Lola Rodríguez de Tio - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lola Rodríguez de TióThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name " Rodríguez" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Tió"., (September 14, 1843-November 10, 1924), was the first Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

born poetess to establish herself a reputation as a great poet throughout all of Latin America. A believer in Women's Rights

Women's rights

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

, she was also committed to the abolition of slavery and in the independence of Puerto Rico.

Early years

Rodríguez de Tió (birth name:Dolores Rodríguez de Astudillo y Ponce de León) was born in San Germán, Puerto Rico

San Germán, Puerto Rico

San Germán is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao; north of Lajas; east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo; and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over 18 wards and San Germán Pueblo...

. Her father, Sebastián Rodríguez de Astudillo, was the founder of the Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (College of Law of Puerto Rico) and her mother, Carmen Ponce de León, was a descendant of Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

. Rodríguez de Tió received her education at home where she was home-tutored. She developed a life-long love for literature, especially for the works of Fray Luis de León which were to serve her as a source of inspiration. She was very assertive in her early years, at the age of seventeen she demanded to be allowed to wear her hair short, which went against the conventional norm of the time, a personal trademark that she kept through her life.

Political activist

Rodríguez de Tió moved to Mayagüez, with her family. There she met Bonocio Tió Segarra, whom she married in 1863. Rodríguez de Tió became a writer and book importer who often wrote articles in the local press and was as much of an activist against the Spanish regime as was allowed by the government. After marrying Tió, she published her first book of poetry,"Mis Cantos" which sold the then amazing amount of 2,500 copies.

In 1867 and then again in 1889, Rodríguez de Tió and her husband were banished from Puerto Rico by the Spanish appointed Governors. On their first exile they went to Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

and on their second banishment they first moved to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

where she helped José Martí

José Martí

José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...

and other Cuban revolutionaries, and later to Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, where the couple resided until their respective deaths. Their home became a gathering point for politicians and intellectuals as well as exiled Puerto Ricans. In 1868, inspired by Ramón Emeterio Betances

Ramón Emeterio Betances

Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán was a Puerto Rican nationalist. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolution, and as such, is considered to be the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement...

's quest for Puerto Rico's independence and by the attempted revolution called the Grito de Lares

Grito de Lares

El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico...

, she wrote the patriotic lyrics to the existing tune of La Borinqueña

La Borinqueña

La Borinqueña is the official anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. After Puerto Rico became the "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, signed law #2 of July 24, 1952 that stated that the musical composition known as "La Borinqueña" was to...

. In 1901, Rodríguez de Tió founded and was elected member to the Cuban Academy of Arts and Letters. She was also an inspector of the local school system. She was well known in Cuba for her patriotic poetry about Puerto Rico and Cuba. Some of Rodríguez de Tió's best known works are "Cuba y Puerto Rico son..." (Cuba and Puerto Rico are..) and "Mi Libro de Cuba" (My Book about Cuba).

In 1919, Rodriguez de Tió returned to Puerto Rico where she was honored with a great banquet at the Ateneo Puertoriqueño after she recited her "Cantos a Puerto Rico". Lola Rodríguez de Tió died on November 10, 1924 and is buried at the Colón Cemetery

Colon Cemetery, Havana

The Colon Cemetery or more fully in the Spanish language Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba on top of Espada Cemetery. Named for Christopher Columbus, the 140 acre cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials...

in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba.

It is believed by some that the design and colors of the Puerto Rican Flag, which were adopted in 1954, came from Rodríguez de Tió's idea of having the same flag as Cuba with the colors reversed. Puerto Rico has honored Lola's memory by naming schools and avenues after her.

Lyrics to the revolutionary version of "La Boriqueña"

The following are the lyrics to Lola Rodríguez de Tió's 1868 revolutionary version of "La Boriqueña":

**Revolutionary version of "La Boriqueña"**

**by Lola Rodríguez de Tio**
Spanish (original version)	English translation
¡Despierta, borinqueño que han dado la señal! ¡Despierta de ese sueño que es hora de luchar!	Arise, Puerto Rican! The call to arms has sounded! Awake from this dream, for it is time to fight!
A ese llamar patriótico ¿no arde tu corazón? ¡Ven! Nos será simpático el ruido del cañón.	Doesn't this patriotic call set your heart alight? Come! We will be in tune with the roar of the cannon.
Mira, ya el cubano libre será; le dará el machete su libertad... le dará el machete su libertad.	Come, the Cubans will soon be free; the machete will give him his liberty.
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 countryside is the place of the meeting... of the meeting.
El Grito de Lares se ha de repetir, y entonces sabremos vencer o morir.	The Cry of Lares Grito de Lares El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico... 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 wish to fight.
ya por más tiempo impávido no podemos estar, ya no queremos, tímidos dejarnos subyugar.	Now, no longer can we be unmoved; now we do not want timidly to let them subjugate us.
Nosotros queremos ser libre ya, y nuestro machete afilado está. y nuestro machete afilado está.	We want to be free now, and our machete has been sharpened.
¿Por qué, entonces, nosotros hemos de estar, tan dormidos y sordos y sordos a esa señal? a esa señal, a esa señal?	Why then have we been so sleepy and deaf to the call?
No hay que temer, riqueños al ruido del cañón, que salvar a la patria es deber del corazón!	There is no need to fear, Puerto Ricans, the roar of the cannon; saving the motherland is the duty of the heart.
ya no queremos déspotas, caiga el tirano ya, las mujeres indómitas también sabrán luchar.	We no longer want despots, may the tyrant fall now; the unconquerable women also will know how to fight.
Nosotros queremos la libertad, y nuestros machetes nos la darán... y nuestro machete nos la dará...	We want liberty, 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!	Come, Puerto Ricans, come now, for freedom awaits for us anxiously, freedom, freedom!

Early years

Political activist

Lyrics to the revolutionary version of "La Boriqueña"

Memorial Plaque

Ancestors of Lola Rodríguez de Tió

See also