The couple of teachers selected by the government of Tierra del Fuego to work at school No. 38 "Presidente Raúl Alfonsín" of the Esperanza Antarctic base, during the 2024 school year, defined it as a "challenge" and a "pride" to be part of the endowment that will celebrate 120 years of permanent and uninterrupted presence of Argentines in Antarctica. María de la Paz Labate (36) has a degree in psychopedagogy and a tertiary-level teacher, and together with her life partner Facundo Silva (39), a special education and physical education teacher, they were chosen along with Carmela, her two-year-old daughter. years and a half, as the family that will guide the destinies of the southernmost school in the world during the next year. "We live this with great enthusiasm, pride and responsibility. Because it is a task that involves us as professional teachers, but also as a family," Labate said in dialogue with Télam. With her husband they have between 15 and 17 years of experience in teaching in provincial territory. "Facundo is from Fuegian. He attended kindergarten at the school that operates in Lago Escondido (a rural establishment located about 50 kilometers from the capital of Fuegian). In my case, I came to the province when I was 8 years old. We met in Provincial Institute of Higher Education (Ipes) that operates in the city of Ushuaia," said the teacher. The love story between the two is also particular: María de la Paz was Facundo's teacher, when she was in the first years of her teaching career. Later, when he was already an advanced student in his degree, they started dating and fell in love. "We thought about going to Antarctica during the pandemic. We made our first registration in 2021, when our daughter was five or six months old. There we went through the first selection process where we were substitutes. This year we registered again, perhaps a little more trained, with more experience, and now we were given the possibility," María de la Paz recalled.