Gabriela Brimmer

Gabriela Brimmer was a Mexican writer and activist for people with disabilities. She was born in Mexico City, the daughter of Sari and Michel Brimmer, Austrian Jewish immigrants. She had a brother, David. Gaby was born with cerebral palsy and since childhood learned to act in a world that has difficulty accepting diversity. Brimmer's caretaker Florencia Sánchez Morales was largely responsible for teaching her to communicate. Brimmer's life was chronicled in the film Gaby: A True Story. In 1979, her Spanish-language autobiography Gaby Brimmer, coauthored by Elena Poniatowska, was published by Editorial Grijalbo in Mexico City. An English version translated by Trudy Balch appeared in 2009. Brimmer also wrote two other books: Gaby Brimmer: An Autobiography in Three Voices and My Life Is a Poem. Brimmer was an active participant in numerous organizations that advocated for the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. She founded the Association for the Rights of People with Motor Disabilities (ADEPAM) and was a vice president of the Mexican Confederation of the Physically Handicapped and Representatives of the Mentally Handicapped. She also represented the Committee of Women with Disabilities in the Latin American Region of the World Organization of Persons with Disabilities. Brimmer worked for the full participation of people with disabilities and at the same time managed to write poetry. She died of pneumonia in 2000 at the age of 52.