Nélida "Nelly" Reig Castellanos de Rodríguez, also known as Ña Nelly, (3 March 1929 – 15 May 2021) was the

First Lady of Paraguay First Lady of Paraguay (Spanish: ''Primera Dama de Paraguay''), also called First Lady of the Nation (Spanish: ''Primera Dama de la Nación''), is the official post of the wife (or designated person) of the president of Paraguay. The official work ...

from February 1989 to August 1992 during the presidency of her husband,

Andrés Rodríguez Andrés Rodríguez may refer to: * Andrés Rodríguez (politician) (1923–1997), president of Paraguay * Andrés Rodríguez (basketball) (born 1981), basketball player from Puerto Rico *Andres Rodriguez (show jumper) Andres Rodríguez (11 May ...

, who overthrew the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship in the

1989 Paraguayan coup d'état The 1989 Paraguayan coup d'état, also known as La Noche de la Candelaria, was a coup d'état that took place on 2–3 February 1989 in Asunción, Paraguay led by General Andrés Rodríguez against the regime of long-time leader Alfredo Stroessn ...

. Reig was the

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

's first First Lady during the transition to democracy following the end of El Stronato.

Biography

Reig was born in

on 3 March 1929. Her mother was Paraguayan, while her father was Spanish. Reig was known as "Ña Nelly" to family and friends. She met her future husband,

, a

Paraguayan Army To win or to die , march= Marcha al Mariscal Lopez , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= War of the Triple AllianceChaco WarParaguayan People's Army insurgency , anniversaries= 24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday) , decorations= , ba ...

officer, when she was 18 years old. She accompanied him during the Paraguayan Civil War of 1947. The couple married in 1949 and had three daughters namely Dolly, Mirtha and Martha. One of their daughters, Martha, later married Alfredo Stroessner Mora, the son of Paraguayan dictator, President Alfredo Stroessner. In 1989, Reig's husband, General Andrés Rodríguez led a coup, which ousted the 35-year dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Rodríguez assumed the presidency, making Nelly Reig Castellanos first lady during the democratic transition. She served in the role from 1989 until 1992. Former President died in 1997. Reig received an award in 2011 to mark the 22nd anniversary of the

and the end of the Stroessner dictatorship. Perhaps surprisingly, Reig expressed dissatisfaction in the country's democratic governance at the time, saying that the democratic administrations that succeeded her husband were disappointing "...because it is not what we expected." In May 2021, Reig was hospitalized in the

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

of Centro Medico La Costa in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

due to pre-existing health conditions. She was not diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, according to news reports. Her condition continued to deteriorate. Nelly Reig Castellanos died shortly after her release at her home in the Carmelitas neighborhood ( Las Lomas) neighborhood of Asunción in the early hours of 15 May 2021, at the age of 92. Reig's viewing was held at her home in Carmelitas, the Nuestra Señora del Carmen church in Asunción, and San Raphael, in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions at the time. Her funeral was held in the Recoleta neighborhood of Asunción.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reig Castellanos, Nelly 1929 births 2021 deaths First ladies of Paraguay Paraguayan people of Spanish descent People from Asunción