Herstory: 10 Puerto Rican Women Kept Out of History Books

BY FRANCES SOLÁ-SANTIAGO

Latinas in the U.S. come from a long line of influential, barrier-breaking, rebel Latin American women. Through Remezcla’s Herstory series, we introduce readers to the women warriors and pioneers whose legacies we carry on.

History is not short on patriarchal bias, and books are clear proof of that. While pages are filled with mostly white men, who are called “heroes” and “founding fathers,” women are often left out of the history lessons. Their accomplishments are sometimes even credited to their spouses or to a group of male colleagues, diminishing the contributions of women just as qualified as their male counterparts.

But the role women have played in Latin American history cannot be overlooked if we want to establish a more diverse and equal space for all people to see themselves reflected in their country’s stories. And Puerto Rico – a US territory that has always existed in it own cultural spectrum – has a history of repeating those same patriarchal patterns.