María Curí

Walking through Paris I saw her. Was it really her? I was moved, I went up to her, I greeted her. She smiled at me and said: «Do I know you?». «No, but I've admired you since my youth, I always held you up as an example. Would you accept a coffee from me?».

We went into a small café. «Let's talk woman to woman. Was it hard to stand out in your time?». «Yes, very hard; women were considered a body without a brain. If you were a writer, you had to use a man's name to be recognized; and if you were a scientist, you needed a professor to sponsor you —sometimes that came at a very high price— or a husband who supported you and was ahead of his time».

«Today women have earned recognition, but it was paid for dearly: there is a great number of femicides, and men still haven't managed to give up their place as king of the jungle». She interrupted me: «In my time, those who tried to free themselves were locked up in what you today call psychiatric hospitals; that is, they were treated as madwomen. I would love to live in this era, for all the advances that exist». «I'm sorry, that's true; but I think we've become dehumanized».

The alarm clock rang and I realized I had fallen asleep with the book about the life of María Curí on my lap.