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Argentina’s coup d’état in 1976 led to one of the bloodiest dictatorships in its history—thirty thousand people were abducted, tortured, and subsequently “disappeared.” And hundreds of babies born to pregnant political prisoners were stolen from their doomed mothers and “given” to families with military ties or who were collaborators of the regime. Analía was one of these children, raised without suspecting that she was adopted. At twenty seven, she learned that her name wasn’t what she believed it to be, that her parents weren’t her real parents, and that the farce conceived by the dictatorship had managed to survive through more than two decades of democracy.
In My Name is Victoria, it is no longer Analía, but Victoria who tells us her story, in her own words: the life of a young and thriving middleclass woman from the outskirts of Buenos Aires with strong political convictions. Growing up, she thought she was the black sheep of the family with ideas diametrically opposed to her parents’. It wasn’t until she discovered the truth about her origins and the shocking revelation of her uncle’s involvement in her parents’ murder and in her kidnapping and adoption that she was able to fully embrace her legacy. Today, as the youngest member of congress in Argentina, she has reclaimed her identity and her real name: Victoria Donda. This is Victoria’s story, from the moment her parents were abducted to the day she was elected to parliament.
The youngest member of the Argentine National Congress reveals the gruesome story of her uncle's involvement in her birth parents' murder, her kidnapping and adoption and the shock waves the truth created in her life.
Born in captivity in a military prison to a mother she never knew, Donda chronicles the painful discovery of her true identity. At the age of 27, the author learned that she was the daughter of one of the "disappeared," one of "the thirty thousand people who were kidnapped, tortured, and eventually killed" by the military dictatorship beginning in the 1970s. Analía, as she was known, always perceived a gulf between herself and the couple she knew as her parents. "From my earliest years, I've had a rebellious, contentious nature that was diametrically opposed to that of the man and woman who raised me whom I believed to be my parents," writes the author. At an early age, Donda became active in social-justice movements and helping the poor. As her political commitments deepened during the '90s, the author rebelled against the right-wing ideology of her middle-class suburban parents. When she learned the identities of her real parents and how they died, she was forced to confront the truth: "I was thus raised in a brazen lie, knowing nothing of my true roots and loving the very people who benefited from the tragic fate of my real parents." Donda deftly leads readers through Argentina's Byzantine history of guerrilla groups, dictatorships, coups and military policies, providing a solid foundation for understanding the political and social upheavals underpinning her story. As "the first baby stolen by the military to play an official role in the political life of her country," the author serves as a witness to its horrific past and its hopeful future.
Donda's captivating account of her surreal role in pulling back the curtain on one of the darkest periods of Argentine history merits a wide readership.
I was twenty-seven years old when the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo finally tracked me down and informed me of my true identity, thanks to an anonymous tip from a woman who remembered seeing a soldier hand over a baby with blue thread tied through her earlobes.
According to the testimony of certain survivors, I was born between August and September, 1977. In a desperate attempt to make sure I would be recognized, my mother used a sewing needle to pierce my ears with blue surgical thread she had been given in case she experienced complications during labor. Fifteen days later, I was taken from her arms. She never saw me again. She was subjected to one of the infamous “transfers,” in which prisoners were injected with sodium pentothal, a powerful form of anesthesia, before being loaded onto military planes and thrown into the sea alive. Like all his colleagues at ESMA (the Superior School of Naval Mechanics), which had been transformed into one of the most sinister torture centers in the heart of Buenos Aires, my own uncle had approved her “transfer.”
I was thus raised in a brazen lie, knowing nothing of my true roots and loving the very people who, to a greater or lesser degree, were responsible for the tragic fate of my real parents. Despite this, I grew up, constructed my own personality, and managed to find my place in life through political activism, never once suspecting that I was following the path my biological parents had chosen long before.
phx-reader1
Posted March 3, 2012
I ENJOYED READING THIS BOOK, LOTS OF INFORMATION BUT ALSO A VERY HUMAN STORY, I ADMIRE VICTORIA'S STRENGTH AND ABILITY TO SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT HER PARENTS NO MATTER WHAT. I HAD HEARD A LOT OF STORIES ABOUT THE POLITICS IN SOUTH AMERICA WHILE IN COLLEGE, THIS BOOK MADE THE STORIES REAL AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED MORE REAL.
