"The Uruguayans are leading 1-0." "Penalty." "Header by the keeper." "A free kick for Peru." "Just like a stamp." "The taxi-driver who took me to the hotel... said your car was almost finished." "My car is almost finished." "But I'm not afraid they'll steal it." "This car can't be stolen." "Look..." "If the thief opens the door... it falls out." "He's startled and runs off." "Or he might get in the car." "You have to connect these three wires to start it." "I hid them." "What kind of wires?" " A green, a red and a blue one." "What about the other wires?" " They're fake." "The wires confuse them." " Yes." "They don't know which wires to connect." "The ignition is also fake." "It doesn't work." "Anyway... the trunk is empty." "There's nothing to steal." "The number plate is almost falling off." "Yes." "Anyway, who would steal a car full of holes?" "It must be cold in the winter." " I stuff a cloth in." "What were you doing?" "Was it a breakdown?" "I topped up the water." "Every thirty blocks..." "I have to add water." "The radiator is bust." "If they steal it, they won't get further than 30 blocks." "That's the advantage of this car." "What job do you do?" " Medical publicity." "I wear a tie and carry a briefcase at work." "METAL AND MELANCHOLY" "I work in the international trade division." "But the economic situation means..." "I have to work as a taxi-driver now." "How long have you done that?" " About six months." "The crisis got worse and my family had to eat." "Most people with cars work as taxi-drivers in their spare time." "Do you enjoy it?" " No." "Not at all." "It's not for me." "I wanted to get on and study." "I never thought I would do this." "I like driving." "But I don't like playing taxi-driver." "Why is the gear-lever taped?" "The situation in Peru is so bad that many people... can't keep their hands to themselves." "Thieves." " Yes." "Thieves." "You have to take measures to stop them." "One car was stolen from me and never found." "Why does tape round the gears stop the thieves?" "I remove it at night and take it home with me." "Will you stop and show me?" "If I stop here, bullets will fly." "Why?" "What's here?" "Secret police headquarters..." "Stopping is banned." "If you stop, they order you to drive on." "I push the gear-lever down and take it out." "I crawl under the car every day." "I take this off first." "It's a long one." "Then I push the lever down and take it out." "I do that every day." "I push it back up every morning." "I put tape round it... screw it on and hey presto." "It only takes five minutes." "I save my car in five minutes." "What is that yellow wire?" "The horn is broken and that yellow wire... is the horn now." "Very ingenious." " Yes." "You have to be ingenious to survive this crisis." "That's how it is." "We couldn't make ends meet." "What now, I thought." "I saw lots of men working as taxi-drivers." "I thought:" "Why don't I do that?" "I said to myself: " "What's the difference, man or woman?" "Sometimes men are more adventurous." "I said:" "Okay I'll sit on my pussy and drive a cab." "And here you are in my taxi." "And is your pussy still in the right place?" "It's right where it should be." "How long have you done this?" " About a year." "I'm doing well." "But if I had a choice..." "I'd take another job." "Meanwhile I love my work." "When last I sought a letter that I keep lovingly" "I found among wilted roses a photo of her symbol of my passion" "finding that photo evoked memories of that far-off time" "of days of obsession desires of tenderness and intense yearning for eternal passion" "I know that time has gone for good that there's no point in keeping up appearances" "the love that binds two souls together was slowly lost without oppression and fear" "don't blame fate that isn't noble remember you sometimes make big mistakes" "listen to your emotions and think hard before you swear:" "I love you dearly" "When I think what Lima was like, I get melancholy." "A famous Spanish poet once said:" "Peru is made of metal and melancholy." "He was right." "Why metal and melancholy?" "Maybe because pain and poverty made us as hard as our metals." "And melancholy because we are tender too... and wish for the good old days." "It's a pity." "The city has as many craters as the moon." "The taxi-drivers look like astronauts... who landed on a polluted moon." "Our streets are like your cheeses." "The streets of Lima smell worse than Dutch cheese." "You feel like an astronaut?" "More like a seafarer." "Taxi-drivers are the seafarers of the 20th century." "We know the city like the sea." "We take the stories everywhere." "We spread news like the old seafarers." "Thanks to us