Luisa Cuesta

Maria Luisa Cuesta Vila (26 May 1920 Soriano - 21 November 2018 Montevideo ) was an Uruguayan human rights activist. She dedicated herself to the search for missing detainees during the Uruguayan military dictatorship. Her son Nebio Melo Cuesta disappeared during that period and is still missing today. Her son, Nebio Melo Cuesta, went into exile in Argentina with his wife and daughter. In 1976, Nebio was arrested in Buenos Aires and later disappeared. One of her activities included leading a yearly March of Silence gathering hundreds of people in Uruguay. In 2012 she was awarded a title of Illustrious Citizen by the Municipality of Montevideo. In 2013 for her contribution to the fight for human rights she received a Doctor Honoris Causa title from the University of the Republic. Same year she suffered a stroke and was not able to attend 20 March of Silence.