Haylin Valencia Cunalata
(24) was in her fourth year of nursing at the National University of La Plata (UNLP).
She arrived from Ecuador with a suitcase full of expectations and dreams that in 2020 were marred by the Covid pandemic: a few days after arriving in Ezeiza she had to confine herself, like everyone else, due to quarantine.
But the young woman continued following her goals and was very close to obtaining
the degree she came to seek at the Faculty of Medicine of La Plata
.
Her until she suddenly stumbled upon doom.
On Saturday, March 23, on a warm and serene evening, she collapsed while running in San Martín Park in the capital of Buenos Aires.
The property located 15 blocks from the Cathedral and the Municipality of La Plata was one of the aerobic circuits that Haylín used for his usual running practices.
The other was the Bosque de la Plata, which has several university buildings as a showcase of the route, on the side of 60th Avenue.
It was a surprising and almost immediate death.
It fell about 50 and 24. The property has more than 15 wooded hectares, with internal streets and a plant of the ABSA water company within the perimeter.
The fall caused commotion among the runners who filled the circuit at that time.
There was a desperate attempt to rescue Haylin Valencia.
About 20 people gathered until the arrival of the ambulance which, after some CPR maneuvers, took her to the San Juan de Dios hospital (less than 15 blocks from the place).
The medical report indicates 7:03 p.m. as the time of his death.
According to the court file accessed by
Clarín
, Haylín Valencia
died of “non-traumatic” cardio-respiratory arrest
.
The expertise requested by the prosecutor who intervened in the case labeled “investigation of causes of death” determined that the young woman died as a result of “acute heart failure,” combined with “acute respiratory failure,” the causes of which could not be determined.
It will be the subject of a subsequent clinical medical evaluation.
The death certificate states that the origin of this organic failure will be determined “ad referendum” from subsequent studies and analysis.
Valencia Cunalata would turn 25 on April 9.
She was part of the large Ecuadorian community that chose La Plata as their residence to complete their university studies.
According to a report published by
Clarín
, in 2023 and 2024, students born in that Central American country lead the list of foreigners registered at the UNLP: last year foreigners represented more than half of those enrolled in that career and for the cycle that began a few weeks ago make up 37%.
In just two years, the records of the La Plata university find more than 3,800 Ecuadorians signed up to visit the classrooms of different academic units.
Even Valencia had to participate in a claim for the imbalances made by the faculty authorities for delaying the return to in-person attendance.
The thing is that Medicine had virtual classes until after May 2021.
Together with his classmates, he signed a petition with another 500 students who were dissatisfied with the results of an exam that almost all of them failed.
They made a presentation to the authorities of the Chair of Cytology, Histology and Embryology.
Haylín, who was former Queen of the Cotaló Parish – located 180 kilometers south of Quito – arrived behind her older sister, who has lived in La Plata for some time.
She also came to study.
And this weekend he had to endure the horrific procedure of recognizing his sister's body in a morgue and then carrying out the procedures with the Ana Medina prosecutor's office to remove the body of the young runner.
According to judicial sources, the intention of the Valencia Cunalata family is to repatriate the girl's remains to her country of birth.
It will be another disturbing task for the family and group of friends that Haylín met during her stay in Argentina.
The Silver.
Correspondence