Constanza Saldise