Pity Alvarez does not testify on the first day of his homicide trial

Cristian Pity Alvarez, the musician better known simply as Pity Alvarez, appeared before Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal No. 29 in Buenos Aires on August 10 for the first day of his homicide trial, over the July 2018 death of Cristian Diaz. Dressed in a black hat, dark sunglasses and a T-shirt from his own project La Gente Manda, the rock musician sat through the reading of the charges without speaking, his eyes down, twisting his hat in his hands.

Alvarez, accompanied by public defender Javier Aldo Marino, chose not to testify at this stage, telling the court he would do so later in the trial, which is expected to run into mid-September with three hearings a week of no more than three hours each, a schedule the defense requested because Alvarez cannot sustain concentration longer than that.

Judge Gustavo Goerner, presiding alongside judges Juan Maria Ramos Padilla and Hugo Navarro, had Alvarez confirm basic personal details, though he could not recall his own identification number. Asked about past addiction, Alvarez said he had used "pasta base," a cocaine byproduct, but no longer does. Asked about his profession, he said he could be considered a musician, though he does not handle the business side of his career: he does not sign contracts, and his sister manages money that comes into a digital wallet on his behalf. He also described a hip problem and hypertension, saying a friend, identified as Father Cesar, reminds him to take his medication and brings it to his home.

About ten minutes into the reading of Alvarez's 2018 statement to police, made after he turned himself in, he fell asleep in his chair with his arms crossed. His lawyer asked the court to pause the proceedings, arguing Alvarez was "not present" and unable to defend himself, and renewed an earlier request for a medical evaluation. Prosecutor Sandro Abraldes opposed further delay, and the judges agreed the trial could proceed, ruling that the case could not be held hostage to a medical exam or an indefinite postponement.

The trial was originally set to begin in April 2021 but has already been postponed twice, both times on the tribunal's own recommendation that Alvarez was not psychologically fit to face the process. Prosecutors read a list of ten witnesses before the court adjourned; the next hearing is scheduled for August 12.