Women and independence in Latin America

The project aims to stimulate debate and research on women and Independence in Latin America.This builds on public interest in women's involvement in the Independence Wars, triggered by the bicentenaries, and women's unprecedented presence in Latin American politics today.

We aim to stimulate debate and knowledge transfer regarding the significance of these events – and of the ideas and aspirations which they represent - to the lives of Latin American women today.

A core and on-going objective is to provide a dynamic community-contributed and community-driven resource which will allow participants to exchange ideas and information about the Independence struggles and their contemporary relevance.

In 2006, the monograph South American Independence: Gender, Politics, Text , by Catherine Davies, Claire Brewster and Hilary Owen, was published by Liverpool University Press.

Chapters of this book have been translated by the staff and students of the Instituto Superior de Profesorado no. 3 'Eduardo Lafferriere' , Villa Constitución, Argentina. The students were supervised by their tutor Alejandra Garrini. 'Chapters 3, 6, 8, 9 can be read below. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 will be posted shortly'

Chapter 3 Excluidas de los tropos en la historia: La mujer y el desplazamiento del género en la poesía de Andrés Bello (1781-1865). Translated by Valentina Cicerchia.

Chapter 6 ‘Las Mujeres, La Guerra y la Independencia Hispanoamericana’

(originally entitled ‘Women, War and Spanish American Independence’) by Claire Brewster. Translated by Camila Huerga

Chapter 8 (originally entitled ‘Gender, Patriotism and Social Capital: Josefa Acevedo and Mercedes Marín) translated by Leandro Rodríguez.

Chapter 9 Género y revolución en el sur de Brasil: Reconstruyendo la Revolución Farroupilha en los trabajos de Delfina Benigna da Cunha y Ana de Barandas  (originally entitled ‘Gender and Revolution in Southern Brazil: Restitching the Farroupilha Revolt in the Works of Delfina Benigna da Cunha and Ana de Barandas’) translated by Lucas Vini. 

Article by José Martin Hurtado Galves about women during the Independence Wars: 

Dr. José Martin Hurtado Galves is a historian, philosopher and writer. He has a PhD in Education from the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. He is a lecturer and researcher at the Escuela Normal Superior de Querétaro and a researcher at the Archivo Histórico del Estado de Querétaro.

His article, El recurso de los encantos femeninos durante la guerra de independencia , was originally published in the Gaceta de las Vizcaínas, published by the Archivo Histórico “José María Basagoiti Noriega” del Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola, Edición Conmemorativa Independencia y Revolución, Año 3, Volumen, 5, México, 2010, pp. 55-60.

Article by Carla Ulloa Inostroza about Javiera Carrera Verdugo:

Carla Ulloa Inostroza (Universidad de Chile), ‘Javiera Carrera Verdugo: En torno a su imaginario político y los discursos historiográficos sobre una mujer de la independencia’, Revista Hojas de Warmi (Barcelona)/ Revista de la Corporación Chilena de Estudios Históricos (Santiago de Chile), 2010.

Working papers written by project team members and collaborators.

1) Elvia Jeannette Uribe-Duncan (Kings College, University of London),'Mujeres en la independencia colombiana: conmemoraciones actuales'

Audio and video files mentioned in the article:

• Interview with Efraín García, director of the El Muro Theatre in Socorro, Santander, Colombia and 
• Interview with María Olga Ariza, an actress from the theatre, 3 August 2012)
• An official video of the play ‘Antonia’.
• Efraín García, Trilogía de los héroes comuneros (Youtube)
• Teatro del Muro de Socorro, Fragmentos de la obra ‘Antonia’ (Youtube)

2) Elvia Jeannette Uribe-Duncan (Kings College, University of London),'Silvia Galvis: Recovering Women's History'.

3) Elvia Jeannette Uribe-Duncan (Kings College, University of London), 'Mujeres, Periodismo, y Creación Literaria en Hispanoamérica'

4) Dr. Alicia E. Eguiluz de Antuñano ((Ph.D. Sociology) UNAM, (MA.Econ) Manchester University), 'Bibliografía para el estudio de las mujeres en la Independencia de México'.

5) Elvia Jeannette Uribe-Duncan (Kings College, University of London), Mujeres e ilustrac ión crítica

Libertadoras Programme, El Museo de la Mujer (Women’s Museum), Buenos Aires

During August and September 2012, Catherine Davies, Iona MacIntyre and Maria Thomas visited the Museo de la Mujer in Buenos Aires, Argentina to participate in a programme of cultural events. The ‘Libertadoras’ (female liberators) programme, which focused on the theme of female participation in the Latin American Wars of Independence, was organised by the museum’s director, Graciela Tejero Coni. It included theatrical events, history workshops and guide tours. To find out more, visit the Libertadoras blog.

Empowerment through Art: Photography and Latin American Migrant Girls in London

This exhibition about the lives of lives of eleven young migrant women from Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador was presented at the New Art Exchange, Nottingham between 8 March and 20 April 2013 and at Southwark Council, London between 13 and 17 May 2013. The young women, from the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) participated in a series of photography workshops with photographer Pablo Allison. They used photography to capture processes of change and empowerment in their own lives. The exhibition featured the portraits of the girls and their own work. It addressed themes such as women’s agency, independence, freedom, memory and identity. To find out more, visit the group’s blog. 

In the press: Pablo Allison uses his camera to communicate emotions

Razones por las que luchar (reasons for fighting)

The group of young women from LAWRS also participated in a series of drama workshops with actress and drama teacher Amy Rosario. Using information from the Genderlatam database, they scripted and rehearsed a play about women who participated in the Latin American Wars of Independence. The group performed the play, entitled ‘Razones por las que luchar’ (reasons for fighting) at the LAWRS AGM on 10 November 2012. They performed an updated version of the play at the Institute of the Americas (UCL) on 15 May 2013. To find out more, visit the group’s blog.

MERU poetry competition

The women’s section of the Movimiento Ecuador Reino Unido (MERU, Ecuador UK Movement) held a poetry competition on the subject of The Latin American Woman (La mujer latinoamericana). Catherine Davies entered and, much to her surprise, won second prize, which was awarded to her at a ceremony in SOAS (University of London). We thought we would do something similar, and advertised a poetry competition across all our followers, collaborators and final year students in the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies. The subject was Women and Latin American Independence. Poems could be in English, Spanish or Portuguese.  We received 30 entries, all anonymous, some of them exceptionally good. A panel of three, including Dr Jean Andrews (Nottingham), who has published poetry herself, judged the entries. The winners were awarded Amazon vouchers. See poetry competition winners

See also:

• Translation project contributors