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Rosa Smester Marrero

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MB190417 (talk | contribs) at 11:55, 19 February 2023 (Remove Better Source Needed tags - source also copied in Hoy.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Another editor has noted the statements and assertions that are not cited. MarcGarver (talk) 18:21, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: I started editing this draft yesterday evening, which seems like an article with a lot of potential. Many sources on Smester are Spanish-language and not necessarily originating from the Internet (some are included in biographies, for instance). Editors with ready access to publications in the Dominican Republic could help speed the referencing along, but there should nevertheless just about be enough online, with a lot of translation and scouring the Internet, to write an article that might even be worthy of a DYK nomination. _MB190417_ (talk) 21:44, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
Rosa Smester
Born
Rosa Smester Marrero

(1874-08-30)August 30, 1874
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
DiedFebruary 15, 1945(1945-02-15) (aged 70)
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
Occupation(s)Teacher, writer
Known forFeminist and anti-occupation writings
SpouseJuan Grullón

Rosa Smester Marrero[a] (August 30, 1874 - February 15, 1945) was a Dominican educator and writer. She grew to prominence for her opposition to the American occupation of the Dominican Republic and feminist writings.

Her career as a teacher rended her a prolific figure in her home city of Santiago de los Caballeros, where she founded a school and the St Vincent de Paul Hospice.

Early life

Smester was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, on August 30, 1874.[1] She was the daughter of Paul Emmanuel "Pablo" Smester and Dolores Trinidad "Dada" Marrero.[2] Her father was born in Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe, and moved from Haiti to Santiago in 1870 to work as a translator in German, English and Italian.[3]

Smester was self-taught, educated at home by her mother. In a later article, she recalled her mother teaching her tenths of Juan Antonio Alix and reading from her favourite book, La Historia Sagrada.[4]

Teaching career

In 1897, Smester began teaching French to children at home, where she credited the discovery of her vocation.[1][4]

By 1902, she had become a teacher at the ladies' high school of Santiago in the subjects of syntax, literature, history and French.[5][1] She resigned in 1908, and founded a school in Santiago in 1913.[1]

In 1913, Smester moved to Monte Cristi. In that city was born her son, Federico Máximo Smester, from her marriage to Juan Grullón.[1] As a teacher of the Higher Normal School of Montecristi, a teacher training college, she prepared the first group of Normal Teachers and directed the Higher School of Ladies of Montecristi.[2]

She was a member of the Amantes de la Luz society,[2] the first public library in the Dominican Republic.[6][better source needed]

Writings

Smester's writings are scattered across magazines and journals; she never fulfilled her ambition to write a book.[7] Her prose conveys a deep religiosity and Christian conviction.[8]

Opposition to the American occupation

With the Junta Patriótica de Damas,[9] Smester was one of many women who publicly agitated against the American occupation of the Dominican Republic, which took place between 1916 and 1924.[2][9][10] Smester expressed her opposition in the national press, publishing in literary magazines in Santiago and Barcelona.[9][better source needed] One of Smester's appeals for the removal of American forces read:[10][11][12]

To the American journalists who visit us. A simple schoolteacher speaks to you with my heart on my lips. [...] The Dominican people love, above all things, like God, their freedom and their land; that is why our pain in this unfortunate hour is infinite [...] Surprised by the American invasion, we did not prepare for death; because our leaders proclaimed from the outset that we were not at war with the United States and we trusted that that normality would be temporary [...] And it's been over five years of the Via Crucis; we have experienced every pain and humiliation. [...] We have been defenseless and have relied on the strength of patience, justice, and resistance [...] Women have had a prayer on their lips that God help us, and that the gift of justice be granted to the people who oppress us, and the shame of ignominy does not fall upon the country of Washington and Lincoln [...] The Senate Commission comes to clarify the truth of the atrocities we have suffered; it is true that there have been many. [...] There is an unusual fact, a monster against which we will forever clamor: the landing of American troops in our country under the guise of friends and protectors, to strip us of our rights and our holy freedom. Can there be a greater atrocity?

