Join CLAS and our partners at Columbus State Community College for a conversation with Marisa de las Nieves Delgado, founder and president of Native Antarticans Foundation. There have been only 11 births registered in the region, and Marisa was one of them.
Marisa was born in Argentine Base Esperanza, Antarctica, in May 1978, during the founding of the then "Fortín Sargento Cabral", the first family settlement in the history of the Antarctic continent. Daughter of Antarctic pioneers EDB (Expeditionary to the White Desert-LN 25433) Juana Pabla Benítez and EDB VGM Suboficial Mayor (R) Néstor Arturo Delgado, who were part of the 1978 Base Esperanza ( Base Hope) crew. She graduated as a lawyer in 2004 from National University of Lomas de Zamora, Argentina. She then joined the Servicio Penitenciario Federal and graduated from the Penitentiary School with honors in 2006. I served as a professional penitentiary agent lawyer at Federal Penitentiary Complex No. 1, Ezeiza until she came to the United States in 2009. In 2023, she founded Native Antarcticans Foundation, Inc in New York and has been leading it as the president since then. The foundation works on awareness that Antarctica is not just a place; it’s their soul and identity. They firmly believe that education is key to preserving their homeland.
