Ana Betancourt

Ana Betancourt (14 December 1832 – 7 February 1901) was a Cuban woman who took a leading role in the war of independence from Spain. She is a national heroine in Cuba.

Life Ana Betancourt was born on 14 December 1832 in Camagüey, Cuba to a wealthy land owning family. When she was 22, she was exposed to revolutionary ideas from her marriage to Ignacio Mora y de la Pera. He was extremely educated and strongly believed in independence. Eventually, Spanish officers found Betancourt and she was forced to flee into the jungle. It was at this time she gave her famous speech at the Constitutional Assembly of Cuban patriots at Guáimaro in which she advocated for women having more freedoms in the new government. Betancourt was becoming a well known Mambisa. It was at this time, she, along with her husband contributed to the newspaper, "The Mambí" which highlighted on the contributions of the Mambises in rural areas.

On 9 July 1871, she and her husband were taken by surprise by the Spanish forces. Utilizing quick thinking, Betancourt was able to save her husband but arthritis in her legs made it impossible to escape. The mambisas supported the cause in more subtle ways as well. They fundraised for the Mambi and organized pro-independence groups while also acting as reporters and journalists. Betancourt gave the speech to the leaders of the Cuban revolutionary when they were taking refuge in the jungles of Guáimaro from the Spanish military. In it, Betancourt looked at the issues of colonialism and slavery and linked them to the struggles of Cuban women. Notable recipients include the Palestinian poet May Sayegh.

In honor of all the work Ana Betancourt did for women, a series of schools have been created in her honor across Cuba. The Ana Betancourt schools were established originally in the 1960s. The school's purpose was to get rural girls up to a sixth grade education and had two coinciding goals. They wanted to both instill revolutionary ideals along with vocational skills, and provide opportunities for prostitutes and those employed in domestic service to join the work force. Looking towards post-revolutionary years, a number of Ana Betancourt Schools still exist in Cuba today and continue to serve communities of women in both urban and rural parts of Cuba.