Enrique Battaglini. A man of integrity who spread joy and knew the secrets of the City

“You always have to have a goal in life.” It sounds like a cliché, but for Enrique Battaglini—our colleague and fellow journalist for many years, who passed away this Wednesday at the age of 97—it was much more than that. It was a way of life, and that’s how he passed it on to his two children and three grandchildren. He had studied at the Military Aviation School in Córdoba but did not complete his degree. He already had another calling. “Three years after starting, he returned to Buenos Aires and quickly embraced the journalistic profession at the newspaper El Mundo. He worked there until it closed, and in 1967 he joined LA NACION, where he would spend thirty years in the Economics section. The Central Bank, the Stock Exchange, and every corner of the financial district saw him navigate the streets, offices, and banks in an era when—without cell phones or the internet—it was essential to seek out information in person at each location. “His professionalism, but above all his people skills, made him a person respected by everyone, from bank presidents to lower-level managers.” Those who knew him back then recall that figures such as Enrique García Vázquez, José Luis Machinea, and Pedro Pou—each, in their time, at the helm of the Central Bank—regarded him as a valuable interlocutor, as did all executives in the financial world. “If Batta (or ‘Battón,’ as those closest to him called him) had information, you had to listen to him.” "During the tenure of Mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore (in the late 1970s), he worked in the Press Office of the City of Buenos Aires, taking advantage of the off-hours that complemented his newspaper schedule. He worked in newsrooms amid the clatter of Olivetti typewriters and witnessed the arrival of computers at LA NACION. With every change in the operating system, he demonstrated his ability to adapt, which went hand in hand with his constant desire to integrate with colleagues from other generations. “He was the kind of person who helped create a cheerful atmosphere during the workday,” recalls a journalist who joined the newsroom when he was among the veterans. “Good humor was a constant in Enrique’s life—‘a dandy, one of those one-of-a-kind people,’ as a colleague who shared many ‘outings’ with him through the downtown markets recalls. A gentle gentleman who was “flirtatious” with female readers, in an era when that was considered a gesture of kindness and courtesy. Always dapper, in a suit and tie, he could only be seen looking somewhat disheveled on late nights in the newsroom, right at deadline, when everyone had to rush because “the trucks are leaving!” The Argentine economy, always on the brink of some crisis, was the realm that forced him to work late into the night so many times. “Sweetie, take the ‘tie’ to Info (for Infographics),” he’d instruct a colleague from the section where they put together the stock market charts—a colleague who remembers him with great affection. На нашем жаргоне «галстук» — это вертикальная рубрика на первой странице раздела «Экономика», в которой в виде небольших графиков кратко излагались главные финансовые события дня. «Уже близившись к выходу на пенсию, в 1997 году он покинул LA NACION, чтобы принять новый вызов: он вошёл в состав команды, основавшей BAE Buenos Aires Económico — газету, которая намеревалась составить конкуренцию другим изданиям, специализирующимся на экономике, финансах и бизнесе. Он проработал там до 2001 года, когда решил, что его «маленькая большая семья», как он её обычно называл, займёт всё его время. Журналистика и семья были его страстями, к которым добавлялась его горячая любовь к футбольному клубу «Бока». Его жена Дора (66 лет вместе), дети Мария Лаура и Энрике, а также внуки Лули, Флоренсия и Гонсало будут помнить его навсегда. Как и все мы».