The Great Gatsby was there and his name was Makoko

It was the summer of 1922 when young Jay Gatsby wandered into Long Island hopelessly in love with former debutante Daisy Buchanan. What many do not know is that the protagonist created by F. Scott Fitzgerald for what may be his most famous novel, The great GatsbyInspired by a real person: Martín Máximo Pablo de Álzaga Unzué, the incomparable Macoco. This was stated by the writer and poet Roberto Alevano, nominated for the Cervantes Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel. Macoco, the first playboy (Renaissance Publishing House), which sold the rights to Netflix.

Years ago, the Argentine writer was happy to share various encounters with this character, with whom he shares a homeland, so he knew his life firsthand, “much more interesting than the legends that surrounded him,” he admitted in an interview. with vanguard. “I met him as a result of a little book in which I told some exaggerated stories of heroism. At that time I was a journalist and I interviewed him to confirm or deny everything that was said there about his life. He was very indignant that he did not feel recognized. I offered to listen and explain the truth. Over time, I gained his trust and he told me about it. Today I tell it to the world in this book,” he explains.

Roberto Alifano, whom he personally met
Macoco has sold the rights to his novel to Netflix

Makoko was a “very wealthy” person. So much so that he went down in history as “the Argentine who spent the most money in his life,” says Alivano. In his native country, the phrase “throwing butter on the ceiling” is very common as a synonym for waste. A constant phrase invented by the same character in the Maxime restaurant in Paris, on whose ceiling there was a fresco with “Valkyries with protruding breasts protruding from the necklines.” One night, tired of being late for his plate, he put butter on his fork and began to throw it at the plate’s breasts. “A tournament was held between those who accompanied him. Then, obviously, they had to pay for the damage, but that was not a problem for him. To get an idea of ​​his origins, the family residence in the French capital once belonged to the Romanovs, the tsars of Russia. It was bought by Alzaga Unzwe From their grandchildren ”, emphasizes the writer.

His fortune led him to live in different cities in Europe, to study for a time at the Sorbonne and then to settle in the United States, where he met Al Capone and opened Morocco, one of the city’s most legendary cabarets. There he rubs his shoulders with the cream of the crop and meets Scott Fitzgerald, the then-journalist, who wanted to be interviewed. “The same thing you did decades later,” Alivano smiles. “They beat her so well. So much so that he later took him with him to live in Beverly Hills, where it was the golden age of cinema and encouraged him to make money in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Fitzgerald accepted him and he and his wife Zelda went with him to Los Angeles to change the course of his career,” he wrote during The period he was there, probably inspired by the great parties that his friend gave The great Gatsby“.

Among all those parties, many friendships emerged, such as Onassis, Howard Hughes, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn or Gardel. And also romantic relationships with great Hollywood actresses like Rita Hayworth, Claudette Colbert, Dolores del Rio or Ginger Rogers,” which led him to give meaning to the word Playboy, to this concept, and he was the first to represent it. Many of them came to fund their films. If there was one thing Obviously, it’s that Macoco wasn’t bored. He lived a great life and it was the spitting image of Carp Diem.”

His relationship with Ginger Rogers – or rather the end of it – prompted him to meet the former President of Argentina, Juan Domingo Perón, now Eva’s widower. “The general wants to see you. We’ll pick him up, the interview will be at Olivus headquarters, tomorrow, Saturday, at one in the afternoon. The chief told him to invite you to lunch. But the amazing thing here is that they didn’t know each other at all. He went and asked him to introduce him to Ginger in exchange for a facilitation.” Some procedure in the import license to bring cars from abroad, where he was a big fan.More than just an amateur, he was an expert and a pioneer, because at the age of 23 he won the Marseille Grand Prix, his greatest event, and then raced in Indianapolis, although he did not He was good there and decided to focus on his car. The parties,” reveals Alifano.

Macoco went down in history as the Argentine who spent the most money in his life

Robert Elevanoclerk

His last times were humble as many excesses led him to squander his fortune. “Shortly after turning 60, he returned to Argentina. There he lived a semi-monastic life, because he converted to Catholicism, something he had never done before. He wanted his sins forgiven. He never threw butter on the ceiling again.”