On this vigil on March 23, when La Plata prepares to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the dictatorship, the name of Hebe de Bonafini resonates in every corner of our diagonals. Born in Ensenada in 1928, Hebe was for decades just another neighbor, a woman dedicated to her home, until state terrorism knocked on her door and forced her to reinvent herself.
In 1977, the disappearance of her sons Jorge Omar and Raúl Alfredo, and later that of her daughter-in-law María Elena Bugnone Cepeda, transformed “Kika”—as her intimates knew her—into Hebe, the president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Association. Their fight did not begin in the offices, but in the squares, walking in circles under the prohibition of gathering, with a white scarf on their head that became the most powerful symbol of resistance of the 20th century.
From La Plata to the world: an impact that is present today more than ever
Although her figure transcended borders, Hebe never stopped being a woman from our region. His impact in La Plata is profound: from his vehemently charged speeches in the San Martín and Moreno squares, to his close bond with the students of the UNLP. She promoted a form of «socialized motherhood», where each Mother was one of the 30,000, breaking with individualism and demanding «Appearance alive«.
His legacy is as immense as it is controversial, but no one can deny that his voice was the one that shouted when many were silent. Hebe not only claimed for her children; He demanded the right to education, work and dignity, linking Human Rights with social justice in a way that marked contemporary Argentine politics.
50 years: the roar of memory
Half a century after the coup, remembering Hebe is remembering the ability of a people not to surrender. His death in 2022 left a physical void, but his mark on the La Plata identity is indelible. Tonight, at the vigil where we wait for March 24, his white handkerchief continues to be the lighthouse that guides those who still today, 50 years later, continue to shout: Anymore!
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