50 years of Nuevamerica/Novamerica Magazine

On September 3rd, at the Teresian College of Rio de Janeiro the TA in Brazil, the "Golden Anniversary" of the bilingual magazine Nuevamerica /Novamerica was celebrated. Its Editorial Board also held an extraordinary meeting from September 3rd to 5th and presented various commemorative materials.

On September 3, 4 and 5, 2026, Susana Sacavino, director of Nuevamerica/Novamerica Magazine, and the Editorial Board: Antonia María Leguizamón (Argentina); María Luz Mardesich (Bolivia); Cecilia Arancibia (Chile); Luz María Barajas (Mexico); Carmen Denegri Seer (Peru); Isabel Guillermo (Dominican Republic); and Mary Larrosa (Uruguay); together with Maria da Consolação Lucinda –member of the Technical Committee– (Brazil); Adélia Koff , editorial coordinator, and Cecilia Botana , secretary and translator of the journal, met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to evaluate the work carried out this year and plan the four issues for 2027.

During those three days of meeting there was space for the analysis of reality, the exchange of ideas, agreement and disagreement, and again for agreement. Always maintaining the fraternal spirit and harmony in relationships.

The meeting coincided with a special event: the Nuevamerica/Novamerica Magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary. For this reason, during the debates and work, the satisfaction of the duty fulfilled, the joy and gratitude for the long life of the journal, and the hope for an equally long future were noted.

Celebration

On September 3, after the last meeting of the day, at the Teresian College, the team participated in the presentation – by Susana Sacavino and Adélia Koff – of the materials that have been produced to commemorate the journal's birthday:

• an e-book with selected articles from the journal corresponding to the period from 2022 to 2026;
• an e-book with links to the virtual round tables and podcasts carried out from 2020 to 2026 inclusive (both e-books aimed at the permanent training of educators);
• a video that shows and publicizes the history of the magazine throughout those 50 years: founders, the various directors of the magazine, the editorial boards over the decades, the topics dealt with in the various issues to denounce the bloody realities of Latin America and the Caribbean and to present alternatives to these realities;
• the logo of the 50th anniversary of the magazine and its functional nature not only in the e-books, but also in the Nuevamerica/Novamerica 191 Magazine (commemorative edition) that was launched on that occasion. The logo, in addition to showing the anniversary of the publication, works as a digital resource. For example: being in an article of the magazine or e-book, when you click on it, you go directly to the Summary.

Once the presentation of these materials was finished, a Eucharist was held in the school chapel thanking God for having always been present in these five decades and for the many fruits. "The good we can do is incalculable if we are full of God, if we live pending on Him, and if we refer to Him all our works and all the glory that originates from them." (St. Pedro Poveda).

At the end of the celebration, all those present went to a school room to celebrate the birthday of the magazine, including a cake to sing happy birthday and rejoice for the life of the magazine.

The joy for the road traveled became more intense thanks to the presence of the members of the Teresian Association and friends and collaborators of Novamerica and the Teresian College. All applauding, singing happy birthday and rejoicing for the Golden Anniversary of the magazine.

We have two outstanding people who are part of the history of our publication: Vera Maria Candau, representative of the magazine in Brazil, and Mary Larrosa, representative of the magazine in Uruguay. Both are a living memory of the beginnings of the magazine in Argentina, in 1976, and of the path traveled in the years that followed. Both are still firm with the purpose of contributing to the future of the publication.

From the heart

The Editorial Board then continued its working meeting. In the morning prayer of the 4th, the work carried out to organize the meeting, to produce all the materials presented and to hold the birthday party of the magazine was recognized. Likewise, there was a grateful remembrance for the collaborators of the magazine who have already left us and whose memory is preserved in the heart along with many others: Raquel Bergeret, María Antonia Pascual, Waleska Mendonça, Fabiola Luna, Carmela Zumarán, Ana María Escalante, Fausta Polanco, Pura Emeterio, Marta Orsini, Maria Elisa Gantier, Rodolpho Oliva, Jorge Motika.

St. Pedro Poveda said: "Our rule is to do everything from the heart." These shared days of work and celebration made it clear that the Teresian Association, the NGO Novamerica and the Teresian College embody these words in their concrete actions, in the convictions they defend, in the memory they persist in keeping and in the joy put into each step that is taken. The magazine has been built from the depths of the heart since 1976, and that heart has life for 50 more years.

You can read the text in Portuguese here, 

Cecilia Botana, Novamerica.