the Chink won in 1990." "You mean Fujimori?" " Yes." "We spread the word like an underground river." "That's why Fuji won." "I CHANGE DOLLARS" "Taxi stickers, 50 cents." "How many do you sell a day?" " Ten or 15." "You want one?" " No thanks." "The one on my hat?" "No, thanks." "Would you do me a favour?" "Could you pay me now." "Then I can fill up." "The tank is almost empty." "You want it in advance?" " It would be better." "Please." "We're passing a gas station." "I can fill up there." "Okay. $ 2, wasn't it?" " Yes." "One moment please." "One, two, three Sols." " One moment, please." "How much?" " Ten dollars." "Diaries..." "They're expensive." "Your car's a nice colour." " Green." "The colour of hope." "We hope things will improve in our country." "You cannot say there's no work." "Only lazy people can say that." "We have to try to earn an honest living." "Do you have another job?" "Yes, with the Ministry of Justice." "I work in the management... of an internal control department." "I like the work, but can't make ends meet." "How much do you earn?" " About 200 dollars." "At the present exchange rate." "I can't survive." "I have a lovely family." "Whose is the shoe?" " My youngest daughter's." "How old is she?" " Two." "A prodigy." " What?" "She's a prodigy." "Fantastic." "She exceeds all my expectations." "She is quick and intelligent." "She's like her mother." "How old is her mother?" " 32." "But love is for all ages." "To love and be loved is great." "But it's terrible if your love isn't answered." "This is my house." "Hello Mili." "How's my little girl?" "This is my wife Luisa, and my youngest, so far." "Her name is Militza Lilibet." "She's a darling too." "Her name is Cintia Luisa." "And the oldest:" "Alfredo Líner." "There's lots of love in this little house... even if there's no money." "Take a seat." " Thank you." "When the lights go out we make the best of things." "It's crazy, but this little bulb gives us light." "When they cut off the power, we turn that lamp on." "We have light all evening." "It makes us even happier." "We're nearly there." "It's the house on the corner... with the palm tree out front." "That's it." "I'm renovating it to live here with my family." "I teach at the aviation academy." "I retired from the air-force." "I pass on my knowledge to officers in training." "This is the living room." "We can open the shutters." "What do you teach?" " Military science." "That's what I studied." "It's badly paid, but gives satisfaction." "I stay in touch with my friends and colleagues." "Come this way." "These rooms are pretty neglected." "In better days this was part of a table." "A huge table for about 17 people." "Here you see... an extension." "You see how big the table was." "It was huge." "This is half." "And the chest of drawers?" " There was a lovely chest here." "You can see the marks on the wall." "19th century mahogany wood-carving." "When my aunt died... the heir took the chest." "Now I use this as a work-table." "Are they bags of nuts?" " Yes." "Why so many?" "Sometimes my car's out of action." "Then I buy 100 or 150 kilo of nuts... and roast them here." "This is an Italian fryer... with revolving baskets." "So the nuts are roasted evenly." "And I use this machine... to seal the bags of nuts." "I have a car." "So I can deliver the nuts to schools and shops." "MERRY CHRISTMAS." "Only 20 dollars." "I want to ask you something." "I hope you don't mind." "You know the situation is very difficult here." "The economy is in a mess." "There's high unemployment." "I wanted to ask if you..." "Sorry." "One moment..." "I have ballpoints." "No Parkers, but they write as well." "I have piles of pens." " Pity." "I also have these cakes." "They're deadly." "My wife bakes them." "They're filled with marzipan." "Real marzipan, not fake." "They're my favourites." "How much are they?" "We'll work it out later." "With the credit card?" " Right." "Caramba." "I'll buy them." "It's pretty embarrassing, but..." "I'm a taxi-driver and actor." "Actor?" " Yes, for film and TV." "Film?" "Then we're colleagues." " Sure." "What films did you act in?" " You know Francisco Lombardi?" "Francisco Pancho Lombardi." " I have seen a few of his films." "I did "Death in the Morning" with him." "I played a prison director." "You know the film?" "I haven't seen that one." "Then I played a salesman in "immoral Stories"." "And a film about guerillas:" ""Warn the Compañeros"." "I played General Elosio Parra." "You feel okay as a general?" "Well, they often ask me for such roles." "In the TV series "Gamboa" I was General Peralta... head of the secret service." "I was also a taxi-driver in "Maruja in Hell"." "Then I