Myrna Vázquez (1935-1975) was a Puerto Rican screen, stage, radio, and television actress. She later became an influential community activist in Boston's South End.
Early life and career
She was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico, in 1935, one of seven siblings. Sometime around 1945 the family moved to
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...
. As a child she showed a penchant for the performing arts, using a box for a platform and giving recitals for family and friends.
While still a teenager, she belonged to the comedy troupe of
Ramón Rivero
Ramón Rivero (May 29, 1909 – August 24, 1956) — known as Diplo — was a Puerto Rican comedian, actor, and composer. Rivero made his television debut in Puerto Rico in "La Taberna India" (The India Tavern), the first comedy/variety ...
(known as "Diplo"). Through her work there, she became friends with the composers
Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Regina Rexach González (January 22, 1922 – October 20, 1961) was a Puerto Rican comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of music of Puerto Rico, boleros.
Early years
Rexach was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Her p ...
and Amaury Veray. She graduated from Central High School in Santurce. Went on to study Theater at the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
, where she was active in the university theater, and went on to appear in many professional productions. At nineteen, she played Juanita in the
world premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...
René Marqués
René Marqués (October 4, 1919 – March 22, 1979) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright.
Early years
Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo. He developed an interest in writing at a ...
. She also appeared in "Mariana or el Alba" and "Los Soles Truncos" by Marqués; "Doce Paredes Negras" by Juan González-Bonilla; and "Tiempo Muerto" by Manuel Méndez Ballester. In 1969 she starred in the premiere of " La Pasión según Antigona Pérez" by Luis Rafael Sánchez, who wrote the part specifically for her.
In the 1960s, she co-founded the Teatro El Cemí with actors Marcos Betancourt,
Jacobo Morales
Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and author born in Puerto Rico.Elín Ortiz. She founded the Cooperative Theater Arts (COOPARTE) in the early 1970s, and rescued a theater in Villa Palmeras for use by the organization. The Teatro COOPARTE offered theater arts classes to young people, and organized and hosted the first Festival of Latin American Theater. Vázquez served as its president for over four years. She also worked for some time as a drama teacher for the youth of the San José community in Río Piedras.
Vázquez suffered from a congenital heart condition,
aortic stenosis
Aortic stenosis (AS or AoS) is the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart (where the aorta begins), such that problems result. It may occur at the aortic valve as well as above and below this level. It typically gets worse o ...
, and had a series of surgeries starting in her twenties. Despite the medical danger, she had three sons with her husband, the actor Félix Monclova. One of her sons, René Monclova, became an actor; he was named for his godfather, René Marqués. Eugenio Monclova became a drama teacher and Hector Ivan Monclova a writer.
Activism
In 1974 her marriage ended. Vázquez moved to Boston in search of employment, leaving two of her sons with her mother and taking the third with her to Boston. According to her son, the move was necessary because Vázquez and Monclova had been blackballed for their support of
Puerto Rican independence
Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire until 1898 and since then from the United States. Today, the movement is most commonly r ...
. While living in Boston's South End, she married Hector Colon Declet. She also joined a group of Latina community activists who, among other things, founded a
women's shelter
A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...
. The original shelter was a brownstone in the South End named for another of the founders, Mary Lawson Foreman.
Though Vázquez did not live in Boston for long, she had a lasting influence on the South End community. She was a charismatic activist who helped found the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, the art component of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA Boston), and the annual Puerto Rican Festival.
Vázquez died of a heart condition in 1975. Soon afterwards, the group of activists with whom she had worked decided to name their organization in her honor. Today, Casa Myrna includes several other shelters in the South End and Dorchester neighborhoods, and operates a Transitional Housing Program, a Teen Parenting Program, a housing program for young parents and their children, and SafeLink, the state's first domestic violence hotline.
She is remembered on the
Boston Women's Heritage Trail
The Boston Women's Heritage Trail is a series of walking tours in Boston, Massachusetts, leading past sites important to Boston women's history. The tours wind through several neighborhoods, including the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, commemorating w ...
. Her hometown of Cidra celebrates Myrna Vázquez Week each February. A play written in her honor, ''Myrna Vázquez: Reconocete'' by Laura Figueroa and Fátima Seda-Barletta, was presented at the Cultural Center of Cidra in 1979. Another theatrical tribute, ''Son Corazón / Heartstrung'' by Rosa Luisa Márquez, premiered at the Jorge Hernández Cultural Center in Villa Victoria, Boston, in July 1995. Artist
Antonio Martorell
Antonio ("Toño") Martorell Cardona (born 18 April 1939) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican painter, graphic artist and writer. He regularly exhibits in Puerto Rico and the United States and participates in arts events around the world. He ...
, who had known Vázquez, built some elaborate props for the play, including a marionette.
Antonio Martorell
Antonio ("Toño") Martorell Cardona (born 18 April 1939) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican painter, graphic artist and writer. He regularly exhibits in Puerto Rico and the United States and participates in arts events around the world. He ...