Smester refused to speak English as a form of civil resistance,[2] claiming that if she spoke that language, the Americans would also have occupied her mind.[6][better source needed] In May 1920, Smester donated a month's salary to nationalist cause, writing to Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal, the President of the Nationalist Board, that “whenever necessary, I will give gladly”.[13]

Feminism

In 1926, Smester wrote to Petronila Angélica Gómez, founder of Fémina, the first feminist Dominican journal, that "your magazine is the only genuine feminine, genuinely Dominican, and therefore deserving of the greatest help."[14] In the same year, Smester requested to publish in the magazine, and so recorded her first two contributions to feminist journalism,[15] publishing a further article in 1929.[16] She became one of the magazine's main contributors.[17]

Of the three articles written by Smester for Fémina, two concerned the masculine condition.[18] Smester contributed to a broader feminist position that pacifist strategies disqualify androcentric warmongering, thereby including female voices in war discourses, such that "honoring and glorifying enlightened men is a form of patriotic love".[19] In her 1929 article Así es, Smester praised Henríquez y Carvajal's intellectual attributes, which lent him to being an "enlightened" feminist man.[20][21]

In her Elogio a la Madre, Smester wrote that while a woman can be unsurpassable as a teacher or pharmacist, her "highest glory and most certain triumph" is as a mother.[22] In her Escrito Pro-Feminismo, she wrote that feminism has proven to be "essentially constructive", tending "to widen the sphere of action of the woman, to bring into play the activity of her spirit, to develop all her capacity", all without harming "the home and family".[23]

Later life

Smester chaired a chapter of the charitable Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.[24] At her urging, in 1923, the La Caridad society, which had founded the first hospital in Santiago in 1891,[25] established the 'St Vincent de Paul Branch' under her leadership, for the foundation of a nursing home in Santiago.[24] Smester thus became the first director of the city's St Vincent de Paul Hospice. During this time, she lived in a Victorian house in the Calle del Sol, in front of the Parque Duarte.[25][26]

From 1927 to 1937, Smester lived in Paris,[2] accompanying her son at the beginning of his career as a doctor at the Sorbonne.[1][better source needed] She offered private classes while in Paris.[22] Smester lectured at the University of Barcelona and spoke to the newly-founded Lyceum Club (Barcelona) [ca], a women's group who called on her help as a cultural figure and influence.[22][27]

Smester died on 15 February 1945.[2][1]

Legacy

During her life, the El Regional newspaper of Monte Cristi asked Smester to be honoured as 'Illustrious Daughter' of the city "as a teacher, mother, and fighter".[28] While she was in Paris,[29] an editorial of the Santiago newspaper La Información, who cite Smester as a founding intellectual influence,[30] said she had "one of the most outstanding intellectual capacities", and was "one of the best literary pens the Republic has".[29]

A street in Santo Domingo bears Smester's name. In Santiago, a housing development was named after her.[31] In Monte Cristi, an educational establishment is named the Rosa Smester Basic School.[32]

Smester educated former Dominican President Joaquín Balaguer.[33][34] In his memoirs, Balaguer recalled Smester's great influence on his intellectual formation.[34] Smester also taught Dominican artist Federico Izquierdo,[35] who was greatly pained by her death.[36]

A 1982 poem by Dominican poet Armando Oscar paid tribute to Smester: "[She] went towards the conquest of ethical values [...] On her heart, she carried a crucifix [...] She was a woman, a believer above all else \ And God crowned her with the pain of a son!"[37]

In its 2016 celebrations for International Women's Day, the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic named Smester among sixty-three "outstanding Dominican women in the struggles for peace and democracy".[38]

