“Nati”, the first transgender minor in Córdoba, was found dead

They found dead “Nati”, who was at the time the first minor to change her gender identity in the province of Córdoba and who became a symbol of the struggle for the right to gender identity in Argentina.

Celene Gabriela Colantonio, who was 31 years old, was found lifeless in her home in the town of Mina Clavero for reasons that are still under investigation.

Nati's stepfather was the one who found the girl's body and immediately notified the local police.

At the moment, investigators labeled the cause as doubtful death. It is hoped that in the course of today an autopsy will be carried out to determine the reasons for the death.

The case of “Nati” had national repercussions in 2005, when the girl was 14 years old. A year earlier she had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria syndrome and she was struggling to carry out the gender adaptation operation.

Her parents were the ones who publicly demonstrated in favor of this operation and who began the legal path for the Justice to end up approving such surgery on a minor. A doctor and a teacher also endorsed the request of the girl's parents.

“It was less difficult to change my body than my mind,” Nati had said in an interview. “I remember from those years the courage of my parents, who faced the challenge with me, took care of me and protected me from bullying. It seemed like people were accusing me of something I didn't do. There was a lot of tension,” he said years later.

At that time, the Justice of Villa Dolores had rejected treatment of the case. He argued that irreversible surgery, involving the mutilation of a minor, could not be authorized.

However, two years later, the High Court of Justice ordered the case to be heard and authorization for surgery was given almost immediately.

“I always had my self, my identity, but I had to be whole. It was a rebirth,” Nati declared at the time.

The operation was carried out in December 2007, after an Advisory and Bioethical Committee set up to address the case participated in the proceedings of the case.

The surgery was carried out in La Plata under the leadership of urologist César Fidalgo. Years later, Nati underwent other surgical interventions in Spain.

Once the surgery was performed, Nati Colantonio became the first transgender minor in the history of Cordoba and her case set a judicial, scientific and cultural precedent for the province.

During the following years, Nati lived between Spain and Traslasierra, where she studied Fine Arts. Already in 2019, he returned to his hometown of Mina Clavero, where he settled until his death.

“I was a bit of a pioneer in this, I had courage, but it was because of me. Today I am happy to know that it worked for everyone who somehow feels different,” said Nati in an interview.

“There are still things to change, there is still a lot of discrimination in Europe and here; it has happened to me that when they 'discover' that I am trans, because I tell it, they start to treat me badly. It's something that makes everything difficult for you,” added the woman who once said that at the age of 17, at the time of surgery, she “returned to the womb” of her mother.

With information from Telam.

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