Dr. María Cadilla Colón de Martínez (December 21, 1884 – August 23, 1951) was an American writer, educator,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

activist and one of the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree.

Early years

Cadilla lived with her parents, Armando Cadilla Fernández and Catalina Colón Nieves, in the northwestern town of

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the c ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where she was born. There she received her primary and secondary education. As a child she became interested in writing stories which she shared with her classmates. In 1902, she graduated from high school and enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...

. In 1906, Cadilla earned her bachelor's degree in Arts and Education. She taught school in some of the towns surrounding the

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

metropolitan area. After a short period of time, Cadilla went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

where she earned her teachers degree. She attended the Academy of

Francisco Oller Francisco Oller (June 17, 1833 – May 17, 1917) was a Puerto Rican painter. Oller is the only Latin American painter to have played a role in the development of Impressionism. One of the most distinguished transatlantic painters of his day ...

and took classes in plastic arts, after she returned to the island. The

Atheneum of Puerto Rico Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

awarded her a prize for one of her works in 1914. Cadilla earned her master's degree from the University of Puerto Rico. She went to Spain where she attended the

Central University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

. Among her professors were the Spanish writer

Américo Castro Américo Castro y Quesada (May 4, 1885 – July 25, 1972) was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising controversy with his conclusions that Spaniar ...

and poet

Dámaso Alonso Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas (22 October 1898 – 25 January 1990) was a Spanish poet, philologist and literary critic. Though a member of the Generation of '27, his best-known work dates from the 1940s onwards. Early life and ...

. She earned her doctoral degree in 1933 with the thesis ''La Poesia Popular de Puerto Rico'' (The Popular Poetry of Puerto Rico).Encyclopedia de Puerto Rico

Educator

When Cadilla returned to Puerto Rico, she was hired by her alma mater, where she taught history and literature. She was also named principal of a local school in her hometown, which required that she often travel to Arecibo. Cadilla dedicated many hours of her spare time investigating Puerto Rico's

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

. The city of Arecibo honored her by naming a high school after her: Escuela Superior Dra. Maria Cadilla de Martinez.

Written works

The following are some of Cadilla's written works: * ''Cuentos a Lilliam'' (1925) * ''Cazadera en el Alba'' (1933) * ''La Poesia Popular de Puerto Rico'' (1933, The Popular Poetry of Puerto Rico) * ''La Campesina de Puerto Rico'' (1937, The farmwoman of Puerto Rico) * ''Costumbres y tradiciones de mi tierra'' (1938, Customs and traditions of my land) * ''Cuentos y Juegos infantiles de Puerto Rico'' (1940, Children's Stories and games from Puerto Rico) * ''Alturas Paralelas'' (1941) * ''Hitos de la Raza'' (1945), a book that won an award from the

Puerto Rican Institute of Culture The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture ( es, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preser ...

* ''Rememorando el Pasado Histórico'' (1946)

Women rights activist

Cadilla was also a

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. She belonged to the

Civic League of Puerto Rico Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General * Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community * Civic center, a co ...

and the

Association of Women Voters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. As a member of these organizations, she fought for women's right to vote. Cadilla was a member of the Academy of History of Puerto Rico and of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

; the folklore societies of

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and of the

Academy of History of France An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. She received awards and recognitions from Puerto Rico,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, the United States and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Cadilla died on August 23, 1951, in her hometown, Arecibo.

Legacy

Arecibo honored her memory by naming a school and an avenue after her.

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

Library dedicated December 21, 2002, to María Cadilla in its Universal Human Rights Month.Maria Cadilla High School
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Early years

Educator

Written works

Women rights activist

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading