We look back at some of the mothers who left their mark on our archipelago.
Many mothers have had a significant impact on history, not only through their role as mothers but through their achievements in many areas.
To mark Mother's Day, Platea takes a historical tour to recognize those Puerto Rican mothers who have had a strong social impact on the archipelago.
These are women who challenged the social order and carved out space for themselves in social and political power.
Did you know about these powerful women?
1. Lola Rodríguez de Tió (1843-1924):
Mother of two daughters, Rodríguez de Tió is recognized as the author of the revolutionary anthem La Borinqueña. This poet and revolutionary leader published several books of poetry and was exiled for her political activism.
Lola fought for the freedom of political prisoners, for women's rights, and for the independence of Cuba and Puerto Rico. She was called "daughter of the Islands" by Rubén Darío, referring to Cuba, her adopted homeland where she died, and Puerto Rico, according to Historia Hispánica.
In Cuba, she founded and was elected a member of the Academia Cubana de las Artes y Letras, and was recognized for her revolutionary poetry.
At Ciudad Seva you can read some of her poems.
2. Ana Roqué de Duprey (1853-1933):
Mother of five, Roqué is a well-known feminist activist and founder of the Liga Femínea de Puerto Rico, the first women's rights organization in the country, which pushed for women's suffrage.
Known as "Flor del Valle" for her contributions to botany, she was also an educator, a writer, one of the founders of the Universidad de Puerto Rico, and founder of the newspaper La Mujer, the first dedicated to women in the country.
3. Camila Margarita “Amina” Tió de Malaret (1865-1939):
This mother of nine was the driving force behind the establishment of Mother's Day in Puerto Rico. It came about in 1915, one year after the celebration was established in the United States, at the request of Camila Margarita "Amina" Tió to the Legislative Assembly.
She was a writer, secretary to the politician Francisco Mariano Quiñones, and a contributor to the feminist newspaper La Verdad. She was also named honorary president of the Liga Social Sufragista in 1922.
4. Herminia Tormes García (1891-1964):
Mother of two sons, Tormes was not only the first woman to graduate from the Universidad de Puerto Rico School of Law in 1917; she was also the first woman to argue before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston in 1924 and the first to be appointed a judge in 1929.
As a lawyer, she was known for defending marginalized women.
5. Gertie Besosa Silva (1923-1983):
This mother of three is the first licensed female architect in Puerto Rico and the first Latina to graduate from the architecture program at Cornell University.
The Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas has a scholarship in her name to support and invest in the development of women architects.
6. Luisa Capetillo (1879-1922):
Mother of three children outside of marriage, this labor organizer and feminist was the first Puerto Rican woman to wear pants in public. When she was arrested for wearing pants in La Habana, she asked authorities for evidence of the prohibition and, when they could not produce any, she was released.
In addition to advocating for women's and universal suffrage, she contributed to labor publications and pushed for women's entry into labor unions.
7. Josefina Barceló Bird (1901-1979):
This mother of three was a civic and political leader who became the first woman to head a political party in Puerto Rico. From a young age she showed an interest in politics, following in the footsteps of her father Antonio Barceló, who had been a disciple of Luis Muñoz Marín, a political leader and president of the Senate, according to EnciclopediaPR.
In her political career, she was an anonymous suffragist until women's suffrage was granted in 1929, after which she actively participated in the cause, promoting women's political involvement. By the 1940s, she had become president of the Partido Liberal. She later took part in efforts to unify that party with the Unión Republicana, which led to the formation of the Partido Estadista, and she also served as a delegate of the Partido Nuevo Progresista.
8. Anita Lallande (1949-2021):
This mother of two is one of the first three Puerto Rican women to compete in the Olympic Games (Tokyo 64) and one of the most important figures in swimming in Puerto Rico. She holds the record for the most medals won in swimming at the Central American and Caribbean Games, with 17 medals.
9. Miriam Naveira (1934-2018):
A mother of two, she was not only the first woman appointed as associate justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, but also became, in 2003, the first woman to serve as chief justice of that court.
In addition to being a defender of human rights, she was the first woman to hold the position of assistant secretary of Justice and the first attorney general of Puerto Rico.
10. Sila Calderón (1942):
This mother of three is the first woman to serve as governor of Puerto Rico and, to date, the only one to have done so.
In addition to having served as secretary of La Gobernación, secretary of state, and mayor of San Juan, her most emblematic project as governor was the Comunidades Especiales program. She has her own foundation, which provides services at the Centro para Puerto Rico in Río Piedras.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
