The head of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto, was distinguished this Tuesday as an Honorary Member of Boca, in an emotional ceremony that took place in one of the halls of La Bombonera.
“Boca is this, today they don’t play ball, but they play this game. There were people who said that we are a football team, nothing more, and that the leaders had to dedicate ourselves to buying and selling players as if they were candy,” he started. saying Alejandro Veiga, pro-secretary of the club and president of the Human Rights commission.
The presentation continued with Jorge Amor Ameal, president of the institution: “The Grandmothers did a lot for this democracy and that is why this affection, which is repeated everywhere and will increase, because grandchildren will continue to appear. We are happy that they are here We have to recover the xeneize identity, open the doors to the club, it is a neighborhood with many problems and we have to tell them this, because the club belongs to them and to everyone”. He also asked Carlotto, president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, to put aside her love for Estudiantes and become a fan of Boca.
Then the smile returned to Estela’s face with eloquent words: “There are always exceptional days in life and, for me, this is one because I am going to be part, as a member, of a unique and famous club: Boca Juniors”.
On the other hand, Carlotto assumed: “It is already 45 years of struggle, it is a long time, but we are eternally dedicated to continue looking for the missing grandchildren. This wave of love gives us strength to see what else we can do to find those who They are not there. We have found 133 grandchildren. 300 are missing. We will not be able to find that amount due to the logic of life, but we have relief: they are the grandchildren who are already part of our Board of Directors to avoid oblivion”.
The Chilean Buscarita Roa, a neighbor of the neighborhood and passionate fan of Xeneize, was also distinguished, who remarked: “It is an honor for me that Boca distinguishes me with this membership card. And we will continue trying to recover the grandchildren, which continues to be our main mission “, he expressed.
In this way, the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo were recognized by the Boquense leadership, which, in turn, had canceled the cards of the deceased dictators Alejandro Lanusse and Emilio Massera.
In Boca they had already inaugurated a plaque remembering the missing members. And in March of last year they had delivered card number 30,000 to relatives of victims of the last dictatorship. Such was the case of Néstor Garuti, brother of Antonio and Eduardo Alberto Garuti, two former members of the club who are missing.
“My older brother Antonio disappeared in August 1976 in Mar del Plata and my brother Alberto in February 1978, here in the City of Buenos Aires. We learned about him that he was in El Vesuvio; nothing was ever heard of Antonio. I also have my two sisters-in-law have disappeared,” said Néstor, who on March 24, 2022, had his younger brother’s card restored; His older brother’s was kept by his niece.
The room, which was packed with people and dyed blue and gold, was attended by Juan Cabandié, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development; former congressman Carlos Kunkel; and the Buenos Aires legislator and restored granddaughter, Victoria Montenegro.
“This recognition is more than deserved and football is beginning to make way more and more for Human Rights. The social function of clubs and the dissemination of these issues is very important, because the passion with which one lives can help the search that is being carried out”, concluded Montenegro.