played in "The City and the Dogs"." "Based on the novel by Vargas Llosa?" "Yes." "Made by Lombardi." "Which role?" " Father of The Slave." "The cadet who's severely wounded." "I visit my son in hospital." "I wonder why they don't instruct the boys better... and how the accident could happen." "I ask Pablo Serra, a cadet from the same class... to drink a cup of coffee with me." "We drink coffee and I burst into tears." "I cry like this, with my glasses on my nose." "I cry because my son was shot." "It's his mother's fault." "Real tears, or glycerine?" " I really cried." "I concentrate to cry." "And I talk about my son." "That his mother always treated him like a girl." "That she bought dolls for him." "I wanted him to be a man." "That's why I sent him to military academy." "What a mess." "I was the father." "You almost cried for real." " Maybe, maybe." "What do you think?" "We're colleagues." "Taxi, taxi." "Only a dollar." "Buy something, please." "A pyramid for energy." "Cigarettes." "Elephant." "Pyramid." "Crocodile." "Cigarettes, madam?" "Go away." " What?" "Go away." "I don't want candy." "I only want to sell one." "Or two?" "What's your name?" " Jorge." "I'm a tradesman." "The middle classes have gone downhill." "The crisis started at the turn of the century." "In the course of history, the governments... have bankrupted the country." "And between '85 and '90, the last Apra government... let the country go to the dogs." "The governments were ignorant and weak... but above all corrupt." "When president Alan García decided that Peru... would stop paying off the foreign debt... he knew a blockade was inevitable." "That foreign credits would be impounded... in the European banks." "He wanted to transfer the money to other banks." "That way it couldn't be impounded." "He put together the scheme... to get commission." "The banks give commission if money is transferred their way." "That commission is between 1 and 5% ." "Let's say 1%." "Over a sum of... about 1.2 billion dollars..." "Peru's international reserve at the time... that is 12 million dollars." "Did Alan García put 12 million in his pocket?" "He must have taken at least 12 million." "That's why we're in such a bad way." "We're bankrupt." "Sir, please..." "Take another car." "I have nothing." "Here, take it." " Thank you." "Screw politics." "They keep us poor." "We live as beasts." "They strangle us." "Sod off." "Damn it." "We Peruvians have a shit life." "What does life have to offer?" "Hardly anything." "Fuck." "The damn car's broken down again." "I take it to the garage every day." "Now it's broken down again." "What are you doing here?" "We're making a film for Dutch TV." "You have permission?" " Yes." "In order." " Thank you." "What's the film about?" " About taxi-drivers in Lima." "I'm a taxi-driver too." "You want to film me?" "I wanted to work after leaving school." "I had relatives in the police so I joined too." "How old were you?" " 16." "Just left school." "You wanted to work." " Yes." "I wanted to be independent of my family." "I always wanted to look after myself." "I wanted to show people I could manage alone." "I applied to the secret service and was accepted." "You joined the "PIP"?" " The PIP or the "rayas"." "The rayas or the "tiras"." " Something like that." "After the fish "raya"?" "No." "Raya:" "A straight line which doesn't veer to left or right." "But always goes North." "Almost impossible." "Yes." "That's why there are so many bad policemen." "And their salary is too low." "When I was a student, we laughed at the PIPs." "They were always buried in a paper and had very short hair." "Everyone knew they were PIPs." "That must have been in '75?" " No, earlier." "I was also given a chance to be an informer once... during the teachers' strike." "I enlisted at the Guadelupe school." "I was 17 and didn't look like a secret agent." "I wore a school uniform and went to school." "I sat in the classroom again." "I found out which teachers were subversive." "I had to inform on the subversive teachers." "They were wrong to break windows... and set cars alight." "I shopped those teachers." "I agreed with the ideas of some of the others." "Because the teacher has to educate our youth." "They rightly demanded higher wages and better accommodation." "So you decided which of them was good or bad?" "I decided what was subversive or just." "How could you distinguish?" "A policeman isn't an animal or machine." "He's human, like everyone." "He feels and thinks like other people." "He is part of society and fits in." "I serve people too with my work as taxi-driver." "How many hours a day?" " About 8 hours." "Driving a taxi is better than the