Adina Carla de Mascasas

The latest episode in my life involves masks. Lots of them. I will start at the beginning. Go get some popcorn.

The las Casas signature

In 1527 my greatgreatgreatgreatgreat grandpapa Bartolome de las Casas was writing his Histories of the Indies, which made him famous. Basically he felt really bad about the abuses of the conquistadors over the indigenous population and wrote several books on how horrible the Spanish were to the native population. He was a good guy.

Perhaps you want me to explain how do I know I am related to him? Well, I am not. Related, I mean. He was a friar to begin with, so probably chaste and holy. However, there is an intriguing link. Following some research made by someone more interested in this than me, the origin of my unusual name can be traced back to another pandemic - the Plague. Some Spanish crusaders were caught by Plague while travelling down the Danube and tried to escape by going North, following the river Olt. They seem to have settled just beyond the Carpathian arc, where I come from.

True or not, nobody will ever know.

I prefer to think I have some interesting (read special) genes mixed in there. Because once this madness started, I instantly went into useful mode. I have been in the right place at the right time and have been using all my knowledge and resources to help whoever I could.

There was a sense of urgency - people were in need of protection and I had what it took to provide. There were requests from ambulance nurses, from doctors, from couriers, from companies that had drivers crossing borders. Now it feels like ages ago, but remember that in the beginning we felt everything was contaminated and the need of protection was paramount. Do you remember those days? The days when you left the parcel to "decontaminate" for 24 hours? Yeah, it was not even two months ago.

People needed masks and protection on the spot. It felt I didn't have enough hours in a day to complete their requests. I gave them away to anyone who needed them. This little insignificant soft skill I had honed for 7 years making sensory toys for babies became HUGELY important.

As a matter of fact, it did feel like I have a superpower.

I was in the right place at the right time.

Facebook posts went viral, journalists wrote about me in important publications (I use the plural, but it was one article, but come on - it was Al Jazeera!), other journalists ordered my masks and then talked about them and my humble mask donations got noticed. One afternoon I even got a thank you message from Vlad Voiculescu, the ex-Minister of Health (a guy I admire greatly) that made my knees tremble for 22 minutes!

This is a guy who saved thousands of lives by providing cancer medication from abroad to the people in need. Come on!

During this mad mad two months I can say this: I got A LOT of support from people I know and from people I DON'T KNOW. It's been an amazing collective experience. I have made new friends and I have found enjoyment in working hard.

I got this message from a girl I have NEVER met:

How sweet is this?

It is true though. I didn't even have time for coffee or water. Days were long and nights were short. My brain in overdrive. I woke up one morning with one word in my head: "Mascasas". How? How did I have the perfect name for this? Well, I did.

I had more buzz with my masks in 30 days than I had with BabyBooks in 7 years. And people coming back for more orders because I have new fabrics in stock. And people turning this whole experience into something FUN. I mean, just look at my friend's post: she claims Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chilli Peppers has been stalking her since she's wearing my mask. 😂

You made my day/month/year, girl. Piciulina Anca, on Facebook.

Sending two masks with a traditional Romanian pattern to the Presidency as a symbol of the times was also a decision made on the spur of the moment. I wrote a nice letter to Klaus finishing by saying that he is the most Romanian German ethnic in the world - which is true - and I do hope he smiled.

Dear Mr President...

In the span of these two months, Ruby - my 20 year old cat - died, Thomas turned 13 and I turned 46. Life changing events that were somehow overshadowed by the Covid and the mask making. Which in a way was good. Especially the Ruby part. Working hard helped me.

Two months in, I am still amazed by this social phenomenon. Paediatricians or physiotherapists are calling me for child friendly masks - nobody wants to scare little babies with their horrible looking professional masks. Owners of restaurants are willing to provide colourful masks for their staff, to relax the atmosphere. Men ordering the most feminine patterns possible and wearing them with pride. People from abroad ordering Mascasas masks. It is an endless list.

This is the new reality and people do want to stand out in a crowd. So I am willing to be as creative as necessary to provide this service. It makes me feel useful and I am very grateful I can help out.

I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if I will ever go back to what I was doing before. It's a new era and we are marking its beginning.

And if people will remember me as Adina Mascasas instead of Adina Las Casas that will be absolutely fine with me.

#goodguys #masks #mascasas #crazytimes #adjust #adapt #covidfashion