Raquel Verdesoto Salgado de Romo Dávila (November 16, 1910 in Ambato – May 27, 1999 in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

) was an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

writer, poet, teacher, feminist, and activist.

Biography

Her parents were Francisco Verdesoto Murillo and Lucila Salgado Hidalgo, she earned a teaching degree from the Manuela Cañizares Normal School. She published her first book of poetry ''Sin mandamientos'' (English: ''Without Commandments'') in 1934, which scandalized Ecuadorian society at the time. She majored in literature at the

Central University of Ecuador The Central University of Ecuador () is a national university located in Quito, Ecuador. It is the oldest and largest university in the country, and one of the oldest universities in the Americas. The enrollment at the university is over 10,000 ...

, and earned a doctorate in education science. Besides her poetry, she is also known for her biographical works. As a feminist activist, she took part in the founding of the Ecuadorian Feminist Alliance in 1938 together with

Virginia Larenas Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's List of capitals in the United States, ca ...

, Luisa Gómez de la Torre,

Matilde Hidalgo Matilde Hidalgo Navarro de Procel (September 29, 1889, in Loja, Ecuador – February 20, 1974, in Guayaquil, Ecuador) was an Ecuadorian physician, poet, and activist. Hidalgo was the first woman to exercise the right to vote in Latin America, ...

and

Nela Martínez Nela Martínez Espinosa (November 24, 1912 – July 30, 2004) was an Ecuadorian communist, political militant, activist, and writer. For four days in 1944 she was the leader of Ecuador. Early life Nela Martinez was born in Cañar, Ecuador. H ...

. She was married to a professor named Miguel Ángel Romo Dávila. In the year 2000 (post mortem) the city of Ambato honored her with the Juan Leon Mera Award for her contribution to Ecuadorian literature. The medal was presented to one of her daughters by the Ecuadorian President

Gustavo Noboa Bejarano Gustavo José Joaquín Noboa Bejarano (21 August 1937 – 16 February 2021) was an Ecuadorian politician who served as the 42nd president of Ecuador from 22 January 2000 to 15 January 2003. Previously he served as the 42nd vice president under P ...

.Noticias Tungurahua: Raquel Verdesoto Salgado
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Works

Poetry * Sin Mandamientos (1934). * Labios en Llamas (1936). * Recogí de la Tierra (1977). * Ésta Fábula (inédito). * Del Profundo Regreso (inédito). * Patio de Recreo (inédito). Biography * Serie de Microbiografías de Ecuatorianos Ilustres (Ambato: Imprenta Municipal, 1949). * Juan Montalvo, fusta de las tiranías, 1832-1889 (1949). * Atahualpa: Raíz auténtica de la nacionalidad ecuatoriana, 1497-1533 (1949). * Rumiñahui: El defensor heroico del reino (1949). * Juan Pio Montúfar, marqués de Selva Alegre, primer presidente de la Junta Revolucionaria de Quito 1762-1822 (1949). * Manuela Sáenz Tomo I y II (Quito: Editorial Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, 1963).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdesoto, Raquel 1910 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Ecuadorian poets Ecuadorian activists Ecuadorian women activists People from Ambato, Ecuador Central University of Ecuador alumni Ecuadorian women poets 20th-century Ecuadorian women writers