References

  1. ^ In this article, the surname is {{{1}}}.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Espinal Hernández, Edwin Rafael (2010-10-23). "Un establón encontrado en los Smester" [A link found in the Smesters]. Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía, Inc. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Rosa Smester (Maestra de Maestras)" (PDF). Instituto Montecristeño de Antropología e Historia. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  3. ^ "Cápsulas genealógicas: El derrotero encontrado por vía de Internet" [Genealogical Capsules: The Course Found via the Internet]. Hoy (in Spanish). 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  4. ^ a b Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 6
  5. ^ Paulino Ramos, Alejandro (2007). Ortiz, Dantes (ed.). Vida y obra de Ercilia Pepín [The Life and Works of Ercilia Pepín] (in Spanish). Archivo General de la Nación. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  6. ^ a b Mercedes Morel, Luz; M. Cruz, Raysa (2022). Literary Anthology On Dominican Heroes (in French) (3rd ed.). Santiago de los Caballeros: Universidad Abierta Para Adultos. p. 42.
  7. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 11
  8. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 9-11
  9. ^ a b c Peguero, Valentina (2005). "Women's Grass-Roots Organizations in the Dominican Republic: Real and Imagined Female Figures". In Knight, Franklin W.; Martínez-Vergne, Teresita (eds.). Contemporary Caribbean Cultures and Societies in a Global Context. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 163–4. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  10. ^ a b Jaime Julia, Julio, ed. (2001). Rosa Smester: Maestra de Maestras (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Impresora El Siglo.
  11. ^ Durán Jourdain, Carmen (2017). "Las mujeres dominicanas en el marco de la primera intervención norteamericana 1916-1924: una mirada desde la historia". Órgano del Instituto de Historia de la UASD. 1 (14): 23–4.
  12. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 14
  13. ^ Rodriguez Collado, Aralis Mercedes (2015). Images of invasions and resistance in the literature of the Dominican Republic (PDF). University of Birmingham eTheses Repository (PhD). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  14. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 72–3
  15. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 327, 486, 517
  16. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 486, 517
  17. ^ Hernández Núñez, Ángela (2017). "El Club Nosotras, su influencia en la cultura dominicana" [The influence of the Club Nosotras on Dominican culture]. Órgano del Instituto de Historia de la UASD. 1 (14): 103. doi:10.51274/ecos.v24i14.pp97-143.
  18. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 517
  19. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 344
  20. ^ Lora Peña 2020, p. 382
  21. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 13
  22. ^ a b c Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 4
  23. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 8
  24. ^ a b Espinal Hernández, Edwin. "Historia del Hospicio San Vicente de Paúl" [History of the St Vincent de Paul Hospice]. www.sociedadsanvicentedepaulrd.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  25. ^ a b Mercader, José (2020-07-04). "El hospicio de Santiago en tiempo de epidemia" [Santiago's hospice in time of epidemic]. elCaribe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  26. ^ Mercader, José (2017-03-31). "Palacio Consistorial de Santiago" [Santiago's Town Hall]. El Caribe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  27. ^ Real Mercadal, Neus (2006). Dona i literatura a la Catalunya de preguerra [Women and literature in pre-war Catalonia] (in Catalan). Barcelona: Abadia de Montserrat. p. 230. ISBN 84-8415-779-2.
  28. ^ Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 3-4
  29. ^ a b Albizu Apaolazar 1971, p. 12-13
  30. ^ Luisa Estévez, María; Concepción, Claudio (2022-11-13). "107 aniversario de La Información, ¡Felicitaciones!" [107th anniversary of La Información. Congratulations!]. lainformacion.com.do (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  31. ^ "El Santiago histórico" [Historic Santiago]. Rumbo (in Spanish). 1997-01-20. pp. 45–47. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  32. ^ Rodríguez, Marcos (2020-03-26). "Distrito 10-03 es ejemplo de gerencia en educación" [District 10-03 is exemplary of management in education]. el Caribe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  33. ^ Albaine Pons, J. R. (2011-02-07). "Cerebro, lectura y escritura". Acento (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  34. ^ a b "Dr. Joaquín Balaguer". Partido Reformista Social Cristiano | PRSC (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  35. ^ Mercader, José (2022-11-25). "La izquierda de Federico Izquierdo" [The left of Federico Izquierdo]. el Caribe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  36. ^ Medina, Grisel (2002-07-15). "Izquierdo resalta la obra del expresidente Balaguer" [Izquierdo highlights the work of former president Balaguer]. Listin Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  37. ^ Oscar, Armando (1982). Cabezas de estudio: Retratos Desdibujados [Heads of Study: Blurred Portraits] (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña and Ateneo Dominicano. p. 195. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  38. ^ "Tribunal Constitucional reconoce 63 mujeres dominicanas destacadas en las luchas por la paz y la democracia" [Constitutional Court recognizes 63 outstanding Dominican women in the struggles for peace and democracy]. Tribunal Constitucional de la República Dominicana (in Spanish). 2016-07-03. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
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