Aniceto Colunga Báez pedaled through the streets of Santiago del Estero with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He was not going to any celebration. He was going to the cemetery, as he did whenever he could, to visit the love of his life. Someone photographed him in the middle of the street, and that image spread across social media in several countries: an elderly man, alone, on a bicycle, carrying flowers for someone who could no longer receive them in person. Thousands of people were moved by that silent gesture.
But the story had a second chapter that no one expected. In the following days, on May 10, 2023, with Mother’s Day in the background and a promise of love he had sworn to keep, Aniceto prepared his bouquet once again. He set out on his bicycle. And he did not arrive.
He died while heading to the cemetery to fulfill that same promise to his wife. The social media that had earlier applauded him for his gesture filled with farewell messages from different countries. Many said the same thing: he left as he lived, faithful to her until the very end. Some loves need no explanation; this was one of them.
