Luisa Capetillo Contributions To Society

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Introduction
The Latin American History has had numerous amount of heroic people who have changed the Latino community for better or worse however, due to the sexist and patriarchal views of the past there were many Latina women who have been oppressed and restricted for being intellectual and creative. Despite this, they overcame this issue and made many contributions within the Latino community. One of the many women is Luisa Capetillo. Here we explore her life and the contributions she has made with her writings, activism, and so forth and what impact she has made in her society.

Context or background
The late 1800s was an interesting time in Puerto Rico. In 1873 slavery had been abolished in Puerto Rico, however, it was not a time for …show more content…

Her parents were both of the working class. Her mother, Luisa Margarita Perón, was a French immigrant who came to Puerto Rico looking for work as a tutor for children, but instead was hired as a domestic servant in the city’s wealthy households. Her father, Luis Capetillo Echeverria, was Spaniard who also came to Puerto Rico looking for work. Capetillo’s parents were unwed, which was frowned upon during that time. Depsite this, they raised Capetillo together. Capetillo did have some formal schooling but also was self-taught, in part of her parents doing who encouraged her to read European literature and philosophy. Capetillo was not and atheist but she did reject religion. She believed to be a Christian meant that one believed in justice and equality and therefore considered herself to be a good Christian even though she did not agree with the rigid ideologeis of the …show more content…

During this time period it was the most intense in terms of strike activity in Puerto Rico. Capetillo also traveled to New York to establish a pan-Caribbean system of schools for the children of agricultural workers, however she was not able to gain the support of Union leaders. She did established a guest house and cafe in New York where she offered vegetarian meals and space for anarchist meetings. In 1919 She traveled to Domincan Republic to support strinking workers.

In 1920 Returned to Puerto Rico and settled in a working class neighborhood in San Juan, Río Piedras. Here she participated in a political campaign for the Socialist Workers Party, even though it was against her ideals as an anarchist. In 1921 Capetillo obtain turburculosis and died at the age of 43 in 1922

Legacy
Although she was well known as the first woman to wear pants publicly, Luisa Capetilla, has made great contribution as a feminist, workers rights activist, and anarchist. By her being actively involved in workers strikes such as the Sugar Cane strike of 1916 that increase an avareage salary increase by 13%. She also fought for the rights of all women and not just the upper-class which the femisinst of that time did. She activley and relentlessly tried to break the rigid boundaries between men and women oftime and became an inspiration to all, even to this day.

Conclusion

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