Fabiana Ricagno: "I was able to write this book as a result of the life I had."

In "Que quede entre nosotros " (Metrópolis Libros), Fabiana Ricagno opens the doors of her memory to narrate, with intimate and moving prose, the process of saying goodbye to her father. The book begins with a scene of pain and absent presence , but unfolds like a journey back in time, retracing her childhood in Martínez, her youth, and her adult life, intertwined with the tensions, ties, and family silences that have marked her life. It is a personal account that, without intending to, also reconstructs Argentina in recent decades through everyday life.

An entrepreneur, lawyer, equality activist, and designer , Ricagno takes an unexpected turn toward literature with her first book, written out of a need to preserve memory and ward off oblivion. The figure of her nanny, the feminine world of childhood, friendships, family contradictions , and the pulse of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s shape a work steeped in humanity . Her voice, that of a child who observes and feels, is the emotional anchor for a narrative that dares to name what has been silenced.

"Fafi" defines herself as a "curious and wandering porteña ." She studied law and political science and founded Telteco in 2009, a leading company providing consulting and implementation services in telecommunications deployment and connectivity, the provision of technological equipment, and logistics. In 2018, she founded the organization Pollera Pantalón to promote women's participation in decision-making spaces in the private and public sectors. In 2020, she launched her shoe brand, Ricagno, in Italy, with luxury designs for the international market. In 2024, she was appointed President of the Yad Vashem Argentina Association. "Que quede entre nosotros" (Let It Remain Between Us) is her first published book.

–How did the idea for the book come about?

Writing was the first way I found to resist the unspoken from becoming unlived and, ultimately, lost. The language through which I felt the story would flow most genuinely was my child's voice because it directly expressed my memories. Then I imagined a thread connecting my father's farewell to my childhood, and the plot of the book emerged: a narrative that concentrates the magic of my life around the exorcism of a curse that marked my family. The book was constructed with the conviction of defeating oblivion and ensuring that the story wouldn't leave me. Many years ago, the vital need was born within me to give a voice to the protagonists of this story, sometimes silenced to avoid painful labels. Publishing is the closing of this chapter; to each its name.

–In some ways, it's the story of everyday life in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. How did you construct that everyday life?

–Precisely, from the everyday. Each decade was deeply marked by political symbols, ideas, and economic models, which translated into experiences represented in types of businesses, consumer habits, and meeting places. I navigated my life through the physical spaces of my days in each era. Not only in terms of places of interest, neighborhoods, and cities, but especially from the perspective of my own age. From a young childhood embraced by a protective environment of home, family, school, friends, walks, and shopping in the Martínez republic, to a naked maturity in the medical centers of the AMBA (Basque Country), where life fades away in sanatoriums with high-tech infrastructure, doctors of all specialties, and unknown voices in every corner.

–How did you construct such a vivid story?

–I was able to write this book as a result of the life I had, including the slow farewell to my father and the sudden departure of my mother, who was the mentor of my perseverance. I had to write, it was essential, to embrace them, to tell them that they are still with me, and to leave so many experiences and lessons in print as a way of passing on their legacy. With this, I want to tell you that the story lives on in me. The real challenge was finding words that faithfully expressed it. Some people probably think it's easier to construct a story that isn't pure fiction. In my case, it was quite the opposite; telling a story that isn't a story, involving so many characters I respect so much, meant demanding very high standards of care and creativity to achieve an engaging, high-quality literary work that lived up to its protagonists.

–The nanny also plays a fundamental role.

–Yes, Irma is a substantial character. And she's real in every sense: reality and fiction in the literary work, and the two sides that coexist in most of the people we connect with on a regular basis. In addition to being central to the plot, Irma perfectly represents the voice that tells this story: that of a girl who saw in her the Santiago version of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, same haircut, although black. She led a line of neighborhood kids in Martínez, picking up the hemlines of their patterned dresses, singing and running... she gave it her all. Today, as an adult, I see a person who took out her resentment on a family that had embraced her, and a witch who gave me a beautiful character for this book.

–Childhood friends are a different story, aren't they?

–I still have some, and we still remember those very special places where we used to have fun. We could do more than just a chapter on others. Life gave me a rich childhood, which only allowed me to see wonderful things about my friends. Then came Irma, adolescence, and the uncomfortable truths about certain girls who were part of my inner circle. But let me save those little devils; they need makeup to shine in my next book.

Let it stay between us , by Fafi Ricagno (Metrópolis Libros).