Appreciation letter for a teacher of life

September first, 2025

Dear Monita,

I confess it has not been as simple as I expected. I feel the absence of your loaded breakfasts, I miss those crunchy pork rinds you made me with beans and the nights we ate empanadas with chili in Malpaso. You offered me a home when I needed it most, always accompanied by my grandfather, who with his example taught me about the importance of being honest.

My inner child returns to your memories to find the motivation it needs in the most exhausting and sad days. He knows that what he does will be looked upon with pride through your gaze. You have impelled me with your words of encouragement, you have filled my soul with the fuel necessary to undertake any adventure. You never cared whether I used the pencil or the string, the clay or the colors, the voice or the written word. Your confidence has shown me that I have everything necessary to perform in what I am most passionate about.

I appreciate the importance you have given to your loved ones. If everyone were lucky enough to have a grandmother like you, I’m sure the world would be full of dreamers. My grandfather I must also mention in this part. He, who will be by your side waiting for my return, taught me that constancy and honesty are as important as talent.

Monita, in my strokes you recognized that potential which reminded you of your brother, whom I did not have the fortune to know in person; in my voice you longed for the songs of your mother and in my face you observed the features of love that my father abandoned. I have learned from your teachings that each of my expressions is a gift of centuries rife with impressive ancestors. In the words of Plato, some of them lovers, others loved.

Thank you, Monita, for supporting me in everything that makes me smile. You have been there, beside your grandson the student, your grandson the historian and your grandson the writer, with whom you dared to write a book of our people. You are the support that guides my hands, the kisses that warm my spirit, and the confidence that everything is possible. The pride of your piercing eyes I can never forget, because their blue reminds me to the depth of our feelings, and their green to the germination of new fruits.

I love you,

Your Monito.