María Arce

Award-winning Argentinean journalist with a career spanning over 30 years and more than 50 destinations, María Arce has become a prominent voice in gender-based violence reporting. After relocating to Puerto Rico in 2016—one year after the femicide of Andrea Ruiz Costas—María focused her work on documenting violence against women across Latin America. Her investigative lens is sharpened by lived experience, and through Healing Bells, she found a path to process emotional abuse and reclaim her narrative. Collaborating with Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, María shaped poems and lyrics that gave voice to Latine survivors, using music and storytelling as powerful tools for healing and transformation.

“Healing Bells allowed me to process feelings related to emotional abuse. Intimate partner violence is a common currency in Latin American countries where machismo has significant prevalence rooted in patriarchal societies. Music, lyrics, and poems composed hand-in-hand with Pamela became a medium through which I could channel and understand emotions. It was an empowering collaboration that I hope will resonate globally and provide survivors the strength and support needed to transform their lives.”