Poolside Backgammon, 1972

Villa Nirvana in Las Brisas

According to the archive caption, this is Villa Nirvana, the house of Oscar Obregon in Las Brisas, Acapulco. Las Brisas is a district of villas on the hills on the eastern side of Acapulco Bay, with houses looking out over the water.

In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s Acapulco was one of the favourite destinations of the international jet set, and Aarons photographed there more than once. In Keep Your Cool he caught another game of backgammon in Acapulco, that time in the middle of the pool.

Two things at once

In front, two women play backgammon on a mattress at the edge of the water. The board lies open between them, next to a bright pink bag. Across the pool stands the white villa with columns, where a group of guests has gathered. On the hill to the left stands a white cross.

Aarons laid the game and the party in the same plane. You look from one to the other without either becoming the main event. The pink bag keeps your eye at the front, the white columns draw it back again.

Why backgammon

Backgammon was popular in the 1970s in the circles Aarons photographed. A game also gives people something to do. Someone thinking about a move is not posing, and that suited the way Aarons worked: he directed little and waited for the right moment.

On the wall

Poolside Backgammon is a landscape image that asks for a wide wall, above a sofa, a sideboard or a dining table. The white of the villa sits well with light walls, and the bright pink bag gives a calm interior just enough colour.