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History of women in Puerto Rico

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Women in Puerto Rico

A Puerto Rican woman working in a garment factory(ca. March 1950)


Location of the island of Puerto Rico (green)

Puerto Rican women are women who live in and are from Puerto Rico, or are of Puerto Rican descent, an island territory of the United States. Prior to 1898, when the island was ceded to the United States by Spain as a result of the Spanish-American War they were Spanish subjects and were already active participants in the labor movement and agricultural economy in the island. In 1917, the United States Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act which granted an American citizenship with limitations for the cititzens of Puerto Rico. During the period of industrialization, Puerto Rican women took jobs in the so-called "needle industry", working as seamstresses in garment factories. Many Puerto Rican families migrated to the United States in the 1950s in what is known as the "Great Migration". Puerto Rican women became active in the political and social scenes in the continental U.S.. Currently, the women of Puerto Rico have become involved in other fields which were once limited to the male population and have participated in influential roles as leaders in their respective fields.

Puerto Rican women in the military

Main article: Puerto Ricans in World War II Main article: Puerto Rican women in the military
Puerto Rican Army nurses, 296th Station Hospital, Camp Tortuguero, Vega Baja, PR.

When the United States entered World War II, Puerto Rican nurses volunteered for service but were not accepted into the Army or Navy Nurse Corps.

In 1944, the Army sent recruiters to the island to recruit no more than 200 women for the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Over 1,000 applications were received for the unit which was to be composed of only 200 women. The Puerto Rican WAC unit, Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, a segregated Hispanic unit, was assigned to the Port of Embarkation of New York City, after their basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. They were assigned to work in military offices which planned the shipment of troops around the world. Among them was PFC Carmen García Rosado, who in 2006, authored and published a book titled "LAS WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial" (The WACs-The participation of the Puerto Rican women in the Second World War), the first book to document the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women who participated in said conflict.

That same year the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) decided to accept Puerto Rican nurses so that Army hospitals would not have to deal with the language barriers. Thirteen women submitted applications, were interviewed, underwent physical examinations, and were accepted into the ANC. Eight of these nurses were assigned to the Army Post at San Juan, where they were valued for their bilingual abilities. Five nurses were assigned to work at the hospital at Camp Tortuguero, Puerto Rico. Among them was Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler, who became one of the first Puerto Rican female military officers.

Not all the women served as nurses: some women served in administrative duties in the mainland or near combat zones. Such was the case of Technician Fourth Grade Carmen Contreras-Bozak who belonged to the 149th Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. The 149th Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Post Headquarters Company was the first WAAC Company to go overseas, setting sail from New York Harbor for Europe on January 1943. The unit arrived in Northern Africa on January 27, 1943 and rendered overseas duties in Algiers within General Dwight D. Eisenhower's theater headquarters, T/4. Carmen Contreras-Bozak, a member of this unit, was the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions.

Another was Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez Denton, the first woman from Puerto Rico who became an officer in the United States Navy as member of the WAVES. The Navy assigned LTJG Denton as a library assistant at the Cable and Censorship Office in New York City. It was LTJG Denton who forwarded the news (through channels) to President Harry S. Truman that the war had ended.

Some Puerto Rican women became notable in other fields outside of the military. Among them Sylvia Rexach - a composer of boleros, Marie Teresa Rios - an author, and Julita Ross - singer.

Sylvia Rexach, dropped-out of the University of Puerto Rico in 1942 and joined the United States Army as a member of the WACS where she served as an office clerk. She served until 1945, when she was honorably discharged. Marie Teresa Rios was a renowned Puerto Rican writer who also served in World War II. Rios, mother of Medal of Honor recipient, Capt. Humbert Roque Versace and author of The Fifteenth Pelican which was the basis for the popular 1960s television sitcom "The Flying Nun", drove Army trucks and buses. She also served as a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol. Rios Versace wrote and edited for various newspapers around the world, including places such as Guam, Germany, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and publications such the Armed Forces Star & Stripes and Gannett. During World War II, Julita Ross entertained the troops with her voice in "USO shows" (United Service Organizations).

