ThelifeandlegacyofayoungArgentinianwomanwhosedisappearancein1976hauntsthosesheleftbehindMarcRaboyalwaysfelta“subliminalinterest“inArgentina.HisgrandfatherhadlefthisvillageinUkrainein1908asayoungmanandspentayearinBuenosAires,beforereturninghome,marrying,andthenemigratingtoCanada,whereRaboywasraised.WhileplanningatripofhisowntoArgentina,RaboydidanInternetsearchofhissurnamethere,ontheoff-chancethathemightdiscoversometietohisgrandfather.IntheprocesshefoundAliciaRaboy.Herstoryimmediatelyseizedhimandwouldn’tlethimgo.InJune1976,Alicia,ajournalistandmemberofamilitantundergroundleftwinggroup,theMontoneros,wasambushedbyasecuritydeathsquadwhiledrivingwithherfamilyinthecityofMendoza.Alicia’spartner,thecelebratedpoetandfellowMontoneroFrancisco“Paco“Urondo,waskilledonthespot.Their11-month-olddaughter,?ngela,wastakenandplacedinanorphanage.Herdaughterultimatelywasrescued;Aliciawasneverheardfromagain.InLookingforAlicia,Raboypursuesherstorynotsimplytolearnwhathappenedwhenthepost-Per籀ngovernmentinArgentinaturnedtostateterror,buttounderstandwhatdroveAliciaandotherstorisktheirlivestoopposeit.Whatevertheirdistantancestralkinship,authorandsubjectwerebornamonthapart,sharingnotonlyasurnamebutyouthfulrebellion,journalisticambition,andtheradicalpoliticsthatwereahallmarkofthe1960severywhere.Theirdestiniesdivergedthroughacombinationofchoiceandcircumstance.Usingfamilyarchives,interviewswiththosewhoknewAlicia,andtranscriptsfromthe2011trialofformerArgentinesecurityforcespersonnelinvolvedinherdisappearance,RaboyreassemblesAlicia’sstory.HesupplementshisnarrativewithdocumentsfromArgentina’sattemptstodealwiththelegacyofthemilitarydictatorship,suchasthe1984reportoftheNationalCommissionontheDisappearanceofPersons,NuncaM獺s(“NeverAgain“),aswellassecretdiplomaticcorrespondencerecentlymadepublicthroughtheU.S.StateDepartment’sArgentinaDeclassificationProject.LookingforAliciaimmersesreadersinthesedarkyears,which,decadeslater,casttheirshadowstill.Itputsanunforgettablyhumanfacetothemanythousandswhodisappeared,thosetheyleftbehind,andthehauntingpowerofthememoriesthatbindusalltothem.
