Mariana Bracetti

the flag of the revolution

Mariana Bracetti (* 1825 in Añasco , Puerto Rico , † 1903 ibid) was a Puerto Rican freedom fighter who campaigned for the island's independence.

Life

After a failed first marriage, she met the rich businessman Miguel Rojas, who together with his brother Manuel Rojas owned the coffee plantation "El Triunfo". Bracetti married Rojas, had children with him and moved to the hacienda .

Manuel and Miguel Rojas were great admirers of Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances , who campaigned for the independence of Puerto Rico. "El Triunfo" became the secret nucleus of the revolution and the brothers became the leaders of the revolutionary cell code-named "Centro Bravo". Bracetti was nicknamed "Brazo de Oro" (Golden Arm) and was appointed leader of the Revolutionary Council of Lares. On behalf of Betances, she designed and sewed the first flag of the future "Republic of Puerto Rico". The flag consisted of two blue fields at the top and two red fields at the bottom, separated by a white cross; There was a white star in the upper left.

In 1868 the Grito de Lares revolt took place. After taking the city of Lares, the revolutionaries placed Bracetti's flag on the high altar of Parroquial Church to proclaim the Republic of Puerto Rico.

However, the revolution failed and all surviving rebels, including Bracetti, were arrested in Arecibo . Eighty prisoners died in prison, but Bracetti survived and was released on January 20, 1869 on a general amnesty granted by the new Spanish government.

She died in her hometown of Añasco in 1903. A monument in her honor stands above her grave in the city's plaza. Several schools and streets in Puerto Rico are also named after her. In the United States, there is a Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School in Philadelphia and a Mariana Bracetti Plaza in New York City .

Web links

• Biography (spanish)