Notable Puerto Rican women

Main article: List of Puerto Ricans

Prominent women from Puerto Rico and of Puerto Rican descent include the following: Actresses, comedians and directors

Authors, playwrights and poets

  • Pura Belpré, author
    First Puerto Rican librarian in New York City.
  • Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier, poet
    Benítez de Gautier's collaboration with the "Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño" (Collection of Puerto Rican Poetry) gave her recognition as a great poet.
  • Julia de Burgos, poet
    Burgos is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico.
  • Nicholasa Mohr, writer
    Her works, among which is the novel Nilda, tell of growing up in the Puerto Rican communities of the Bronx and El Barrio and of the difficulties Puerto Rican women face in the United States. In 1973, she became the first Hispanic woman in the modern times to have her literary works published by the major commercial publishing houses, and she has developed the longest career as a creative writer for these publishing houses than any other Hispanic female writer.
  • Judith Ortiz Cofer, poet, writer and essayist.
    In 1994, she became the first Hispanic to win the O. Henry Prize for her story "The Latin Deli". In 1996, Cofer and illustrator Susan Guevara became the first recipients of the Pura Belpre Award for Hispanic children's literature.
  • Micol Ostow, author
    Ostow wrote of "Mind Your Manners, Dick and Jane". Her novel, "Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa", was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.

Businesswomen and industrialists

  • Aída Álvarez
    First Puerto Rican and first Hispanic woman to hold a sub-cabinet level position in the White House (Small Business Administrator 1997–2000).
  • Carmen Ana Culpeper
    Former SBA Regional Director, first female PR Treasury Secretary and PR Telephone Company President.
  • Nina Tassler
    President of CBS Entertainment. She is the highest profile Latina in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to greenlight series.
  • Camalia Valdés
    Valdés is the President and CEO of Cerveceria India, Inc., Puerto Rico's largest brewery.
  • Maria Vizcarrondo-De Soto
    Vizcarrondo-De Soto is the first woman and Latina to become the President and CEO of the United Way of Essex and West Hudson.

Civil rights and/or political activists

  • María de las Mercedes Barbudo Political activist
    Mercedes Barbudo is considered to be the first female from Puerto Rico "Independentista" meaning that she was the woman to become an avid advocate of the Puerto Rican Independence..
  • Mariana Bracetti a.k.a. "Brazo de Oro" (Golden Arm) Political activist
    Bracetti was the leader of the "Lares's Revolutionary Council" during the Grito de Lares. Bracetti knit the first flag of the future "Republic of Puerto Rico".
  • María Cadilla Women rights activist
    Women rights activist and one the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree.
  • Isabel González Civil Rights activist
    Young Puerto Rican mother who paved the way for Puerto Ricans to be given United States citizenship.
  • Lolita Lebrón Political activist
    Nationalist leader and activist. Lebrón was the leader of a group of nationalists, who proceeded to attack the United States House of Representatives in 1954.
  • Ana María O'Neill Women Rights activist and educator
    In 1929, O'Neill became the first female professor in the field of Comerence in the University of Puerto Rico, a discipline which she taught until 1951. As a women's rights activist, she urged women to participate in every aspect of civic life and to defend their right to vote.
  • Helen Rodriguez-Trias Physician and women's rights activist.
    Rodriguez-Trias was the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and the recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
  • Ana Roque Women Rights activist
    Roque was an educator and suffragist. She was also one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico.
  • Olga Viscal Garriga Political activist
    member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. During the late 1940s she became a student leader at the University of Puerto Rico and spokesperson of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party's branch in Río Piedras.

Composers, musicians and singers

  • Myrta Silva or "La Gorda de Oro" and "Madame Chencha", Singer, composer

Educators

  • Edna Coll Educator and author
    Coll was President of the Society of Puerto Rican Authors in San Juan. She was also the founder of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico.
  • Ninfa Segarra
    President of the New York City Board of Education 2000–2002.
  • Lolita Tizol Educator
    Early 1900s Educator: at a time when most people in Ponce, as most of Puerto Rico, did not know how to read and write, and when teachers were paid only $50 per month, even in the large cities, Tizol took it upon herself to overcome all challenges to help others.
  • Nilita Vientós Gastón Educator
    Vientos Gaston was the first female lawyer to work for the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico. She defended the use of the Spanish language in the courts of Puerto Rico, before the Supreme Court, and won

Governors

  • Sila M. Calderón
    first female governor of Puerto Rico, elected in November 2000. She was the former mayor of San Juan.

Historians

  • Delma S. Arrigoitia, historian, author
    Arrigoitia was the first person in the University of Puerto Rico to earn a Masters Degree in the field of history. In 2010, her book, "Puerto Rico Por Encima de Todo: Vida y Obra de Antonio R. Barceló, 1868–1938", was recognized among the best in the category of "research and criticism" and awarded a first place prize by the Ateneo Puertorriqueño.

