"Do what everyone wants without hurting. "Seek freedom for another", "Do what fills your soul". and
"Defend the truth". Definitions and concepts of various people who, from their daily lives, interpret a term that implies much more than a definition.


The concept has a special day to reflect on and history establishes that "World Freedom Day" is celebrated since January 23, 1954, in Taiwan, Chinese prisoners of war refused to be repatriated to their country because they were looking for and demanded their freedom. It is a memorable situation that symbolizes the victory of freedom over slavery. As a society, we have the responsibility to preserve the freedom of the world and human peace, and for this reason, the brave performance of the 22,000 captives (soldiers of the Chinese and Korean communist armies) is remembered, who won their freedom thanks to the joint work in the Korean war zone.


Luis Alberto Spinetta is one of the most complete Argentine artists. Source: Cecilia Salas.


At the same time in Argentina, the artist, singer, and composer Luis Alberto Spinetta was born, more precisely in the year 1950, who in different interviews gave several testimonies about what freedom symbolized for him. For Expreso Imaginario Magazine he said “the only freedom is peace. And peace is melting all souls to build a giant telescope to observe the Universe. He also expressed that "talent is freedom man, it is born in any person who feels capable of flying with his ideas."


The importance of freedom is that it is not just a word or a concept, but it is also a way of living, acting, and thinking. In this story, as in so many that have been told over the years, freedom was chosen as the goal. Freedom is also the ability to choose and that entails a great challenge since we must be responsible for our choices, but it also often takes the intention to change something, courage, and courage; as did Simone de Beauvoir, the feminist writer.


Simone de Beauvoir was a fighter for women's freedom, equal rights, and the decriminalization of abortion and sexual relations. She was a teacher and wrote novels and essays on political, social, and even philosophical topics. Her work The Second Sex, created in 1949, addresses women's identity and sexual difference from the points of view of several disciplines and is fundamental in the history of feminism. For the writer, "to be free is to want the freedom of others" and she wanted to see women free.


For Josefa Martínez, the first Olavarria's to process her gender change in our city, after the sanction of the national Gender Identity Law that came into effect in 2012, being free means being able to do what one feels; it is having the possibility to manage or move as one wants. However, “we have to be aware that what one or one feels can hurt others” admits Josefa. She realizes that there is a very small limit between debauchery and freedom and that the latter concept is very relative.


“I feel that we are always imprisoned for something, whether it is because of family roots, a prisoner of economics, or a prisoner of diseases,” confesses hairdresser Josefa Martinez. To be free for her is to relate as one feels, without obstacles, without prohibitions, depending on the circumstances and ages that each one goes through. There are many types of freedom, that of thought, the feeling of life, or that expression, as she exemplifies Josefa.



Josefa Martinez, better known as Josefa Casán, on the day of delivery of her birth certificate as a woman. Source: Informe

Sara Irazabal is retired and thinks that freedom is getting together with her friends, going home when she wants, eating what she wants, doing what she wants without asking permission "within what is allowed, different from a prisoner, someone who is deprived of his freedom and he cannot do everything he wants, except move” confesses Sara. She always thinks that her actions should not hurt the person in front of her or next to her and that she should enact the defense of rights.


On the other hand, Sebastián Armendano Olavarriense, who has spent more than 20 years in confinement contexts, and is currently serving a sentence in La Plata, thinks differently than Sara. Sebastian states that he is deprived of his ambulatory freedom, that is to say, that he cannot move, but that over time he has learned to be free in other matters." One can feel free being deprived of his ambulatory freedom" he declares with conviction.


“SURVIVING in deprivation of liberty is not easy at all, it is very subjective and there is no recipe” describes Sebastián. The way he has to do it today is by taking refuge in reading and writing, and that makes him feel free. “When I write, no one can censor me but I try to be consistent” he confesses. Before Sebastián survived by fighting or being careful not to get hurt for a pair of sneakers and he learned to communicate with the police, for example. He today has many freedoms, such as thinking or loving, after many years he understood that he can improve his quality of life knowing that there are parameters that he has to respect.




Aylén Herrero is in her van, ready to start her journey.

On the other hand, Aylén Herrero thinks that freedom of movement is the most important. One of the first women tattooists in Olavarría, she has been preparing a van for a year to be able to travel around the country and Latin America with two more people. Her idea is to travel tattooing, but she is willing to work in other areas if she needs it. For Aylén, freedom is "doing what fills you, what your soul asks you to do, without excuses, remorse or sorrow," she expresses with determination.


Traveling for her is a goal that she has always had, a dream that she is about to fulfill, and to be able to think about it, “in something outside of what society imposes on you or asks you to do, such as having a blank job, that you are a mother or that you have a house, in itself get out of those norms and do what makes one or one of you happy, that is freedom "resignifies the tattoo artist. She feels free when she picks up her tattoo machine and completely disconnects from reality. She also feels free when she travels, draws, sings, or when she spends time with the people she loves. All of that is part of her freedom because it is something that she chooses to do.


In the same way, Martina, an adolescent from Olavarriense, proposes. She talks about having the ability to do something, anything, but of your own free will. For her, freedom is being able to express herself or give her opinion about something and she feels free doing the activities that she likes or that take her away from the responsibilities or problems that she may have. "I feel free when I talk about topics such as politics without caring what others say," says Martina.


Vanina Belgrano, director of a private school, considers freedom to be the fundamental right of every human being. Ability to choose the way of living and occupy a role in society according to the preferences, beliefs, and desires of each person. Still, she argues that there is no freedom without responsibility. "We are really free when we can choose responsibly and respect the freedom of others" she reflects. She considers the terms freedom, responsibility, and education inseparable because the vital role of teaching is to make human beings fully and consciously exercise their freedom.


In short, there are as many concepts of freedom as there are people in the world; however, the common factor should appear, which is not to hurt people with what gives you freedom, respect, and care. The most important thing to keep in mind is that freedom must be based on respect for the other person, but also towards ourselves and ourselves. Being free must be a right of every human being, but every action must be knowing the responsibility we have