They are not teenagers but they share the same enthusiasm for the famous K-pop band, BTS. This is Mamacitas, a group of women who consider themselves the first “Army” of adults in the province. As followers of the South Korean group, whose music is generally aimed at teenagers, they are about to celebrate their first anniversary and with one goal accomplished: Having achieved the dream of having -yesterday and with production by Efe_ent- their first Festa (celebration for the anniversary of BTS), as hosts, in a theater – the Kummel, in Rawson – and within the framework of the international celebrations that have South Korea as their epicenter.
Some of them -Luz Verónica Navarro (49 years old), and from Pocito, Patricia Ontiveros (51) and her daughter Celeste “Setsi’ Castro (24)- spoke with DIARIO DE CUYO about the birth of Mamacitas, their passion for this combo and the “containment” they feel with BTS’s messages about mental and social problems, since one of the stars, Suga, still struggles with depression. Also through UNICEF’s mission ‘EndViolence’, launched in 2013, under the label LoveMyself, to end abuse against children and young people.
“All of this mobilizes us. Mamacitas is a group of women, between 30 and 55 years old, although there are also some younger ones; and we will celebrate our first year next month. The group took its first steps when I started with the online radio Whalien 52, a broadcaster of K-pop, the environment and emotional health, the same thing they transmit,’ added Luz Navarro, a follower since 2016, who has Ho-Seok as “bias” (in the K-poper universe idols are called that way) and she is one of the founders who has participated in the Unión Army Project Argentina since 2023; She is also the mother of Camilo (17) and Joaquín (16) and works as a teacher in Visual Arts, therapist and member of the San Juan Music Association (ACMUSA).
“I chased people my age in the Army, where I went with my friend Pato Bustamante, who is part of the group. She had the opportunity to go to River to the Coldplay show where Jin presented The Astronaut to say goodbye to her, as she was entering Military Service. Her 23-year-old son went all out to record it and that material is a treasure that we needed to share with our generation,’ added this “collector” of official merchandising, who started out interested in Otaku culture.
“Each one, with their conflicts, became connected by attending K-pop screenings that were held at El Coloso and at fairs like the one held at the Rawson Convention Center. Not only do we share the passion for their music, but we also come together to heal hearts and show solidarity, like them,’ said Celeste, one of the youngest and most multifandom who has Jimin as a ‘bias’ and is a collector of ‘fans’. made’ (pieces made by followers).
Graduated as an assistant teacher and preceptor, she remembered that one day she made her mother listen to the song Dynamite and her interest in BTS infected her. To which her mother recalled that she was cooking when she heard the song and that it was a before and after in her life.
“From that day, in September 2022, everything changed for me, it was the same time as RM’s birthday,” he said about his favorite character.
“Not only do we share the passion for their music, but we also come together to heal hearts and show solidarity, like them.”
Celeste Castro-Member of Mamacitas
As the oldest, Patricia stated that she was attracted to the fact that “they are always so real,” as she highlighted. For this reason, when her biography came out, she toured the entire center and finally arrived at her home at night with the book in hand, after asking in all the bookstores.
The thing is, as she maintained, when she is “down” and puts on headphones to listen to the band’s songs, whether doing chores at home or going for a walk, she feels “contained.”
“We live with my parents and not having a space for myself made me feel bad, until BTS managed to change those moments,” he stressed. While Cecilia added “It’s true! It even makes you want to clean the house more.’
All ad honorem, they have their pins with the Mamacitas logo and they even paid for the t-shirts of their respective “biases”, in addition to organizing the boys’ birthday agenda. “And we also make a kind of mantra with a little piece of their texts, we promote the circular economy and we have the charitable action Heat for All, aimed at gathering shelter for those most in need. All of this will end up making us visible,’ reflected the founder of the Mamacitas Army San Juan Official Fan Base, made up of mothers, aunts and grandmothers, whose great dream is to go to a BTS recital, which fans around the world expect in 2026.
