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She asked best friends to pose for her. The result is a moving study of sisterhood

Fatta (left) and Buratti grew up to have different interests and personalities but that only brought them closer.<em></em>
Lucia Vazquez
Fatta (left) and Buratti grew up to have different interests and personalities but that only brought them closer.
<strong>Left:</strong> Carolina Fatta (blue dress) and Augustina Cecilia Buratti. <strong>Right:</strong> "We have worn a gold bracelet since the day we were both baptized together," Buratti said. "We always liked playing sisters."
/ Lucía Vázquez
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Lucía Vázquez
Left: Carolina Fatta (blue dress) and Augustina Cecilia Buratti. Right: "We have worn a gold bracelet since the day we were both baptized together," Buratti said. "We always liked playing sisters."

Photographer Lucía Vázquez started the project Chosen Sisters to cope with isolation during the second wave of COVID-19 in her hometown in Buenos Aires.

From her apartment's rooftop, Vázquez hung up a floral backdrop and invited pairs and groups of friends. She wanted to document the meaning of long-time friendships that have become as close as family.

"With Chosen Sisters, I wanted to share a message of hope and love in the middle of so much pain, uncertainty and horror we have all experienced during this terrible pandemic," Vázquez said.

Vázquez asked each group the meaning of their relationship and the formula to their long-lasting friendship. She also includes archival photographs and letters in the series.

A friendship that was meant to be

"We were born with a 2-month difference," Agustina Cecilia Buratti told of her friendship with Carolina Fatta.

"Our mothers are sisters, and we have been best friends since the moment they both got pregnant."

The best friends Carolina Fatta (left) and Agustina Cecilia Buratti are also cousins<em></em>
/ Buratti Family
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Buratti Family
The best friends Carolina Fatta (left) and Agustina Cecilia Buratti are also cousins

"Our friendship is characterized by being unconditional and timeless," Buratti explains.

Carolina Fatta and Agustina Buratti made an album to celebrate their friendship.
/ Carolina Fatta; Agustina Buratti
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Carolina Fatta; Agustina Buratti
Carolina Fatta and Agustina Buratti made an album to celebrate their friendship.

"Regardless of the time we spend without seeing or speaking, we can always have a sleepover and chat about everything, knowing that we are going to share an intimate moment as if not a single day would have passed."

A friendship based in sisterhood

"We have been friends since we were two years old; we literally grew up together," Ornella Tedesco said of her friendship with Bianca Emiliozzi.

"We did kindergarten, middle and high school together."

Ornella Tedesco (left in both photographs) and Bianca Emiliozzi spent their formative years together. They became friends at the age of two in 1998.
/ Lucía Vázquez
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Lucía Vázquez
Ornella Tedesco (left in both photographs) and Bianca Emiliozzi spent their formative years together. They became friends at the age of two in 1998.

"Our friendship is based on giving each other our space," Tedesco explains.

The two friends don't talk everyday any more but they are always there for each other.

"She is my sister," Tedesco said. "That is the perfect summary of our friendship."

A friendship that moves mountains

Ana Belén Soria, Jimena Falasca and Elizabeth Saiegh met in kindergarten in 1989 when they were 4-years-old.

"I don't want to get emotional because I will cry, but they are truly my sisters and soulmates," Soria said.

<strong>Left</strong>: A 1996 letter written by Ana Belén Soria where she thanks Elizabeth Saiegh for their friendship and asks Saiegh to write her a letter too. <strong>Right:</strong> Jimena Falasca (left), Ana Belén Soria and Elizabeth Saiegh
/ (left) Image from Elizabeth Saiegh and Ana Belén Soria; (right) Lucía Vázquez
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(left) Image from Elizabeth Saiegh and Ana Belén Soria; (right) Lucía Vázquez
Left: A 1996 letter written by Ana Belén Soria where she thanks Elizabeth Saiegh for their friendship and asks Saiegh to write her a letter too. Right: Ana Belén Soria (left), Elizabeth Saiegh and Jimena Falasca

"I know that if I'm in Australia and something happens to me, they move heaven and earth to help me."

They call themselves chosen sisters.

"We have a shared tattoo — a tiny heart," Soria said. "It's a symbol that we are always united."

A friendship with no judgments or secrets

"What I like most about our relationship is that she will never judge me, and I will never judge her," Noelia Deluca said of her relationship with Ailen Laurna.

Noelia Deluca (left) and Ailen Laurna have been friends for more than 20 years
/ Lucía Vázquez
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Lucía Vázquez
Noelia Deluca (left) and Ailen Laurna have been friends for more than 20 years

"We have no secrets," Deluca said. "There are no filters. It is a sincere and true friendship."

Deluca and Laurna have been best friends for more than 20 years.

"We support each other's projects, pushing ourselves to be better, to not get stuck, to always push forward," Deluca said. "Maybe those are the elements for a relationship to last over time."

A friendship that doesn't need frequency

"As Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges once said 'Friendship does not need frequency,' that's how we describe our relationship, a 'Borgian friendship.'

Pilar Fiocca (left) and Juana Olano in one of the several photos taken in their childhood.
/ Fiocca Family
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Fiocca Family
Pilar Fiocca (left) and Juana Olano in one of the several photos taken in their childhood.
Pilar Fiocca (jean jacket) and Juana Olano
/ Lucía Vázquez
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Lucía Vázquez
Pilar Fiocca (jean jacket) and Juana Olano

"It's not a childish friendship, it is an adult one, we don't claim each other," Juana Olano said. "We can spend months without seeing each other, and when we do it's like it hasn't passed a single day."

Olano and Fiocca said that no matter what happens in life, they will always have each other.

"With the years we realized that it doesn't matter where we are or what happens, we always have each other," Olano said. "Her friendship is my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood all in one."

Follow Lucia Vazquez on Instagram: @luciavazquezph.

Puedes encontrar la versión en español aquí

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Lucía Vázquez
Estefania Mitre
Estefania Mitre (she/her/ella) is a production assistant for social media who works with visual elements to amplify stories across platforms. She has experience reporting on culture, social justice and music.