María Dámasa Jova Baró (December 11, 1890 – February 11, 1940) was a Cuban writer, educator and feminist. [1]
Biography
The daughter of Feliciano Jova and María del Socorro Baró, she was born María Dámasa Jova in Ranchuelo; her father died when she was less than two years old and she moved with her mother to Cienfuegos. Jova Baró trained as a primary school teacher. [1] [2]
Jova Baró was the first Afro-Cuban woman to own a printing press; she began publishing the children's magazine Ninfas in January 1929. She also produced a children's radio program "La Hora Teatral Ninfas" and established a literary and artistic club for children. Jova Baró was also founder and editor-in-chief for the literary and critical publication Umbrales Revista Literaria Artistica from 1934 to 1937. [1] [2]
In 1925, she published a collection of poetry Arpegios intimos. [2]
Jova Baró participated in the provincial women's organization Club Femenino and raised concerns about the marginalization of Afro-Cuban women at the 1939 Congreso Nacional Femenino in Havana. [2]
In 1939, she joined the Conjunto Nacional Democrático party and was chosen as that party's regional candidate for the national assembly; however, the provincial electoral board disallowed her candidacy. [2]
She died in Santa Clara at the age of 49. [2]
The city of Santa Clara named a primary school in her honour. [2]
References
- ^ a b c Sloan, Kathryn A (2011). Women's Roles in Latin America and the Caribbean. p. 146. ISBN 978-0313381089.
- ^ a b c d e f g Duke, Dawn (2008). Literary Passion, Ideological Commitment: Toward a Legacy of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian Women Writers. pp. 76–79. ISBN 978-0838757062.