Last week, the participation of a Colombian woman in the NASA mission to Mars made an entire country proud.

It is about Diana Trujillo, a woman from Cali who emigrated to the United States at the age of 17 and who, after having to fight for her survival and pay for her studies in aerospace engineering, managed to lead one of the fronts in the design of the robot ‘Perseverance’.

The national and international media focused their attention on Trujillo’s feat, but, an article in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica generated controversy for including a ‘narco’ reference in the headline regarding the Colombian’s origins.

“From the Colombia of drug traffickers to Mars, the Martian life of the scientist” was the introductory phrase that the journalist Gabriella Colarusso, responsible for the article, used to define the history of Trujillo.

In this Saturday's printed edition of the newspaper `La República & # 769 ;, an Italian medium with the title: "From the Colombia of drug traffickers to Mars, the Martian life of the scientist", referring to Diana Trujillo, the Colombian who made a successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars. Photo: Colprensa.

In the printed edition of this Saturday of the newspaper `La República’, an Italian medium titled:” From the Colombia of drug traffickers to Mars, the martian life of the scientist “, referring to Diana Trujillo, the Colombian who achieved a successful Perseverance rover landing on Mars. 

However, it is known in the last hours that the medium has rethought the headline and the link that leads to the old article is not found on the website of the most widely read medium in Italy.

“From Colombia to NASA, the Martian life of the scientist”, La Repubblica replaced it, omitting the stigmatizing reference that is made remembering the strong era of the drug cartels in the country.

After the harsh controversy generated by the article, the same Italian newspaper spoke on its Twitter account, there they defended its publication by saying that in the article about the Colombian “There are no prejudices or generalizations, it is a piece of the life of Diana Trujillo that she herself told. Just read the article, which then talks about her career. We regret that the title was misinterpreted”, expressed the Italian media.

El Tiempo even stated that the Colombian embassy in Rome proposed to officially pronounce itself, reporting indignation and discomfort over the article. At the time, it is not known if that was the reason for the change of mind in the newspaper.

The issue reached Claudia Blum’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also expressed rejection of the unfortunate publication.

“The Foreign Ministry rejects the head of La Repubblica de Italia that stigmatizes our country. Colombia is proud of professionals like Diana Trujillo, an example of perseverance, scientific achievement and inspiration for new generations” they wrote on Twitter.

DIANA TRUJILLO, THE MOST SEARCHED ON GOOGLE

‘Who is Diana Trujillo? ‘Where is Diana Trujillo from?’ ‘What role does Diana Trujillo play at NASA?’ ‘In which school did Diana Trujillo study? Diana Trujillo, where was she born?’ were some of the most sought-after questions in Colombia in the 24 hours following the feat of the robot ‘Perseverance’.

Google reported, this Friday, February 19, that the aerospace engineer Diana Trujillo became the most wanted person in the country in the last hours, surpassing even the president of Colombia, Iván Duque.

It should be remembered that the caleña was in charge of narrating in Spanish the minute by minute of the arrival of the Rover Perseverance to Mars, in ‘Together we persevere’, a program carried out by NASA exclusively in Spanish, to bring a detailed explanation of this mission to the red planet to the viewers’ homes.

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