Luisa Capetillo
Luisa Capetillo (October 28, 1879 – October 10, 1922) born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was one of Puerto Rico's most famous labor organizers. She was also a writer and an anarchist who fought for workers and women's rights.
Early years
Capetillo was raised and home schooled by her parents, who were both very liberal in regard to their philosophical and political ideologies.
In 1898, Capetillo had the first of her two children out of wedlock. She found a job as a reader in a cigar making factory in Arecibo. After the Spanish-American War, The American Tobacco Company gained control of most of the islands tobacco fields, who would hire people to read novels and current events to the workers. It was in the tobacco factory that Capetillo had her first contact with the Unions. In 1904, Capetillo began to write essays, titled "Mi Opinion" (My Opinion), about her ideas, which were published in radical and union newspapers.
Labor leader
During a farm workers' strike in 1905, Capetillo wrote propaganda and organized the workers in the strike. She quickly became a leader of the "FLT" (American Federation of Labor) and traveled throughout Puerto Rico educating and organizing women. Her hometown, Arecibo, became the most unionized area of the country.
Women's rights activist
In 1908, during the "FLT" convention, Capetillo asked the union to approve a policy for women's suffrage. She insisted that all women should have the same right to vote as men. Capetillo is considered to be one of Puerto Rico's first suffragists.
In 1912, Capetillo traveled to New York City where she organized Cuban and Puerto Rican tobacco workers. Later on, she went to Tampa, Florida where she also organized the workers. It is in Florida that she published the second edition of "Mi Opinion". She also traveled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, where she joined the striking workers in their cause.
In 1919, she challenged the mainstream society by becoming the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear pants in public. Capetillo was sent to jail for what was then considered to be a "crime", but, the judge later dropped the charges against her. In that same year, along with other labor activists, she helped pass a minimum-wage law in the Puerto Rican Legislature.
Luisa Capetillo died on October 10, 1922 in Puerto Rico from tuberculosis.
Honors
In 1990 a made for T.V. movie titled "Luisa Capetillo, pasión de justicia" (Luisa Capetillo, passion for justice) was made. It was directed by Sonia Fritz and the musical arrangements were made by Zoraida Santiago. In Arecibo there is a Casa Protegida Luisa Capetillo, which is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to defend women who have been mistreated physically or mentally. The University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus established the Luisa Capetillo Center of Documentation Hall in March 1990. The center is part of the Women Studies project started in 1986 by the university and has received financial help from the Angel Ramos fundation.
