How I met Hodita and when…
Well, Hodita is my second cousin — our mothers are first cousins. They lived in Capitán Bermúdez, a small town near Rosario, when they arrived in Argentina. I must have been two, three, or four years old, and she was a year older than me. The earliest memory I have of her is from when we were little kids, playing in a park in Capitán Bermúdez. There was a play tunnel, and she made me go through it — it was full of ants, and my back got covered in them. She laughed and helped me get them off. This must have been around 1985 or 1986.
At that time, she was just a tiny girl, but she was very pispireta — that’s the word we use here in Argentina — like mischievous, in a sweet way. She had a very playful way of behaving, and was very affectionate. It was a mix of mischief — but not mean-spirited — it was mischief with love.
So, how was my relationship with her? Well, we were family, and we spent time together during family gatherings. Later, they moved away from the Rosario area and went to live in Mendoza, so we saw each other less and less. We reconnected as adults, at Bahá’í youth gatherings, when we were both in our twenties.
We always called each other “cousin,” even if we didn’t see each other much. She had this role of being my older cousin, and she took care of me. I was her younger cousin. And since I don’t have any older cousins, she was the only one — the only cousin older than me — who always looked after me. I have that image of her as very maternal, always caring for me.
Yes, of course she loved and was passionate about everything related to art. Especially drawing. I always saw her as someone with a talent — I don’t know if it was natural or learned — but it was a gift she had, to express herself in such a way… Her drawings had meaning and spiritual content. They truly touched you deeply when you looked at her work and her creations.