Today is Gabriela’s birthday. She would have had 39 years. Here is a short presentation of her life.

Gabriela Conti (1974 – 2010) is a key figure of early 21^st Century literature. Of French-Argentine nationality, she was honoured by Premio Literario Buenos Aires in 2000 and awarded the Grand prix de littérature contemporaine in 2001.

Her family history is one punctuated by exile. In 1943, her mother’s parents fled Nazi France and settled in Buenos Aires. In 1978, Gabriela was sent to Paris to escape from Argentinian dictatorship, after her mother was kidnapped.

Besides her novels, Gabriela Conti is well known for her adventures throughout the world, notably in Central African Republic, Peru and Papua New Guinea.

In 2009, she was a member of ‘2048 Expedition’, in Antarctica. On February the 7^th, 2010, two days before her tragic death, she became the first woman from Argentine nationality to reach South Pole. She leaves behind no trace no body.