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Posted November 18, 2012
Awesome!
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Posted November 17, 2012
Crimson looked at the numbers and files on his computer. "Steam Ridge." He said. Saturn nodded. "Got it." She said dropping her board and her pencil fell from behind her ear as she ran out the brass doors..*i cant wait to met this Cosmo guy. I think this is just a miss under standing..* she thought as she wizzed past an old man in a lab coat sending him spining...she rushed to the elevator and pressed the down button. The elevator appeared and Saturn stepped in. "First floor." She said and the familiar buzz occured as it wizzed downward. "Watts the rush?" Said Abercrombee. "I have a mission...to stop Cosmo from destroying Electro City,thats all." She said. "Coolio!" Said Abercrombee.The elevator doors opened and Saturn waved good bye. She wizzed forward,nearly lunging for the doors,all she thought was,*the faster i go, the sooner i get to complete my mission and change the heart of that evil Cosmo guy.* and with that,she ran out the doors and bumped into a middle aged girl with black hair and brown eyes with broad shoulders and sharp eyes. Like Crimson. "Oh,hi Ruby!" She said. "Hi Saturn! Say,have u seen Dad?" She said. By that she meant Crimson. Ruby calls him Dad or Daddy. When she needs to get his attention she says,"Crimson Lee Johnson." Like at her birthpday party and her Dad wasnt watching while slicing the cake,and nearly cut of his right hand. "Hes in his office with Mom." She said. By Mom she means Yoshi,his assistant and wife. "Thnx Saturn!" Said Ruby and bounced inside with roses and poseys held behind her back. "He he. Yup." She said thinking of what Crimson's reaction would be seeing his daughter out of school. She blasted of tward Steam Bridge. She landed on grass,her arm turned into a gun. "Hello? Cosmo?" She said. "COSMO?" she yelled. A dark shape emerged from the shadows...it was Cosmo. "Alas,i meet the invinsible Saturn..Saturn blushed. Then she snapped out of it. "I,er,comand u to turn yourself in to the athorities!" She said pointing her gun at him. "Nah,i feel like destroying u first." He said and blasted at Saturn. She dodged two lasers and one hit her in the arm. "Aahhh!" She yelped as her arm bled. "Youll pay!" She said. And fired away hiting him in the chest. Her gasped in pain but advanced on Saturn...he fired again and she dodged the bullets. She flinched and he made an angry face. Now the bridge was in flames and Saturn's arm bled. Cosmos chest bled aswell. He tried to punch her but instead hit a bridge beam. "Eeeerrrrraaa!!!!" He growled in rage Saturn rocketed up twaard the sky with Cosmo on her tail. They sped past skyscrapers,birds,and clouds as they submerged into space. They battled until they reached space. Saturns shoulder billowed smoke and one of Cosmos eyes were squinting. They stood still as they exchanged gkares. "Why do u fight? Why do u fight for such cruelty?" She said. "Because we are machines,programed to do so as we r told,servants of a master...." he rumbled. "Well u r wrong. We have hearts. We can be more,only if u open your heart.." she said. "But i dont have one." He growled. She fired her gun and he did such as well,Saturn falling back and fled inside a space station. There,Cosmo basickly wrecked it,alarms blaring and people and robots runing everywere..."why? Why Cosmo?" She moaned. "Because i am a machine. A living being without a human heart,AND NOTHING MORE!" He yelled fireing his cannon hiting Saturn in the chest,smoke billowing from it as she fell to the floor.(till next chapter.
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Overview
Argentina’s coup d’état in 1976 led to one of the bloodiest dictatorships in its history—thirty thousand people were abducted, tortured, and subsequently “disappeared.” And hundreds of babies born to pregnant political prisoners were stolen from their doomed mothers and “given” to families with military ties or who were collaborators of the regime. Analía was one of these children, raised without suspecting that she was adopted. At twenty seven, she learned that her name wasn’t what she believed it to be, that ...