Adelina Ethel Dematti de Alaye (June 5, 1927 – May 24, 2016) was an Argentine human rights activist who co-founded the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an organization of mothers whose children disappeared during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

of the 1970s and early 1980s. She became known as "la madre fotógrafa," or "the mother photographer," for her documentation of the Argentine dictatorship and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo through her

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. Her collection was later declared a "Memory of the World" by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. In addition to her work with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Dematti was also active within the

Permanent Assembly for Human Rights The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (in Spanish, La Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (APDH)) is an Argentine non-governmental human rights organization; founded in 1975. According to its official website the organization is the pr ...

(APDH). Dematti was a native of

Chivilcoy Chivilcoy is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, the head town of the Chivilcoy Partido. It has 64,185 inhabitants according to the . Tourism February Carnivals In the month of February, a three-day carnival is held over an extended ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, where she was born in 1927. She lived in

Carhué Carhué is an Argentine town in the Province of Buenos Aires, head of the Municipality (Partido) of Adolfo Alsina. Carhué is to the west of the city of La Plata and from Buenos Aires. The city is a tourist destination famous for the thermal ...

Azul Azul, meaning "blue" in Spanish and Portuguese, may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Azul'' (Los Piojos album), 1998 * ''Azul'' (Cristian Castro album), 2001 * Azul Azul, a Bolivian pop-dance music group ** "Azul" (song), the title song * " ...

, and

Brandsen Brandsen is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Brandsen Partido. History The city built up around a railway station named ''Coronel Brandsen'' which was named after Colonel Federico de Brandsen, who fought in ...

before moving to

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

with her family. Her 21-year-old son, Carlos Esteban, was kidnapped On May 5, 1977, while riding his bicycle in the Ensenada neighborhood of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

during the Dirty War. The kidnappers, dressed in civilian clothing, were recognized as members of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

. Her son's disappearance led to her involvement with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Later on, she was engaged in

Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora ''Madres'' () is a 2021 American horror film written by Mario Miscione and Marcella Ochoa directed by Ryan Zaragoza. It stars Ariana Guerra, Tenoch Huerta, Elpidia Carrillo, Kerry Cahill, Jennifer Patino, Britton Webb, and Evelyn Gonzalez. The fil ...

. In 2009, the National University of La Plata awarded Dematti an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

for her activism on behalf of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. She was also honored as an illustrious citizen by the cities of

and

. Adelina Dematti de Alaye died in

, Buenos Aires Province, on May 24, 2016, at the age of 88.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dematti de Alaye, Adelina 1927 births 2016 deaths Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Argentine photographers People from Chivilcoy People from La Plata