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Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández De Kirchner Combats Werewolves By Adopting Jewish Godson

By Zachary Volkert
Published on: 14:11 PST, Dec 26, 2014

Argentina is known for being one of the most chaotically quirky countries on a continent full of odd histories and distinct public figures. Current president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is no exception to this lineage of charismatic faces. Something she illustrated the day after Christmas by posting photos of her adoption of a Jewish godson.

If that didn’t seem odd to you, it’s because it’s not the strangest part of the story — Kirchner is carrying out the seemingly random adoption in order to combat a destructive legend about werewolves. In early 20th century Argentina, it was often considered common knowledge that if your seventh consecutive male child is born, he will become a werewolf.

Legend also had it that the werewolf can spread the mutation through his bite, which as you can imagine sparked the fears of the plebiscite just as Ebola or whooping cough threats today. Belief was so widespread that parents began killing their sons in order to avoid giving birth to a werewolf. That practice didn’t begin to slow until the 1920s, when the government began to offer “presidential protection, a gold medal, and a scholarship” for all seventh sons until they turned 21, reported The Times of Israel.

That honor, however, was only reserved for Catholic boys, which is where the symbolism involved in Cristina’s move comes in. Kirchner, who avidly updates her Twitter account, recounted the entire event via live tweets Tuesday, translated below in English if you’re not a Spanish speaker.

“It was magical to receive Iair Tawil, the first presidential godson in national history to profess the Jewish faith. Iair, 21, is completely sweet. His family, marvelous. His mother Reina Ester. His father, Salomón, a rabbi. His brothers: Rafael, Eliel, Eitan. I didn’t know, but his visit coincided with the celebration of Hanukkah. His father said it was no coincidence. He was right. They brought me the gift of a menorah. They asked me to light the candles, and for Lair to say the prayer. A very special moment. Later, they told me to blow them out and make a wish. Don’t even dream I’m going to tell you what it was.”

What do you think about Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s gesture?

[Image via Twitter]

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