PIP?" "No, but you earn more." "As a policeman I earned less than as a taxi-driver." "Now I work when I want and take time off when I like." "I have more time for my family." "I'd have preferred to stay a policeman... and keep the car for myself." "I do this work to eat and live." "Finished." "All the loose bits on your car make salsa music." "Don't you want a new one?" "I have bad experiences with new cars." "I was shot and wounded when my last car was stolen." "With this car I can drive taxi and meet great people." "People who are now my friends." "I have a friend living near here." "They call him the Chinaman." "He and his son have a taxi." "Great people." "During the armed strike in July..." "By Shining Path?" "The armed strike by Shining Path... some taxi-drivers kept working." "What's an armed strike?" " When everyone stays home." "On the orders of Shining Path?" " Yes." "If you went out on the street you could be murdered... or have a bomb explode beside you." "But that man... needed the money badly." "The Chinaman's son drove taxi that day." "He was shot dead in a slum area." "Who did it?" "His father and the police said it was two terrorists." "They flagged down the taxi, he stopped and they shot him." "He was unlucky that day." "Is his father still a taxi-driver?" "He looks after his son's family and drives a taxi." "It's the only way for him to survive." "The Chinaman is very miserable." "His son was about 34." "A grown man." "That day, it was his turn to lose." "Today the court martial confirmed the life sentence... on Abimael Guzman, leader of the Shining Path... and two other terrorists." "They have to pay a fine of 25 million dollars." "I need air." "You kicked the tyre." "To feel it." "My foot rebounded." "Then I know how much air is in the tyre." "You can feel that?" " I've kicked tyres for years." "How long have you had the taxi?" "I've worked full-time since 1984." "It was late December and I was pretty busy." "On New Year's Eve I started work after lunch." "I had lots of customers." "I went on working... till midnight, 1 am." "I was hungry, went home and ate." "I grabbed some chocolate and coca leaves." "I ate the chocolate and chewed the coca leaves." "Why coca?" "It banishes sleep and hunger." "You feel fit." "I chewed coca with chocolate." "I wasn't sleepy and kept working." "Did you earn a lot?" " Bags of money." "I took it home and went back to work." "I kept going until 10 am... on 1 January 1985." "You still chew coca?" " No." "I don't need to." "If there was enough work I would." "In the mountains, in a village of 33 houses... where the people breed like rabbits..." "I learnt to chew coca with chocolate." "The coca tastes awful without it." "Most families had about 8 children." "Of those eight, 2 or 3 might survive." "Some mothers made their children work when they were 13." "They kept going with coca." "Why bring us here?" "Because I know Lima well and this is Lima too." "I don't like this show." "It's All Saints and look:" "The day to fill your belly." "Where are you taking me in the cemetery?" "To door 6." "The communal grave." "Where's the grave?" " At the back." "Aren't you afraid of death?" " No." "Once I fell off a roof in Chanchamayo." "I felt something strange." "I saw the people and felt a stabbing pain." "I felt something leave me for an invisible place." "I felt a kind of void." "I saw my body and the people around me." "You saw your own body?" " Yes, but I didn't understand." "The doctor gave me a slap, I reacted... and felt a terrible pain." "When the doctor came, my heart had stopped beating, he said." "Since then I have changed." "I am no longer afraid of death." "Anyway, it's better there." "Where?" " On the other side." "You know:" "The other side, death." "There's no pain there." "When my body returned, I felt a terrible pain." "There you're free, completely free." "Are you free there?" "Yes." "It means freedom." "You can move faster." "Faster?" "Without the taxi?" " Yes, without the taxi." "You walk around and look." "It's a great feeling." "You feel free of tension." "Like the tension I felt... when I opened my eyes and thought:" "What happened?" "The unidentified bodies are in this grave." "After a fatal accident, the body is taken to the mortuary." "If the family doesn't come within a fortnight, it's brought here." "The body has a number plate on the wrist." "Sometimes the family turns up after a month." "They recognise the person and drag him out to bury him." "This is were we all end and I'm not afraid." "You asked if I was afraid of death." "No I'm not." "I don't believe you." "The smell is still in my nose." " It lasts a few days." "The smell is in your