Lola Rodríguez de Tió

Lola Rodríguez de Tió (Library of Congress)

Lola Rodríguez de Tió (full name: Dolores Rodríguez de Astudillo y Ponce de León, born September 14, 1843 in San Germán , Puerto Rico ; † November 10, 1924 in Havana , Cuba ) was the first Puerto Rican poet to write in whole Latin America was successful. She campaigned for women's rights, the abolition of slavery and the independence of their homeland.

Early years

Lola's father, Sebastián Rodriguez de Astudillo, was the founder of the local Bar Association Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico . Her mother, Carmen Ponce de Leon, was a descendant of Juan Ponce de León . Lola was home schooled and developed a love of literature. In particular, the works of Fray Luis de Leon served as a source of inspiration. It was very decisive from a young age; at the age of 14, after a misunderstanding, she demanded to wear her hair short, contrary to the norm, and kept this as a personal trademark throughout her life.

Political activities

Lola moved with her family to Mayagüez , where she met Bonocio Tió Segarra and married in 1863. Her husband was a writer and imported books. He often wrote articles for the local press and took action against the Spanish regime as much as the government allowed. After their wedding, Lola published her first volume of poetry, Mis Cantos , which had an impressive print run of 2500 copies for the time.

In 1867 and 1889, Lola and Bonocio were banished from Puerto Rico by the Spanish governor Palacios. In their first exile they went to Venezuela . During the second exile, they first moved to New York City and later to Cuba , where they stayed until their deaths. In 1868 Lola wrote - inspired by Ramón Emeterio Betances ' struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico and the planned revolution Grito de Lares - the patriotic text for the existing hymn La Borinqueña (see below). In Cuba, she was appointed a member of the Cuban Academy of Arts and Letters and an inspector of the local school system.

She was also known for her patriotic poetry about Puerto Rico and Cuba. Her most famous works were Cuba y Puerto Rico son ... (Cuba and Puerto Rico are ...) and Mi Libro de Cuba (My book about Cuba).

In 1919 she returned to Puerto Rico, where she was honored with a large banquet in the Ateneo Puertoriqueño and performed her Cantos a Puerto Rico . The design and colors of the flag of Puerto Rico , officially recognized in 1954, come from Lola's idea of ​​having the same flag as Cuba with the colors reversed. In Puerto Rico, schools and streets are named after her in her honor.

tomb

She is buried in the Cementerio Cristóbal Colón in Havana.

Revolutionary text from La Borinqueña (1868)

Original Spanish version	German translation
¡Despierta, borinqueño que han dado la señal! ¡Despierta de ese sueño que es hora de luchar!	Stand up, Puerto Ricans! The call to arms has sounded Awakened from this dream, it is time to fight!
A ese llamar patriótico ¿no arde tu corazón? ¡Ven! Nos será simpático el ruido del cañón.	Doesn't that patriotic call make your hearts shake? Come! We are one with the thunder of the cannon.
Mira, ya el cubano libre será; le dará el machete su libertad. le dará el machete su libertad.	Come on, the Cubans will soon be free; the machete will give him his freedom. the machete will give him his freedom.
Ya el tambor guerrero dice en su son, que es la manigua el sitio, el sitio de la reunión, de la reunión, de la reunión.	Now the war drum says with its sound that the jungle is the place, the place of union, of union, of union.
El Grito de Lares se ha de repetir, y entonces sabremos vencer o morir.	The Grito de Lares must be repeated and then we will know: victory or death.
Bellísima Borinquén, a Cuba hay que seguir; tú tienes bravos hijos que quieren combatir.	Beautiful Puerto Rico must follow Cuba; you have brave sons who want to fight.
Ya por más tiempo impávido no podemos estar, ya no queremos, tímidos dejarnos subyugar.	Now we can no longer remain calm; now we don't want to be fearfully subjugated by them.
Nosotros queremos ser libre ya, y nuestro machete afilado está, y nuestro machete afilado está.	We want to be free now, and our machete is sharpened and our machete is sharpened.
¿Por qué, entonces, nosotros hemos de estar, tan dormidos y sordos y sordos a esa señal? a esa señal, a esa señal?	Then why were we so sleepy and deaf to the call? to the call, to the call?
No hay que temer, riqueños al ruido del canón, que salvar a la patria es deber del corazón!	Don't be afraid, Puerto Ricans, of the roar of the cannon; Saving the nation is an affair of the heart.
Ya no queremos déspotas, caiga el tirano ya, las mujeres indómitas también sabrán luchar.	We no longer want despots, tyranny is now to overthrow; the invincible women will also know how to fight.
Nosotros queremos la libertad, y nuestros machetes nos la darán, y nuestro machete nos la dará.	We want freedom, and our machetes will give it to us, and our machetes will give it to us.
Vámonos, borinqueños, vámonos ya, que nos espera ansiosa, ansiosa la libertad. ¡La libertad, la libertad!	Let's go Puerto Ricans, come on now, we hope and wait for freedom, wait for freedom. Freedom, freedom!

literature

• Josefina Toledo. Lola Rodríguez de Tió - Contribución para un estudio integral . Librería Editorial Ateneo: San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2002

Web links

Commons : Lola Rodríguez de Tió  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• La Boriqueña with audio sample