““…allow me to go empty-handed.”
Rabindranath Tagore, already a Nobel laureate by the time he set foot in Argentina (1924), was actually an involuntary visitor. He was traveling to Peru, invited by the government for patriotic celebrations, and Buenos Aires was merely a stopover on his journey. However, he had contracted influenza during the voyage, and upon arriving in Argentina, the medical eminences who treated him at the Plaza Hotel advised him to abandon the Peruvian itinerary, as crossing the Andes could endanger his weakened heart. Victoria Ocampo, a devotee of Tagore’s work for the past ten years, rushed to offer him the opportunity for a restful stay on the outskirts of the capital. She was a wealthy woman, but not yet entirely independent at the time. Her parents did not allow her to host the poet at the family estate in San Isidro: Villa Ocampo. Victoria first borrowed a nearby estate called “Miralrío” from a cousin, and later, as her guest’s stay began to stretch out, she sold a diamond tiara under value to afford the property’s rent for as long as necessary. Thus, although she played no part in bringing him to the country, she later monopolized him with splendid hospitality.”
