Perhaps I could say that I was always attracted to math because of its precise structure and order, its beautiful patterns, its challenging puzzles, its intellectual abstraction, its intriguing mystery, and even its mysticism. I could say that I decided to do math when I saw I enjoyed studying and exploring it and immodestly started to think I had a talent for it. I could say that I fell in love with math when I discovered it can efficiently describe symmetries I could observe in the world I lived in and reveal hidden ones in universes I did not even knew existed. Or may be I became a mathematician simply because math is tantalizingly addictive; once you experience the moment in which you solve that problem that kept you awake at night, all the frustration and exhaustion of the hard work just melt away and you are invaded by a sublime feeling that you want to experience again. But, the truth is that I do not exactly know when I became fully aware of all this.

I certainly did what one has to do to become a mathematician. I studied hard, learned from others, and tried to be creative. But, growing up, I was a down-to-earth guy who enjoyed simple and mundane things too, many of which would take precedence over my then neglected passion for mathematics. Particular circumstances and people that crossed my life opened and closed doors for me, facilitated or limited my choices, and were responsible for my eventual decision to try to become a mathematician. One day I realized I had chosen mathematics and would be with it in sickness and in health (literally). Hopefully I will live happily ever after with it since, as in the fairy tales, love (the romantic kind) also played a role in my choice for mathematics.

Let me start with the first person that stimulated my passion for the subject: my grandma, abuela Monona. My grandma was a very educated person even though she did not finish high school. For a woman born in Argentina in 1888, getting to high school was quite an accomplishment, since most girls were then sent home to help with other “more important” matters of life after a few years of school. Monona could speak several languages, was a good musician and painter, and was extremely skilful with handcrafts too.