Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma

Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma
First Lady of Cuba
In office
20 May 1902  28 September 1906
President Tomás Estrada Palma
Preceded by Office created
Succeeded by América Arias
Personal details
Born María Genoveva de Jesús Guardiola Arbizú
(1858-07-30)30 July 1858
Comayagua, Honduras
Died 30 December 1926(1926-12-30) (aged 68)
New York City, New York
Nationality Honduran by birth, Cuban by marriage
Spouse(s) Tomás Estrada Palma
Occupation School Director
First Lady of Cuba
Known for Inaugural First Lady of independent Cuba

Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma (30 July 1858-30 December 1926) was the Honduran-born wife of the first President of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, when the country gained its independence from Spain. Raised in Honduras, she moved with her husband to the United States in 1882 and assisted him with the bi-lingual school he established in Central Valley, New York. When her husband was elected as the first president of Cuba, after the country gained independence from Spain, she served as the inaugural First Lady. During her husband's second term in office, he resigned and she moved with him to the Cuban countryside to run an agricultural estate. Upon his death, she returned to the United States. Her image was depicted on a 1956 postage stamp issued by the Honduran Postal Service.

Early life

María Genoveva de Jesús Guardiola Arbizú, called Veva, was born on 30 July 1858, in Comayagua, Honduras to Ana Mateo Arbizú Flores and Honduran President José Santos Guardiola Bustillo.[1][2] In 1878, she met Tomás Estrada Palma, who had been invited to come to Honduras and serve as postmaster general. Estrada, a Cuban national, was a participant in the independence struggle of Cuba from Spain and was arrested and sent to prison in Spain in 1877, he was released and sent to the United States.[3] Estrada, took up residence with his cousin, the poet José Joaquín Palma in Tegucigalpa, across the street from the widow Arbizú de Guardiola and her five daughters. The widow often hosted musical evenings with her daughter, Galatea playing the piano. A romance developed between 45-year-old Estrada and 23-year-old Veva and they were married on 15 May 1881 and had their first child, José Manuel, the following year.[4] The band of Cuban exiles who had been living in Honduras began going their separate ways at this time, and the young family left the country in 1882, settling in Central Valley, New York.[3][4]

Career

Arriving in New York, Estrada[Notes 1] found backers and began a Spanish language/English language school, the Estrada Palma Institute. The school taught primarily Argentine, Cuban, Honduran and Mexican immigrants, but also had American students. Estrada ran the school[4] and Guardiola took care of their growing family, which included Tomas Jr. (born ca. 1884), Candelaria (born ca. 1888), twins Carlos and Luz (born ca. 1894) and Raphael (born ca. 1896).[3] Because Estrada was near New York City, where José Martí was continuing activities to gain Cuban independence from Spain, Estrada was often absent, consulting with Martí. When Martí was killed in 1895, Estrada became the leader of the independence movement, leaving Guardiola to manage their affairs in Central Valley. At the end of the war in 1899, Estrada returned to the Central Valley to take over the reins of the school from his wife. Through encouragement of other generals in the war, Estrada was convinced to run for President of Cuba in the 1901 election. Despite his long residence in New York, he was elected, and Guardiola became the inaugural first lady of an independent Cuba.[4]

Accompanying Estrada to Cuba, the family attended his inauguration on 20 May 1902[8] and Guardiola hosted a massive ball with around 2,000 guests on 13 November 1902.[9] Unless needed for state functions, Guardiola and the family lived separately at a residence in Cambria, a neighborhood two blocks from the Presidential Palace, where Estrada worked daily except on Sundays. He was elected for a second term of office in 1905[10] and served until his resignation on 28 September 1906.[11] On 2 October 1906, the family left Havana by boat headed to Matanzas. They remained in Matanzas until mid-1907, when the family relocated to eastern Cuba to a farm Estrada owned in Bayamo.[8][6] Selling the home in Central Valley, the entire family worked on the Valmar Plantation, with Guardiola and the daughters doing domestic chores, while the sons managed the farm production. Near the end of 1908, Estrada developed pneumonia and died on 4 November.[8][6] Guardiola returned to the United States after his death.[12]

Death and legacy

De Estrada Palma died on 30 December 1926, New York City, New York.[12] Her image was depicted on a 1956 postage stamp issued by the Honduran Postal Service.[13]

Notes

  1. American newspaper sources at the time, typically referred to the couple as Palma,[3][5][6] even though some sources did try to point out that their actual surname was Estrada.[7]

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Cortés Cáceres, Hector Ramón (26 May 2013). "La Familia Guardiola Arbizu" [The Guardiola Arbizu Family]. Historia de Yuscarán (in Spanish). Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Hector Ramón Cortés Cáceres. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017. Self-published but with citations to source material.
  • Earwicker, Benjamin J. (2013). "Cuba, Occupation of 1906-1909". In McPherson, Alan. Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Interventions in Latin America. 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 123–125. ISBN 978-1-59884-260-9.
  • García-Estévez, Margarita (17 July 2008). "Estrada Palma y Honduras" [Estrada Palma and Honduras] (in Spanish). Elizabeth, New Jersey: La Voz. p. 2. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017 via Latin American Studies.org.
  • Kloetzel, James E., ed. (2003). Scott's 2004 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 3: Countries of the World: G—I. Sidney, Ohio: Scott Publishing Company.
  • Rodríguez, Andrés (2009). "Hasta que la muerte los separe: Don Tomás y Doña Veva" [Until death separates them: Don Tomás and Doña Veva] (PDF). Amor y Vida (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  • Stanhope, Dorothy (23 November 1902). "Cuban Society at President's Ball". New York, New York: The New York Times. p. 26. Retrieved 21 November 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  • "Estrada Palma Ruler of Cuba". Rochester, New York: The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. 9 September 1906. p. 10. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  • "Ex-President Palma Dead". New York, New York: The New York Times. 5 November 1908. p. 1. Retrieved 21 November 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  • "Ex-President's Wife Dead". Tampa, Florida: The Tampa Tribune. Associated Press. 31 December 1926. p. 19. Retrieved 21 November 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  • "For President of Cuba" (PDF). Ogdensburg, New York: Ogdensburg Advance and St. Lawrence Weekly Democrat. 18 July 1901. p. 2. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  • "Honduras, bautismos, 1730–1930: Maria Genoveva De Jesus Guardiola". FamilySearch (in Spanish). Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Arquivo Nacional. 9 September 1858. FHL digital folder #1291454. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  • "Prosperity for Cuban Republic under Present Favorable Conditions Foretold by President Palma". Brooklyn, New York: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 13 April 1902. p. 53. Retrieved 21 November 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  • "Woz y Gil" (PDF). Poughkeepsie, New York: 'Poughkeepsie Eagle. 18 December 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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