The Urban Dictionary defines “zemblanity” as:
“The opposite of serendipity, or the inexorable discovery of bad things.”
And so it was for Cachi, the unfortunate poodle whose fatal leap from the 13th floor would forever be remembered as the catalyst for one of the strangest tragedies in Buenos Aires’ history.
On the afternoon of October 24, 1988, for reasons that will never be known, Cachi, a seemingly ordinary family pet, made a fateful decision. He leapt from the balcony of a Buenos Aires apartment building, plummeting thirteen floors to the busy street below. The sudden and unexpected death of a dog is always sad, but Cachi’s tragic fall was only the beginning of a far more bizarre and grim sequence of events.
At precisely the wrong moment, seventy-five-year-old Marta Espina happened to be walking on the sidewalk beneath Cachi’s descent. The falling poodle struck her with fatal force, killing both Marta and Cachi instantly. What should have ended there as a tragic accident was about to spiral into something far more absurd.
As the horrific scene unfolded, passersby gathered in shock, trying to make sense of the bizarre tableau. The crowd quickly grew as people jostled for a closer look at the aftermath of the freakish collision. Amid the commotion, forty-six-year-old Edith Sola, too engrossed in trying to glimpse the fallen poodle and its unfortunate victim, stepped off the curb—straight into the path of an oncoming bus. In an instant, Edith became Cachi’s second victim, killed on the spot by the bus that she never saw coming.
But even this strange turn of events wasn’t enough to satisfy the cruel twist of fate at play that day. Among the horrified spectators was an unidentified man who had witnessed the entire grim spectacle—first Cachi’s plunge, then Marta’s death, followed by Edith’s gruesome accident. The shock was too much for him. As the crowd watched in disbelief, the man clutched his chest and collapsed to the pavement, suffering a heart attack. Although paramedics arrived quickly and he was rushed to the hospital, the man died on the way, bringing Cachi’s body count to a total of three.
Considering the deadly coincidences surrounding Cachi’s infamous leap from the 13th floor, it’s little wonder that so many architects omit that number when submitting their designs. Better safe than sorry, right?
In the end, Cachi, the poodle, left a legacy of chaos that has evolved into a legend in Buenos Aires, synonymous with bad luck and freak misfortune.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
