This is the story of a friendship as fleeting as it is fundamental, which occurred during childhood. And it is also the story of an 84-year-old mother and her daughter, a writer and illustrator.who complement each other, listen to each other, have fun and surprise each other, creating stories and illustrations.
The story of fleeting friendship is called “Yanay,” and it is the book of Mabel and Nella Gatica, mother and daughter, who set in motion the machinery of memories, literature and colors to create a book.
The other story has a real origin, and occurred in 1947, in Mendoza, when Mabel was 7 years old.
“Yanay is the story of two seven-year-old girls, my mother Mabel, Argentine, and Yanay, of Bolivian nationality. Yanay is a name of Quechua origin that means “My Little Brunette.” Yanay is a “swallow baby” who came to the grape harvest, to the grape harvest, with her parents. One day she comes to play at my mother’s house, who was the same age, and they become good friends. They share afternoons of playing outdoors, talking in the trees and creating clay animals with bird feathers. One day, without prior notice, Yanay leaves and does not play again. My mother still remembers her and wonders what happened to her life. It is a story that invites us to reflect on the ethnic, cultural and economic diversity of two girls of the same age and their families,” says Nella from Cipolletti, about this book that was published by Gerbera in 2021.
The story was born from a memory cultivated or rather resurfaced during the pandemic. But Nella added a bit of surprise and emotion that she was able to achieve in 2021.. “My mother told me the story of her childhood, in Mendoza, and it seemed like a very good idea, being an illustrator, to be able to surprise her by turning that story into an illustrated book. But I kept it a secret and waited for it to be edited. At Christmas, I wrapped it with wrapping paper and a bow and put it in his pinito. It was very exciting for everyone to see her surprised face when she opened the package and found the book. Through tears she said “My Yanay, my friend!”Nella now recalls, who is also the author and illustrator of children’s books published in Spain, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
Create solo or duo
Nella studied Graphic Design at the National University of Cuyo and, after graduating and returning to Río Negro, since 2011 she has been teaching Visual Design and Industrial Design at the National University of Río Negro. In addition, she has been teaching Illustration seminars for adults since 2012.
“Yanay” was not the first time that mother and daughter connected their stories with illustrations and then transformed them into a book. “We also made “Mona Elisa” together, which is about a monkey who loses her bananas as she gets into mischief. My mother contributed a lot to the text, with very funny rhymes. During the pandemic we have done an online writing workshop with (the writer) María Negroni.”
– What influence did your mother have on your professional choice?
-I always had her unconditional support, she encouraged my desire for drawing and design. Today I am also a university professor, at the UNRN. She has certainly had a real influence here, since she was a teacher all her life with a great vocation.
Her work as an illustrator and writer earned Nella the 1st Prize at the CICLA Original Illustration Exhibition organized by the Shangai Baoshan International Folk Arts Exposition in Shanghai, China in 2019. That same year, she was a finalist in the Silent Book Contest with her book project “Love” and also exhibited her illustrations at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Italy.
In 2018, she received the first prize in the Illustration Competition at the 10th Edition of the International Illustration Meeting of S. João da Madeira, Portugal, and was invited to participate in the 11th Meeting as an illustrator. A year earlier, she was a finalist in the 1st Ajudaris Solidarity Illustration Biennial in Amarante, Portugal, where she held illustration workshops for children and adults and was invited to exhibit at the Amadeo Souza Cardozo Museum, in the same place.
Although she has been working in children’s literature for years, as a writer and illustrator, her arrival on this planet was by chance. “In the era of blogs, in 2008, I started uploading digital illustrations every day of the week. One day, I received an order for SM Publishing in my email inbox. I participated in different international competitions. I did very well in some of them and I was able to travel and visit different countries such as Portugal, Italy and China, where I received a very important award in 2019, a month before the pandemic was declared. In the meantime, more book orders came in and I was encouraged to become a full-fledged author in some of them and in others I share the authorship with different writers such as Mauro Zoladz, María Luz Malamud and Mar Benegas.”lists.
Beyond, or beyond, the world that opened up to her through travel, exhibitions and awards, Nella chooses to live in Cipolletti. “I returned convinced to my hometown because I have all my loved ones and I raised my family here. Having the opportunity to travel to those big cities where art, illustration and design flourish everywhere is wonderful, I have been able to get the most out of each trip and I hope to continue doing so,” she enthuses.
Meanwhile, with her mother or alone, Nella brings out memories, rhymes, Indian ink, acrylics, and creates worlds.
