Fans mourned the death of singer Liam Payne in Buenos Aires

Tape roll circulate from hand to hand. Tape is needed for a singing star Liam Paynelle for affixing dedicated memorial messages. There are messages on the tree as well as in the enclosure surrounding the tree. Fans have also brought a large number of memorial candles, bouquets of flowers and photos.

The tree grows in front of the Casa Sur luxury hotel in the popular Palermo Hollywood district. From its third-floor balcony, Payne, who became famous for the band One Direction, fell into the courtyard on Wednesday and died.

One of those who left a memorial message is 24 years old Valentina Baez. Baez has tears in his eyes as he explains the content of his message.

“I thanked him a lot for all the years the band and its members sang for us. Everyone in Argentina loves you Liam.”

On Thursday afternoon, there are already dozens of fans there. Liam Payne and One Direction were also hugely popular in Argentina. One of the band members, Niall Horanperformed in Buenos Aires at the beginning of October in a big arena. That’s why Payne had also arrived in the city and stayed for a longer time.

Valentina Baez lives two hours away by train and says she came to remember the singer between university lectures and work. He has already managed to be there for a couple of hours and considers the communal occasion important. Baez has gotten to know a lot of people and has gotten to grieve with them.

He heard about Payne’s death at home. The phone suddenly started to receive a flood of messages.

“At first I wondered if it was fake news, I didn’t believe it was true. I started crying and I cried all night,” he says.

Liam Paynen according to the autopsy, the cause of death was internal bleeding and a skull fracture. Police believe Payne was in the hotel room alone when he fell.

In the messy hotel room, whose television screen had been broken, in addition to whiskey and sedatives, various drugs were found, at least ketamine, LSD and a synthetic drug known as pink cocaine.

It is not yet known what substances Payne had used before his death, and the results of the investigation will be completed next week. They are also trying to find out who sold the drugs to Payne.

“When the band started their career, they were underage and spent a lot of time in hotel rooms. A lot of alcohol was consumed. I know he was still struggling with his addiction and other difficulties, and it was hard on him,” Baez describes.

The fans have spread in front of the hotel not only on the sidewalk but also on the side of the street. Even the ferocious bus drivers in Buenos Aires slow down and dodge them when they drive their buses past. The atmosphere is low and filled with sadness. Women in their twenties sit in small groups and hug each other. Many find it difficult to hold back tears.

A few young men have also arrived. One of them is 19 years old Vache Hovhannisyan. He says he listened to One Direction as a kid, and Payne was his favorite. Hovhannisyan is from Armenia, and moved to Buenos Aires with his family a few years ago. He says that through the songs of One Direction he learned English in Armenia.

“I was here yesterday as well, and I got the feeling that I have to come again, because he captured my heart in my childhood. Liam was a great singer, he had great songs and he was a great man.”

Place of death in addition, Liam Payne is commemorated in the square next to the big white obelisk, a landmark in the center of Buenos Aires.

There, a crowd of fans has gathered to sit in the ring. Handwritten messages, Payne’s pictures, flowers and candles are gathered in the middle. Many have blown up a white balloon and written memorial verses on it. The fans start singing One Direction’s song Night Changes.

“It is important now to be with people who feel the same as I do. They understand and respect Liam,” Natalia Hiporre28, says. He is one of the fans who managed to see Liam Payne, who came to Buenos Aires at the end of September. It was Hiporre’s birthday and he couldn’t have imagined a better gift than being able to chat and take selfies with the star near the Casa Sur hotel.

“He spoke English and I spoke Spanish. I tried to understand what he said and I understood a little. Someone acted as a translator, it was really fun.”

The community of One Direction fans has always been important to Hiporre, he has gotten to know fans from different countries at the band members’ solo concerts in different countries.

Even Hiporen found it hard to believe that Payne’s death was true, but he had to believe it, because there were at least a hundred messages about it in the WhatsApp group he belonged to. He confirmed the matter with the message service X. Hiporre has had time to go through many different emotions during the day.

“Of course I’m upset. I will think about Liam every single day for the rest of my life,” she says.