Paulina Pedroso (1845 – 1925) was the most prominent female leader in the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Little War (1879–1880). The final three months ...

. She worked directly with José Martí.

Life

Pedroso's parents were born slaves, but she was born free in

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...

in 1845. Her parents were active in seeking Cuban independence. She married at a very young age, and Pedroso is her married surname. In 1860, she moved with her husband Ruberto to Havana. She was fifteen at the time. In 1892, she moved to Ybor City with her husband. Afterward, they went to

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

. She and her husband worked in the cigar industry in Tampa, Florida, and also ran a boarding house. Jose Marti often stayed in her boarding house in Tampa, and it was a place where they could openly discuss their plans for the war effort. Marti referred to Pedroso as his second mother. Pedroso died in 1925, when she was eighty. Her home in

Ybor City Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...

became a shrine, and her home in Tampa is now a park.

Activism

Pedroso was heavily involved in activism. She aided other black Cubans in forming La Sociedad Libres, along with her husband. The group was formed to arm rebels against the Spanish government for the liberation of Cuba. This organization eventually became the Sociedad

La Union Marti-Maceo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. Pedroso also worked for racial equality in North America, and she collaborated with Marti on this matter. The two famously strolled arm-in-arm in the city, during a time of extreme racial tension. Pedroso was Afro-Cuban, and Marti was White-Hispanic. After Cuban independence was won in 1898, she eventually returned to Cuba when a 1910 workers' strike in the tobacco factories was underway. The Cuban government honored her service during that time, and in appreciation, Pedroso and her husband lived rent-free in Cuba for the rest of their lives. She was inducted into the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

by Governor Lawton Chiles in 1993, and on her first nomination, which is something that is not achieved often.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedroso, Paulina 1845 births 1925 deaths People of the Cuban War of Independence Expatriates in the United States People from Pinar del Río 19th-century Cuban women