Books: “Cachita and I fought to be free”, the autobiography of Norma Castillo
On World Book Day, we're sharing an excerpt from a chapter of *The Hidden Path*, a biography by Norma Castillo, now available for pre-order. A story of love and activism. Here's how to purchase it.
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. Norma Castillo, the historic activist for LGBT+ rights in Argentina and eternal love of Ramona “Cachita” Arévalo, wrote the story of her life in The Hidden Path , a book that is currently available for pre-order.
Norma and Cachita starred in the first same-sex marriage in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010, after being together for 30 years. But before meeting, they lived two lives, both distant and close, each with their own problems, joys, friendships, and boyfriends. Throughout the book, and over 22 chapters, Norma narrates the "thread of Ariadne" that guided each of them to their true love.
Norma, the irreverent one
Norma was born in Goya, one of the most populated cities in the province of Corrientes, on March 10, 1942. She dedicated herself to science and art intermittently. Always rebellious, it wasn't until her arrival in Colombia, as an exile, that she met the great love of her life. And there, everything changed.
“Cachita and I were very free. We had experiences, never a husband-and-wife relationship, or from a heterosexual perspective. Both she and I fought to be free,” he told Presentes .
In the book, Norma unleashes an irreverent and mischievous tongue: “I have so many things to live for, so many heartbeats wanting to transform into kisses, so much love wanting to shine like a sun on the eager green of life!” And so she always was: militant, daring, she dared to bring a forbidden love out of the closet and, in her old age, to speak about sexuality in older people. She touched on taboo subjects, always professed for freedom, and in recent years has become especially concerned about the future of planet Earth.
Towards the end of her autobiography, Norma expresses gratitude for everything she experienced through her love for Cachita, who passed away in 2018. She especially thanks those who are with her today and helped her finish the book, which she hopes will reach more people. "To those who are reading this," she says, "I ask: don't let go of what we have achieved . The world is changing , and I want people to understand that we must keep fighting."
We're sharing an excerpt from chapter 15 and inviting you to join the pre-sale campaign so that this book can be printed and continue paving the way to freedom for everyone.
Advance
The night of love
Love is immortal, no one can kill it. It is inalienable, no one can confiscate it. It is indelible, no one can erase it. It is unbreakable, like Marechal's group, it's a bulldozer like the Caracol. Goodbye, I replied resignedly while swallowing and taking a deep breath.
Dear path, I had decided to fight for my life, and I would, I would be patient, for now I walk alone with your garden by my side, waiting too.
In those moments of following age-old scripts, I knew I was giving up a large part of my precious time, but, for the sake of justice, I wanted to cause the least possible harm. Because in our desire to live, we clash with the world of organized power, a world in which we are neither free nor masters of freedom or thought.
Task No. 1: Fight for love.
Task No. 2: Fight against alcohol.
Task #3: Fighting Against Guilt
This is the heaviest burden. No matter all the evil that swarms the world, you have to feel guilty, deeply guilty. You'll have to endure the contempt, the insults, the degradation; you'll no longer be a respectable person (although respect is more in line with power than with justice). Furthermore, I think and believe that the imprints instilled almost before birth and for thousands of years, moment after moment, day after day, become incorporated like a gene, they become automatic, they settle in, and one convinces oneself that they are "natural and true." You need to have functional, independent, and very clear neurons to know yourself, to truly live, and to love with all of them in harmony with yourself. Come on, my neurons of my life, as Paola would say, when she called me, with her spontaneous Argentine childlike spontaneity, "my neurons of my life ."
Of course, Argentinian and Uruguayan at the peak of the Pivijay sun, learning to live with the word love at its zenith.
The decision had been made, and if the price to pay was so onerous or would provoke unwanted ruin, then whatever it took had to be faced rather than die stifling the most beautiful characteristic of the human species: to love and be loved.
We spent the following days like a volcano about to erupt, sensing, dreaming, wondering perhaps if we would finally see the path, open yet hidden, to walk together.
One afternoon, we were leaving María Marta's place after playing cards. As we reached the door, I looked into her eyes, as black as her hair, as intense as her voice. She had her purse under her arm, and since there was nothing else I could do, I gave it a little tug with my index finger and thumb. My thumb brushed against her chest, and I repeated the question:
—So, when are we going to talk?
At the same time, I heard him say to me, in a tone that seemed threatening, but with a real underlying promise:
—Calm down, or you'll be in a hurry with me later.
The school, the cultural center, the burgeoning artistic scene, the delightful whirlwind of village life spun like a top—joy and hope, pain and decisions, the herons of dawn ever more beautiful and those of dusk ever more anxious. Moments of joy and hope alternated with those of pain and inherited guilt…
And the new pains, the gnawing guilt, and the love that is born from a place no one knows and takes shape, invading everything…
Until one afternoon I was home alone, she was also home alone. She told me to come over.
How to get the book
The book that is now being published is a fundamental part of the history of the sexual diversity movement in Argentina. 100% Diversity and Rights and Pride and Struggle Front are promoting the pre-sale. To access it, please complete this form .
Pre-order your physical copy of the book for $30,000.
ALIAS: normi.libro2025
CBU: 1430001713044591770018
Owner: Laura Carolina Ruiz Díaz Castillo (Norma's niece)
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