I admit I wasn't nice when I met him at the end of '96. We met at a "Advertising Designer" course. He was 13 years old and his name was Felipe, a talented boy who admired my drawing so much and asked permission to copy me. (I didn't draw furry at the time, didn't even know it existed.) That's how we became friends.

After the course I lost contact with Felipe. Years later, around 2001/2002, I was approached by a certain Erica. At that time I had a blog called "Comi as súcubos"(i fucked the succubus) where I wrote my routine as a young adult in the underworld of Rio de Janeiro. She told who she was and how she had made the gender transition. She wanted to get back to drawing, something she unfortunately never did professionally and we got back in touch, shared experiences and I made some drawing tutorials for her to practice again.

Years later, in 2008 (I think), she was married to a rich man who gave her everything she wanted, but she wanted to earn her own money and turned to me. That's how I suggested that she join the fandom, even if she didn't draw furry, but it was the environment I knew where she could do work without long-term commitments like in animation studios, or doing children's books that I illustrated. I gave her all the support I could and she was soon walking on her own two feet here in the fandom.

After the course of the 90s, I never met Erica in person again, all our contact was virtual and from time to time we talked. But it wasn't recurrent. When I moved to another city in 2020, I walked away from many people and I wasn't even surprised by her silence for a long time. I didn't even know about her death in time. I didn't even suspect. I actually only found out about it last week when her widower contacted me as he was getting rid of her art files and asked if I wanted to keep them. Original pencil drawings and digital files in HD. I readily accepted Erica's inheritance.

I'll use his words: "I know you were good friends and that you've always supported this artistic side of her. If you don't come get these things I'll burn everything down."

Now I have these folders full of art from a person who has always admired me.

By now you are wondering how it happened and the answer is as simple and painful as possible. Erica was another victim of Covid-19.

I'm feeling like I should have been a better friend. Take care of her more. I don't have access to her email or social media accounts, so I decided to create this profile as a tribute to her memory. May her friends and fans spread the news as I imagine many don't know what happened to her.

I will publish her artworks here little by little in good quality and if other people want to publish their tributes, they can send them to my email (santanaron@gmail.com) and I will publish them too. May we, admirers of her work, immortalize our diva who started shy, hiding her face, but soon felt welcomed by the furries.

My God, it's been almost two years now, I really can't call myself a good friend. I don't even know if I deserve such an inheritance, but I'll do what I can to honor her memory.

Goodbye Erica!

by Ronaldo Santana  jilo