nose hairs." "You have to clean your nose." "Not with cotton wool, but with your own sweaty clothes." "A trick?" "No, a doctor taught me." "A difficult route." "No power, so no traffic lights." "I have a son of 13." "You have children?" "I have three." "The eldest, Rodrigo, is seven." "Laurita is five and Rodolfito is three." "Laurita is sick." "She's receiving oncological treatment." "What is that?" "When she was three, she had cancer in her blood." "Lymphatic leukaemia." "That seems to be the most positive form." "It has the best prognosis." "She has a lumbar puncture every three months... and blood tests every month." "We have to be very careful with her." "If she has a cold she must go straight to hospital." "Not every doctor can treat her." "She is often in hospital." " Painful and costly too." "Yes, exorbitant." "When she fell ill, I could still afford it." "Now it's difficult." "It's expensive." "Tomorrow there's another test with a general anaesthetic." "I don't have money for medicines." "That's why I drive a taxi." "Otherwise I can't manage." "How is she now?" " It looks good." "Once it was almost too late." "Her larynx was blocked." "She had mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen." "But it was all right." "She has built up a lot of resistance." "She's a fighter." "I'm crazy about my girl." "She's only five." "A girl of five, a fighter?" "Yes, she's easy." "If her little brother takes her toy... she plays with something else." "Where does the fight come from?" "When she fell ill, we didn't know what would happen." "You know cancer means death." "We didn't know how it would end." "We were afraid and sad." "We had to tell her life was worthwhile." "We had to encourage her to live." "Because anaesthetics and daily injections and tests... are unbearable for a girl of three." "She had to discover her own strength." "We could only give her love... and tell her how important she was to us." "That we wanted to keep her with us." "That she could do so much." "Play with her dolls... go to the beach, walk." "We wanted her to understand... that there were better things than lying in hospital." "At a certain point... medicines made her dislike... meat and fish." "Other things she did like." "She ate snacks and things in tins and plastic." "We brought her packed food." "No, thank you." "On the way back?" " Yes, on the way back." "She had stuffed herself once and I said:" ""Laurita, you have a surprise?" "No, Daddy," she said." ""But your belly is so fat." "No nothing."" ""Will I be a grandpa?" "Are you having a baby?"" ""Great, I'll be a grandpa and you'll be a mummy."" ""You'll go walking with the baby and buy toys for Christmas."" "And she laughed." "I wanted to tell her there were so many nice things." "That life was worthwhile despite the pain." "That she had to persevere." "I wanted my daughter to keep fighting." "She had to know there's a positive side to suffering." "Life is hard, but beautiful." "How old is your car?" " From '58." "Respect your elder." "A Volkswagen." " A Cheeky Beetle." "Another one." "Nothing can happen to you in this car." "You'll come out alive if it rolls over." "A kind of bunker." " None better." "You can even drive in your sleep." "Are you divorced?" "Or weren't you married?" "What's your story?" "A long love story." "We started young." "Our love lasted for a long time." "For 13 years." "Later he started to change." "Then I became pregnant, unfortunately." "Who was he?" " The father of my son." "As good-looking as you?" " Handsome and irresponsible." "I had a great time." "You live life to the full when you're young." "You want to enjoy life and succumb to your emotions." "We lived life intensely." "We travelled a lot and had great fun." "We were popular at parties." "We were happy." "When I went out with him, I felt like a queen." "He always said I was the most beautiful and sweetest." "We were cheerful and always had fun." "That's how time passed until I found out he was deceiving me." "I decided to leave him." "But I was five months pregnant." "We stayed together for the child." "He offered to marry me." "But that was no answer for me." "He still hadn't changed." "Marriage isn't the only way to be happy." "You can't be happy if there's no respect." "Did you stay on your own?" " Yes." "I am both father and mother." "I live with my father." "He's 85." "He never accepted me as unmarried mother." "He keeps trying to kick us out." "Especially when he drinks." "Sunday he hits the bottle." "We have to run for our lives." "Eat up quick and get out." "He doesn't accept I am an unmarried mother." "He won't forgive me." "He can't see I'm father and mother to my