Journalists

  • Carmen Jovet,
    Journalist, first Puerto Rican woman named news anchor in Puerto Rico.

Judges and law enforcement

  • Faith Evans, U.S. Marshal
    Hawaiian-Puerto Rican, first woman to be named U.S. Marshal.
  • Dora Irizarry, Federal District Judge
    First female Hispanic state judge in New York.
  • Irma Lozada, New York City Transit Police
    Lozada was the first female police officer to die in the line of duty in New York City.
  • Vanessa Ruiz, Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
    Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest court for the District of Columbia.
  • Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice
    First Puerto Rican woman to serve as an (2d Cir.) U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge and to be nominated and confirmed as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice
  • Carmen Consuelo Vargas, Puerto Rican Federal District Judge
    First female Puerto Rican federal district judge and Chief Judge.

Military

  • Olga E. Custodio, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
    Custodio made history when she became the first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot. She holds the distinction of being first Latina to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training. After retiring from the military she became the first Latina to become a commercial airline captain.
  • Linda Garcia Cubero, Captain, U.S. Air Force
    In 1980, Garcia Cubero, who is of Mexican-American/Puerto Rican heritage, became the first Hispanic woman graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the first to graduate from an American Military Academy.
  • Carmen García Rosado, Private First Class, U.S. Women's Army Corps
    García Rosado was among the first 200 Puerto Rican women to be recruited into the WAC's during World War II and the author of "LAS WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial" (The WACs-The participation of the Puerto Rican women in the Second World War), which is the first book which documents the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women to participate in said conflict as members of the armed forces of the United States.
  • Haydee Javier Kimmich, Captain, U.S. Navy
    Kimmich was the highest ranking Hispanic female in the Navy. She was assigned as the Chief of Orthopedics at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda and she reorganized Reservist Department of the medical center during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
  • Carmen Lozano Dumler, 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Women's Army Corps
    Dumler was one of the first Puerto Rican women Army officers. In 1944, she was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the 161st General Hospital in San Juan.
  • Dr. Dolores Piñero, U.S. Army Medical Corps
    Piñero, who despite the fact that she was not an active member of the military, was the first Puerto Rican woman doctor to serve in the Army under contract during World War I. At first she was turned down, however after writing a letter to the Army Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. she was ordered her to report to Camp Las Casas in Santurce, Puerto Rico. On October 1918, She signed her contract with the Army.
  • Maria Rodriguez Denton, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
    Rodriguez Denton was the first woman from Puerto Rico who became an officer in the United States Navy as member of the WAVES. It was Lt. Denton who forwarded the news (through channels) to President Harry S. Truman that the war had ended.
  • Maritza Sáenz Ryan, Colonel, U.S. Army
    Sáenz Ryan, who is of Puerto Ricana and Spanish descent, is the head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy. She is the first woman and first Hispanic (Puerto Rican and Spanish heritage) West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head. She also has the distinction of also being the most senior ranking Hispanic Judge Advocate.

Physicians, scientists and inventors

  • Olga D. González-Sanabria NASA engineer
    Is the highest ranking Hispanic at NASA Glenn Research Center and a member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.
  • Amri Hernández-Pellerano NASA engineer
    Hernández-Pellerano designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
  • Mercedes Reaves Research engineer and scientist
    Reaves is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center.
  • Dr. Miriam Rodon-Naveira PhD, Puerto Rican NASA scientist
    Rodón-Naveira was the first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory.
  • Yajaira Sierra Sastre
    Sierra Sastre was chosen to take part in a new NASA project that will help to determine why astronauts don’t eat enough, having noted that they get bored with spaceship food and end up with problems like weight loss and lethargy that put their health at risk. She will live for four months isolated in a planetary module to simulate what life will be like for astronauts at a future base on Mars at a base in Hawaii. Sierra Sastre is an aspiring astronaut.

Politicians

  • María Luisa Arcelay
    First woman in Puerto Rico and in all of Latin America to be elected to a government legislative body.
  • Carmen E. Arroyo
    First Puerto Rican woman elected to any state assembly, chair New York Hispanic Legislative Caucus.
  • Maria Colón Sánchez
    Colón Sánchez was an activist and politician who in 1988, became the first Hispanic woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly.
  • Gloria Tristani
    First Hispanic woman appointed as one of the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
  • Nydia Velázquez
    First Puerto Rican congresswoman, Chair of House Small Business Committee.
  • Wilda Diaz
    First female mayor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey and first Puerto Rican woman elected mayor in that state.

