Argentine Dictatorship Novel: Unveiling Stolen Identities

The Novel: Crossing the Night

Crossing the Night is a fictional novel that boldly intertwines the real and recent history of Argentina, specifically the military dictatorship and its repressive period. This novel follows nine months in the life of Mariana, a period during which she must navigate the painful reality of an investigation into a recent and incomprehensibly cruel history.

The narrative of Crossing the Night begins in August 1994, serving as its initial temporal setting. The story's writing time spans spring, summer, and extends into the following autumn. During this period, due to her father's health problems, Mariana must leave the South, where she lived with her family, and travel to the province of Santa Fe, to the unknown Quinta Palma Sola in Rincón, to stay with her aunt, her mother's sister. While in Rincón, Mariana meets Paul, who would become her future fiancé, and makes new friends.

On another temporal axis, the 1970s — the era of military dictatorship in Argentina — unfolds. Through the testimonies and memories of characters who witnessed this time, Mariana uncovers her true story, her true identity. She discovers that Mauricio and Mercedes are not her biological parents, but that she was a baby girl stolen from a young pregnant woman who was kidnapped and detained in ESMA during that period.

Upon learning the truth, Mariana receives the full support of her aunt, Paul, and her friends to pursue this story to its conclusion and to expose those who, claiming to be her biological parents, concealed her true origins.

Historical and Geographical Context

This novel's primary timeline runs from September 1994 until the autumn of the following year. However, as mentioned previously, this period intertwines with the era of the military dictatorship in the 1970s.

The geographical area described in the novel is a real setting: San José del Rincón, near the city of Santa Fe. It features wild, natural landscapes typical of the area, which evoke feelings in the author that are conveyed throughout the story. Other geographical locations mentioned include the city of Rosario and Buenos Aires Province.

Real and Fictional Situations

Although this novel is fictional, it is based on a true story that Argentina experienced in the 1970s, and on real situations that many young people endured at that time. The novel contains expressions that highlight the truth of the events:

• “I've been talking with the president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and I agree with her that things haven't changed much; the services continue to operate...”
• “...Videla's face, the 1978 World Cup...”
• “Have you never heard of the extermination of the Jews in WWII? It was very similar. In those years, there was a kind of war. But that war was state terrorism. Any person who held different ideals from the government or had any political affiliation was kidnapped, locked in underground facilities where they were tortured, and then, in most cases, forcibly disappeared.”