Conclusion

Abstract

This book began with the moving story of Simón; it now ends with an extract from a letter written by Juan Gelman in April 1995 when he was still looking for his missing grandchild. This touching extract painfully captures the dreams and the sorrows that Juan had to live through until he was eventually reunited with Macarena in 2000. Macarena—born of Argentine parents and now living in Montevideo—embodies the horrors of the dictatorships of Argentina and Uruguay and in a dramatic way—just like Simón, born of Uruguayan parents, lives in Argentina—brings together the pain and suffering of two brotherly nations devastated by a similar tragedy. Juan, Macarena, Simón, Sara—four people, four stories that nonetheless speak a borderless and universal language of love and hope against terror and injustice.

Tal vez tengas los ojos verdegrises de mi hijo o los ojos color castaño de su mujer, que poseían un brillo especial y tierno y pícaro. Quién sabe cómo serás si sos varón. Quién sabe cómo serás si sos mujer. A lo mejor podés salir de ese misterio para entrar en otro: el del encuentro con un abuelo que te espera.¹

—Juan Gelman, Carta abierta a mi nieto