Victoria Subercaseaux Vicuña (28 July 1848 - 4 March 1931) was a Chilean socialite who made significant contributions to the political and intellectual area of her country. She was made Honorary Director of the Library of the Bando de Piedad and promoted the Protective Society, as well as she carried out humanitarian work with the disabled and veterans of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. She was also a political advisor to her husband, Mayor

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna (August 25, 1831 – January 25, 1886) was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent. Biography Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was born in Santiago, the ...

Biography

Victoria Subercaseaux Vicuña was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on 28 July 1848. She was the daughter of Magdalena Vicuña y Aguirre and Senator Ramón Subercaseaux y Mercado. Her father came from one of Chile's wealthy families, the Subercaseaux, of French ancestors who made their fortune in mining. Her childhood was spent between the family's rural property, the Llano Subercaseaux, and the family home in the country's capital. Subercaseaux attended Miss Whitelock Private School, although her training was completed with private tutors. Her education was the same as that of the young ladies in her class and she learned piano, in which she excelled. She performed private concerts in family gatherings in front of distinguished guests. In 1866, Subercaseaux was introduced to society during the official dance that celebrated the reelection of the President of Chile

José Joaquín Pérez José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano (; 6 May 1801 – 1 July 1889) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as President of Chile from 1861 to 1871. Born in Santiago to an aristocratic family, Pérez studied humanities at the Rea ...

, where she met her first cousin Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna. The following year they married and as a result of the marriage, they had 8 children, of whom only 4 reached adulthood: Blanca, María, Eugenia and Benjamín. In addition to being her husband's companion in various political and formal events, Subercaseaux was her advisor and her main support. She died on 4 March 1931 and was buried in the hermitage of

Cerro Santa Lucía Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". People * Francisco Cerro (born 1988), Argentine footballer * Francisco Cerro Chaves (born 1957), Spanish prelate, theologian, and philosopher of the Catholic Church * Ian Cerro (born 1996), American ...

, along with the ashes of her husband and her son Benjamin.

Tributes

A street in Barrio Lastarria of Santiago was named after her by the Municipality of

in 1931 during the celebrations for the Centennial of Vicuña Mackenna. In this street, she had her residence after being widowed, where she carried out spiritualistic practices.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subercaseaux, Victoria 1848 births 1931 deaths People from Santiago, Chile Chilean philanthropists Chilean women philanthropists Chilean socialites