VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Sister paper ‘Hecho en Bs. As.’s vendor Noelia Conteras pushes past dark days

BY GABO BUSTEROS

At nine, Noelia lost her father. Years later, after a long battle with illness, she lost her mother as well. She lived on the streets, her partner was incarcerated, and one of her daughters suffered from a life-threatening tumour. A tireless fighter, she finished high school in her early 30s. Today, she feels blessed and grateful, and wants, through her story, to give encouragement to the people on the street, to tell them that anything is possible “if one believes and has faith.”

Noelia was born in Guernica, Argentina in the San Vicente Partido, in April 1985. Although her ID card states she is 36, she says she is 37. She argues that this is not because she is anxious or in a hurry, but because she is looking ahead. She has been with her partner Ricardo for 22 years and they have four children and a grandson.

“You face a lot of challenges being a mother, but not having the support of a mother is difficult,” says Noelia, who lost her mother to cancer when she was a teenager. “You don't get over that, but with the help of your family, you get through it.”

Between early 2000 and late 2001, Argentina was facing one of the worst crises in its history, as a result of more than ten years of neoliberal structural adjustment programs.

During this time, which coincided with the final years of her mother’s illness, Noelia was forced to live on the streets with her partner and her first daughter. With tears in her eyes, she recalls those two difficult years of her life, “I'm over it now, but we know what it means to be on the streets. I was very young, it was terrible. On top of that, I had my daughter who was one year old.”

“A few days ago,” Noelia recalls, “we happened to be telling my daughters about the barter club”. At that time, she lived in Flores, and remembers that in “De la Rúa times” they were given some “green patacones” that they exchanged for clothes and food. “We had a hard time, but we survived”, she adds.

Although the economic and social

She believes that “if you do things well, you do well, and if you do things badly, you do badly,” as in when one of her daughters suffered a tumour and struggles had an influence, Noelia admits to making mistakes at the time. But with the support of God who, she says, never lets go of her hand, “everything in life comes back to you."

“Despite my mistakes, which I was able to overcome, God healed my daughter.”

Years later, after selling everything on the streets, Noelia was introduced to HBA and never looked back. “Thank God the magazine opened doors for me,” she says, acknowledging that the magazine “is a job.” For the last 14 years, she has been working seasonally, especially when construction work drops, and her partner is left without “changas” [temporary jobs].

Noelia goes out to sell with “a good vibe” because she says that if she sells with a bad vibe, she doesn't sell anything.

A tireless fighter, Noelia did not stand idly by. She finished her secondary education with the “Ellas Hacen” Program, an initiative of the Argentine state. This was part of the “Argentina Trabaja” plan, which helped women in a vulnerable position. Noelia was one of the 100,000 women from all over the country who took part in the co-operatives and worked to improve their neighbourhoods, get training, and finish their studies.

“The idea is to progress,” explains Noelia, “not only for yourself, but so you can use this training to do something later on. It helps a lot because if we are not doing well, we can't give anything to another person.”

Noelia is happy today. She feels blessed and grateful because she considers all that she is going through a success. “I’m proud of who I am. I decided to be good to myself, to set my mind on something, and do it,” she praises herself. She believes that she is a good mother as her children show her respect.

Those who choose to become parents say that it is the best thing that ever happens to them. But when they become grandparents, they say it’s unparalleled. “It's priceless,” Noelia agrees, and adds, “It's crazy having grandchildren. They are the joy of the house. You forget everything bad.”

Translated from Spanish by Rebecca Thomson. Courtesy of Hecho en Bs. As. / INSP.ngo