Religion

  • Bavi Edna Rivera, Episcopal Bishop
    Rivera is the first Hispanic woman bishop and the 12th woman bishop in the Episcopal Church.

Sports

  • Rebekah Colberg
    known as "The Mother of Puerto Rican Women's Sports", Colberg paritcipated in various athletic competitions in the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games celebrated in Panama where she won the Gold Medals in Discus and Javelin throw.
  • Maritza Correia
    first black Puerto Rican woman in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team.
  • Gigi Fernández
    tennis player, the first female athlete from her native Puerto Rico to turn professional, the first Puerto Rican woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  • Anita Lallande
    former Olympic swimmer, holds the island record for most medals won at CAC Games with a total of 17 and 10 gold.

See also

References

  1. Women making brassieres at the Jem Manufacturing Corp. in Puerto Rico, March 1950. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  2. ^ Introduction, Puerto Rican Labor Movement
  3. ^ Puerto Rican Woman in Defense of our country
  4. "LAS WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial; by: Carmen Garcia Rosado; page 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399; Library of Congress TXY 1-312-685.
  5. ^ Bellafaire, Judith. "Puerto Rican Servicewomen in Defense of the Nation". Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
  6. Kennon, Katie. "Young woman's life defined by service in Women's Army Corps". US Latinos and Latinas & World War II. Archived from the original on 2006-09-19. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
  7. Music of Puerto Rico
  8. Marie Teresa Rios
  9. Popular Culture
  10. Marquita Rivera at IMDb. Retrieved 14 April 2008
  11. "Pura Belpré: The Children's Ambassador". In Vicki Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography, and Community New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. 148-157
  12. Bios
  13. JS Theatre
  14. Isabel Freire de Matos por Esther Rivera Torres
  15. Template:Es icon Ensayistas.org, Rosario Ferré. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  16. Dictionary of Literary Biography intro online
  17. Heath Anthology bio
  18. ^ "Hispanic Firsts", By; Nicolas Kanellos, publisher Visible Ink Press; ISBN 0-7876-0519-0; p.40
  19. Puerto Rico Past and Present: An Encyclopedia By Ronald Fernandez, Serafín Méndez Méndez, Gail Cueto
  20. Honoree - Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
  21. Princeton's Children's Book Festival
  22. Santiago's Page on pbs.org
  23. highest-ranking Latina in network television
  24. Camalia Valdez – Bio
  25. El Diario/La Prensa
  26. Mercedes – La primera Independentista Puertorriquena
  27. Journal of American Ethnic History
  28. Geisler, Lindsey (11 September 2006). "Mendez case paved way for Brown v. Board". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  29. "Sauceda, Isis (28 March 2007). "Cambio Historico (Historic Change)". People en Español (in Spanish): pages 111–112. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  30. Biografias
  31. Changing the Face of Medicine
  32. ^ "Tras las Huellas de Nuestro Paso"; by: Ildelfonso López; Publisher: AEELA, 1998
  33. Statue Honoring Tizol
  34. Puerto Rico A Timeline, Almost a Woman, PBS, New York
  35. Puerto Rico Daily Sun
  36. KENA to Launch in April
  37. Profile of Elizabeth Vargas, ABC News Journalist
  38. Recalling a Slain Officer, and the Equality of Peril
  39. Did You Know? Quick Facts on Latinos in the Military
  40. Our American Dream: Meet the First Latina US Military Pilot
  41. Rachel Heyhoe
  42. Garcia Cubero, Linda. "Punto Final!". Latina Style. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  43. "LAS WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial; by: Carmen Garcia Rosado; page 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399
  44. ^ Women's Memorial
  45. Women's Military Memorial
  46. Ryan takes charge of Law Department
  47. Maritza Sáenz Ryan - Bio.
  48. Yajaira Sierra One Step Closer to Becoming First Puerto Rican Woman in Space
  49. Yajaira Sierra dreams of being 1st Puerto Rican woman in space
  50. Biografia
  51. Maria Sanchez: Godmother of the Puerto Rican Community
  52. Diocese of Olympia’
  53. according to Hispanic Magazine, 1988
  54. "Gigi Fernández: "We Have A Mixed Identity"". Puerto Rico Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  55. Puerto Rico Herald

Further reading

External links

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