08/05/2026
INFORMACION RESPECTO A LA PARTIDA DE NUESTRA QUERIDA AMIGA, JUEZA ALL BREED, MIEMBRO DE RENAGACH, SRA. MARTA MARKULJAK A NUESTRA FEDERACION WORLD CAT FEDERATION.
With deep sorrow we announce the passing of Mrs. Marta Inés Markuljak, born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1945, and who passed away on April 27 of this year. An architect graduated from the National University of La Plata, a woman of vast culture, great sensitivity, and a historic figure of South American cat fancy, her last residence was in the district of Bernal, Greater Buenos Aires.
She practiced her profession with dedication and seriousness, while also raising a family as the mother of three children. Alongside her professional and family life, she developed an extraordinary career in the feline world, becoming a true pioneer of cat fancy in South America, initially together with her former husband and fellow feline judge Bernardino Paz Blanco.
In the 1970s, together with her husband, she became one of the first feline judges on the continent, beginning her career in TICA through a special invitation from Gloria Stephens, one of the great promoters of the expansion of organized cat fancy into South America. From then on, Marta became a respected and indispensable reference within our South American feline clubs for her knowledge, experience, and judgment in feline evaluation.
She bred several breeds, among them the Bengal. In 1992, she became the first breeder of this breed in South America, at a time when it was still a complete novelty on our continent.
Her name also became closely linked to the origins and development of RENAGACH, of which she was one of the earliest members and permanent collaborators. Through our club, a full member of WCF, she completed the validation of her international All Breed judge license for WCF, a recognition fully deserved after decades of experience and prestige within the South American cat fancy community. She also played an important role in the training of our student judges.
During the last twenty years, she was always available — and always delighted — to come to Chile to participate with us in countless cat shows and feline activities. On many occasions she did so without even accepting a judging fee, motivated solely by her commitment to cat fancy and by the affection she felt for our club.
At RENAGACH she accompanied us as a judge on countless occasions; she also participated in the World Cat Show held in Buenos Aires in 2016 and generously offered her support as a judge in Bolivia as well. She judged shows for AFA (FIFe club) and FEDAGAT (WCF club). Those of us who knew her will especially remember her intelligence, her gentle and kind character, her aesthetic sensitivity, and her profound knowledge of the cat.
With her passing, one of the representatives of the founding generation of modern South American cat fancy is gone. Her legacy will remain alive in the institutions she helped build, in the judges and breeders she inspired, and in the grateful memory of all who shared with her so many years of shows, friendship, and work.
We extend our most sincere condolences to her children, relatives, and friends.
Rest in peace, Marta.
