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

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), 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 c ...

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 Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, 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 (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 ...

. 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 (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

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

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 (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. Among her professors were the Spanish writer

Américo Castro Américo Castro 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 Spaniards ...

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 ed ...

. 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 the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

. The city of Arecibo paid tribute to 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 Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

* ''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: Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General *Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co. *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic e ...

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 is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

; the folklore societies of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and of the Academy of History of France. She received awards and recognitions from Puerto Rico,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, the United States and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

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