Summary

As Mallarino got his shoes shined, he thought he saw Ricardo Rendón, a political cartoonist who had died long ago walking the street. Out of curiosity, Mallarino asked the man shining his shoes if he knew Rendón. The man did not. Mallarino went a step further and asked if the bootblack knew Javier Mallarino. The man knew Mallarino was a political cartoonist. The man also said that he had heard Mallarino did not come around any more since he had moved to a house in the mountains. Mallarino considered that he was about to receive an award for his political cartoons. It was the crowning glory of a career of forty years. Though his work was recognized, no one recognized his face. It was one aspect of his work that his ex-wife had liked.

When Mallarino’s boss, Rodrigo Valencia...