HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Blanca Stella Aráuz Pineda (25 May 1909 – 2 June 1933) is the first National Heroine of Nicaragua. She was noted as a
telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...
who assisted the guerrilla forces during the
United States occupation of Nicaragua The United States occupation of Nicaragua from August 4, 1912, to January 2, 1933, was part of the Banana Wars, when the U.S. military invaded various Latin American countries from 1898 to 1934. The formal occupation began on August 4, 1912, ...
and who negotiated with President Juan Bautista Sacasa to gain amnesty for the rebels and negotiate peace at the end of the conflict.


Early life

Blanca Stella Aráuz Pineda was born on 25 May 1909 in the town of San Rafael del Norte in '' Las Segovias'' region (now in the
Jinotega Department Jinotega () is a department of Nicaragua. Its departmental head is Jinotega. It is located in the north of the country, on the border with Honduras. The Department of Jinotega has a population of 483,404 (2021 estimate) and covers an area of ...
), of Nicaragua to Esther Pineda Rivera and Pablo Jesús Aráuz Rivera. She was the youngest of eleven children, all of whom learned
Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...
from a young age. Her mother was a
tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
and dressmaker and her father managed the local
telegraph office Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
. From the age of ten, Aráuz had mastered telegraphy by playing in her father's office and being taught to use the equipment by her sister Lucila.


Career

In 1927, when the guerrilla leader,
Augusto César Sandino Augusto César Sandino (; 18 May 1895 21 February 1934), full name Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, founder of the militant group EDSN, and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United Sta ...
came to San Rafael del Norte, during the
Constitutionalist War Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...
, he established his headquarters in the telegraph office, which was directly across the street from the American marine's headquarters. Because of the location, Aráuz was able to monitor the American forces' movements and advise Sandino. She was also known to intercept messages and send
misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...
, becoming a valuable link in the
intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of info ...
for the Army in Defense of the National Sovereignty of Nicaragua (). The two spent long hours collaborating on a plan to capture the city of
Jinotega Jinotega () (derived from Náhuatl: ''Xiotenko'' ‘place next to the jiñocuajo trees’) is the capital city of the Department of Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua. The city is located in a long valley surrounded by the cool climate and Da ...
and simultaneously send forces to assist General José María Moncada. Working closely together, Aráuz and Sandino fell in love and were married in a religious ceremony on 19 May 1927. Within two days, Sandino returned to the front and Aráuz returned to her work in the telegraph office tracking the enemy troops and the nationals who collaborated with them. Periodically, she would live with Sandino in the camps, though travel was difficult. Aráuz became a target of both the Díaz administration's
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
and the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. On 2 March 1929, Aráuz was arrested, as it was suspected that she had been sending messages to her husband. She was taken to
Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
, where she was imprisoned for seven months. The following year, she was arrested again and sent with her mother and sister to Prison 21 in León. In this notorious prison, she was tortured in an attempt to force her to reveal Sandino's whereabouts. Pressure from family friends and the local bishop secured her removal to ''La Recolección Monastery''. While there, she learned typing and practiced her needlework. Sandino threatened the National Guard with reprisals if his family was not released and after six months, she was allowed to return home. From 1930, Sandino became involved in an anti-clerical battle with the local priests in ''Las Segovias'', haranguing them for urging the local inhabitants to avoid the fighting and accept the governance of the U.S. forces. In 1931 Aráuz joined Sandino in his camp headquarters, though the most fierce campaigns were fought in ''Las Segovias''. She soon became pregnant, though she
miscarried Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is ...
a child in 1931 and another in 1932. During her time in the camps, she wrote the poem ''Para mi viejito queridísimo Augusto César Sandino'' (For my dear old Augusto César Sandino) in 1932. Later that same year, Juan Bautista Sacasa won the presidential election. The United States forces were preparing to leave Nicaragua, and Sandino appointed Aráuz to go to Managua to initiate his terms of surrender. Though she was four months pregnant, Aráuz left in December 1932 to meet with the delegation in San Rafael del Norte. She fell from her
mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...
during the trip, but managed to arrive on 4 January 1933 and convince the officers that she had a safe conduct pass from Sacasa to continue her journey. Leading a peace commission, including Gregorio Sandino, Sofonías Salvatierra, and América Tiffer de Sandino, they arrived in Managua on 6 January 1933. Aráuz advised Sacasa that Sandino was willing to negotiate with his new government and lay down his arms. The couple decided to have a civil ceremony to legitimize their marriage and were married in San Rafael del Norte by the local judge on 27 May 1933. Almost immediately after the ceremony, Sandino left for Managua to finalize the terms of the peace treaty.


Death and legacy

Aráuz died in the childbirth of her only surviving daughter, Blanca Segovia Sandino Aráuz, on 2 June 1933. After her death, Aráuz was memorialized by Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy in two songs ''Allá va el general'' (There goes the general) and ''Carta de amor a Blanquita'' (Love letter to Blanquita). In 2012, she was posthumously awarded the Honorary Medal for Meritorious Soldiers of the Fatherland. In 2015, she was decreed by a statute, as the first National Heroine of Nicaragua.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aráuz, Blanca 1909 births 1933 deaths People from Jinotega Department National Heroines and Heroes of Nicaragua Telegraphists