Matilde Herrera (1931–1990) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

journalist, writer, and poet. She was a prominent militant against the self-styled

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process ( PRN; often simply , "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the ("last military junta"), ("last military dictatorship") ...

that took over the country between 1976 and 1983. She was one of the

Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo () is a human rights organization with the goal of finding the children stolen and illegally adopted during the National Reorganization Process, 1976–1983 Argentine military dictatorship. The president is Este ...

, for whom she personally contributed to the recovery of two children who had been illegally adopted.

Biography

Matilde Herrera married Rafael Beláustegui, with whom she had two children. They later divorced, and she remarried, this time to the artist Roberto Aizenberg. She started working as a journalist in 1962, and carried on this work until her death. During the time of

state terrorism State terrorism is terrorism conducted by a state against its own citizens or another state's citizens. It contrasts with '' state-sponsored terrorism'', in which a violent non-state actor conducts an act of terror under sponsorship of a state. ...

in Argentina, her three children, José, Valeria, and Martín, and their respective spouses – militants of the People's Revolutionary Army – were kidnapped by the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. Valeria and Martín's partner Cristina were pregnant at the time. Herrera did not lose Tania (the first daughter of Valeria and Pepe who was around one year old) and Antonio (the son of José and Electra); these children were left at police stations and hospitals after the abduction of their parents. In 1977, Herrera went into exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with her husband, where she founded the Commission of Relatives of the

Disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...

, together with Claudia Lareu, Diana Cruces, and other militants. In 1981 they moved to

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscans, Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropolis, necropoleis, or cemeteries. Tarquinia was designated as a ...

, Italy, and returned to Argentina in 1983, once the military dictatorship ended. Herrera died seven years later, in 1990, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Tributes

Herrera was honored in 2002 by the Legislature of the City of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, along with 17 other outstanding Argentine women of the 20th century, including

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until ...

and

Alicia Moreau de Justo Alicia Moreau de Justo (October 11, 1885 – May 12, 1986) was an Argentine physician, politician, pacifist and human rights activist. She was a leading figure in feminism and socialism in Argentina. Since the beginning of the 20th century, she go ...

. The selections were made by the Commission for Women, Children, Adolescents, and Youth. In an official act carried out on 24 March 2010, the actress

Florencia Peña María Florencia Peña (born 7 November 1974) is an Argentine actress. She played Mónica Argento in the sitcom ''Casados con hijos (Argentine TV series), Casados con hijos'' (2005–2006). Filmography Television Theater Movies ...

read Herrera's poem "Seremos libres" (We Will Be Free) at the

Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics The Higher School of Mechanics of the Navy of Argentina (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada'', commonly referred to by its acronym ESMA) has gone through three major transformations throughout its history. Ori ...

, one of the main clandestine detention centers during the military dictatorship. In the Remembrance Park of Buenos Aires, there stands a statue (''Sin título''; Untitled) by Roberto Aizenberg in honor of Herrera's three disappeared children: José, Valeria, and Martín. In the sculpture, the contours of three geometric figures without faces are shown, representing all the young people disappeared during the military dictatorship.

Works

* ''Vos también lloraste''. Ed. Libros de tierra firme, Bs. As., 1986, 62 pp. With prologue by

Horacio Verbitsky Horacio Verbitsky (born February 11, 1942) is an Argentine investigative journalist and author with a history as a leftist guerrilla in the Montoneros. In the early 1990s, he reported on a series corruption scandals in the administration of Pres ...

* ''José'' (1987). Reissued Lulu.com, 2009, 447 pp. * ''Identidad, despojo y restitución''. Bs. As., 1990. As co-author with

References

External links

*
Identidad, despojo y restitución
' at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Matilde 1931 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Argentine poets Argentine women journalists Argentine women poets Deaths from cancer in Argentina 20th-century Argentine women writers 20th-century Argentine journalists