After Sunday’s highly emotional ceremony at la Iglesia de Santa Cruz and the exciting Marcha de la Resistencia on the following Thursday, I thought my experiences with the Madres had ended. Wrong! My new and dear friend, Adelina, gave me a call and asked if I would meet her that next Thursday after the ronda and invited me for a ‘goodbye’ tea afterwards. I could not resist the invitation as I wanted to see her one more time to hear more about her brother and possibly film her reading a beautiful poem she had written in memory of her brother.
The Ronda this day was quite small but the usual faces of the mothers were there. As well, Hebe’s group, La Asociación de las Madres de la Plaza, also came and did their gig. I watched Adelina with the other mothers walk silently around the plaza. I took some pictures and when Adelina saw me her face lit up. When they finished the ronda, I joined them to listen to their announcements about the upcoming testimonies on December 9 for one of the cases against a repressor who is presently part of the government. When it was all finished Adelina explained to me that we were ALL going to a cafe … to their usual Thursday evening meeting place. We walked down the Avenida de Mayo to the cafe where I proceeded to meet some of the famous 14! They shared their stories with me, explained the history behind the two groups of Madres: la Linea Fundadora and Asociación, and we shared birthday cake for an honorary Madre who turned 91 years old. This 91 year old had been captured, tortured for 5 years during the dictatorship for having hidden some political militants in her house and finally released. The people she had hidden were the sons and daughters of the women with whom I was sitting at that very moment. I was introduced to many of the founding mothers, a couple of whom I had seen at many of the events I had attended over the past 4 months. These women greeted me with open arms, kissed me, thanked me for doing what I was doing, and held my hand as they told me their stories. When it was time to go, I walked Adelina to the Subte station and gave her a big hug and kiss wishing her a merry Christmas. I walked away reflecting on what just happened and realizing what an amazing way to bring my studies full circle. Adelina called me that night to see how I was coming along and make sure I was eating a good dinner! Amazing!
Old Lyme to Buenos Aires 
Amazing send-off! These faces are so lovely and so sincere. Their dedication to the cause is evident. It sounds like you’re very pleased you pursued this topic. What a sense of purpose!