Dori Parra de Orellana

Elena Dorila Parra Pinellaux (Barquisimeto, Venezuela, July 25, 1923 – Barquisimeto, March 21, 2007), better known as Dori Parra de Orellana, was a Venezuelan politician. She was elected as a deputy to the Congress of Venezuela for the Democratic Action party in 1947. After the 1948 coup in Venezuela, Parra joined the fight against the military junta and the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship, during which she was imprisoned and tortured. With the arrival of democracy in the country, she was elected as a senator for the state of Lara and served as state governor, being the first Venezuelan woman to be a senator and state governor.

Biography Elena Dorila (nickname, "Dori") Parra Pinellaux was the daughter of Miguel Parra and Dorila Pinellaux González, who in turn was the daughter of the French immigrant Nicholas Pinellaux, a marriage that had nine children. The family lived in a large house on the outskirts of Barquisimeto. In 1932, her mother died at the age of 49, when Parra was nine. She studied high school. Later, she studied commerce at the Academia Diplomática Andrés Bello.

She was elected as a deputy to the National Congress for the Acción Democrática party in December 1947, when she was 25 years old, being the first elections where women could vote and run as candidates. During her legislative period, she stood out for her role in the fight for women's political rights. On November 24, 1948, President Rómulo Gallegos was overthrown by a coup, after which Parra joined the resistance against the de facto government.

Personal life Parra married Miguel Ángel Escalona García when they were both 16 years of age, and with him, she had her only son, Hugo Rafael Escalona Parra. The marriage broke up and she later married the Tocuyano doctor, Fortunato Orellana Anzola.