child... and that I earn our keep." "He doesn't care if I'm a good mother and daughter." "He keeps insulting me." "You look after your father and son and take children to school?" "I get up at six." "I shower and make sandwiches for my son." "I run to fetch the car." "After breakfast I take children to school." "At eight I drive my taxi." "By 11:30 I need to make enough money to go shopping." "Then I go to the market." "Then I clear up and cook." "At 1:30 school's out and I fetch the children." "In the afternoon I do the washing and cleaning." "From 5 to 8 I drive the taxi again." "That's how time passes with..." "With all that, do you have time to laugh in between?" "However busy it is, I keep dancing." "I wash, iron, cook..." "But I keep dancing." "I dance all the time." "I'd have liked a dance school." "I'm mad about dancing and music." "Sometimes my son says:" "Mum, I want to watch TV." "Darling, I want to dance." "To my last breath." "I'm mad about dancing and music." "I dance when I cry." "I dance when I cook." "Whether I'm sad or glad, music rules my life." "That's how I cope with life." "Here it is." "Thanks." "How much is it." "Two dollars, madam." "Thank you, madam." "Can we make a portrait of you?" " Of course." "I'd love to." "A portrait." "Why not?" "I thank you for taking my photo." "How old is your car?" " It's from '63." "Almost 30 years old." " 29." "Next year he'll be 30." "Will you celebrate?" " Of course." "He's been my partner for 30 years." "You have to celebrate that." "How will you celebrate?" " Pour champagne over him." "I hope he'll stay with me." ""Brother," I say, "behave yourself." "Run." "Don't desert me."" "He keeps running." "We always manage." "If you talk to him?" " Lf I say "brother", he goes." "Sometimes he stutters a bit." "But we always make it." "We're a wreck, but we make it." "Magic." " Fantastic." "We're both fantastic." ""We made it, brother," I say." "He knows your voice?" " Yes." "It's as if he listens to me." "Incredible." "He seems to understand me." "I tell him things." "But maybe you don't believe me." "What do you tell him?" "Sometimes I sing a song for him." "Listen:" "I'm not from here I come from Trujillo no one worries about me I worry about no one" "I'm going to Trujillo and not coming back" "We sing and ride and stumble home." "Your voice encourages him." " Yes." "If he doesn't want to start, I say:" "You're lazy, aren't you?" "Just start." "And he starts." "After lots of clanking and zooming, he starts." "When he's broken down, I get headache and fever." "You and the car are one." "Incredible." "If he stops, I'll stop too." "It looks as if we'll grow old together." "Grey and wrinkled." "And with no windows." "The windows's bust." "There's no glass in it." "Long ago I was in love with a foreigner." "Her name was Marlene." "An Italian visiting Peru for the first time." "We went to the beach and had lots of fun." "I was poor and I don't know where I got the money." "After a fortnight she said she had to go back to Italy." "She said to me:" "I'll take you with me." "For better or worse, I'll take you too." "The last evening we went to a hotel." "We took a bottle of whisky with us." "We drank and were cheerful all night." "We cried in the morning." "Because she went and I stayed." "I took her to the airport." "The farewell was sentimental, sad." "You know how hard farewells can be." "I said to her:" "Marlene, you know... that our love is impossible." "I can't come to you." "And something else, I said." "You can't mix water and oil." "Because she was white and you're brown?" "That's right." "If I had gone to Italy with her... what would her parents have said of me?" "I thought of so many things." "The moment had come to say farewell." "She didn't want to get in." "I had to come with her." "The plane was about to leave." "It was already delayed 5 minutes." "Then her name was called." "And she left." "It was a sad farewell for both of us." "I never saw her again." "How will she be now?" "She knows nothing of me either." "I didn't get any more letters." "Nothing at all." "I still have a memento of her." "We heard this song in the village where we were." "It is a pasillo from Ecuador." "I always have the cassette with me." "My only memento of her." "You want to hear it?" "Every day that passes every hour and every minute" "I feel I love you love you more and more" "no distance or time no saints in the church can stop me saying" "I love you" "darling, I love you with heart and soul" "I love you truly" "I love you so much that's why in the world there's no one and nothing to stop me saying" "I love you" "Translated by Martin Cleaver" "That's my memento of her."