High life
Divided loyalties
Taki
aymundo de Larrain is a Chilean charmer, a multi-millionaire philanthro- pist, a successful ballet director, a dubious marquis, and a widower who is involved in a rather messy law suit brought by his two step-children over the Rockefeller money he inherited. He is also a man I've known and liked for more than 25 years.
It was in the south of France — where else — where I first met Raymundo. I had gone to the Agnelli house, La Leopolda, for dinner, and found myuself surrounded by an artsy crowd. Most of the conversa- tion had to do with the prices being paid for Impressionist paintings. (If memory serves, it was the $200,000 paid by Basil Goulandris for some apples by Cezanne, to be exact.) I was not in my element, but Raymundo came to my rescue. He looked like a bird, spoke non-stop in Spanish, French and English, knew everybody, and was the life of the party. He looked and acted very gay, but it was obvious that a famous French vicomtesse, was in love with him (her passion for Raymundo was the talk of the Riviera that summer).
My future first wife's parents had a house on the Riviera at the time, and when I finally convinced Cristina that I was a serious young man, Raymundo, la vicom- tesse, Cristina and I became inseparable. Inseparable, that is, until she returned to her husband at the end of les vacances. Raymundo and I, however, wished to continue. We decided to go to Greece for some island-hopping. The problem was Cristina's parents. Raymundo told them we would be staying with my father and mother, and that convinced them. He was the official chaperone. Some chaperone.
Upon arrival we headed straight for Mykonos. Once there, we joined forces with Fivos Razis, a great friend of Raymundo's and mine, known for having seduced more women than all the Somer- set boys put together. (Also for having received a fortune from a lady in love, and having lost it on a bet overnight.) Some- how word got back to the Riviera that Cristina was with Raymundo, Razis, and Taki in Mykonos, and all hell broke loose. The father, Johnny de Caraman, suddenly arrived on the island demanding to speak to my parents. Needless to say, they were far away from that randy place. De Cara- man was about to take his errant daughter back when he made the mistake of having a drink with Raymundo. The rest is easy to guess. Raymundo charmed my future papa-in-law, who caught the next boat back to Monte leaving us to pursue the good life undisturbed.
Five years later, having married Cris- tina, I found myself in New York, once again in the company of Raymundo. By that time I was in love with a married lady, and in order to help me out Raymundo would act as a beard. One evening the married lady, Raymundo and I went to a large house on 68th Street, where La Marquesa de Cuevas lived. She was a strange old lady, her face covered in white paint, with black marks painted on around her eyes. She wore black rags, and peasant Bulgarian shoes. Yet there were many liveried servants around, and priceless furniture and paintings. Raymundo intro- duced her as his aunt. Margaret Strong de Cuevas was the granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, and had married the Chilean de Cuevas of ballet fame in 1927. He died in 1961, not having even dented Margaret's fortune, and not for lack of trying either. Margaret seemed to be happy only when Raymundo was around. One time I saw her take some aspirins, and when I offered the advice that perhaps they were not good for her, she suddenly screamed at me, `Never tell me what to do.'
I didn't, and never saw her again. Raymundo, however, did. Although he is an extremely talented man, a ballet genius as far as I'm concerned, he was never a money-maker. I guess that's why we got along so well. He married Margaret de Cuevas, aged 80,in 1977. He was 42. She died two years ago leaving him all her money. Raymundo has not flaunted it. In fact he's given a lot of it to charities and cultural institutions. The trouble is, though, that Margaret has two children by George de Cuevas: John and Bessie, two children who by all accounts — and I mean all — are as serious, responsible, decent and ungreedy as it is possible to be. They have sued, charging Raymundo with hav- ing manipulated their mother to change her will. The case is coming up soon. For once, I shall be sad, whoever wins. I like both sides.
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