De Nosotros, Con Amor

General Photograph Collection/UTSA Libraries Special Collections.
Jovita Idár
From a young age Jovita Idár was
interested in journalism and political
activism due to being inspired by her
father Nicasio Idár; a newspaper editor
and civil rights advocate. While working
for her father’s paper La Crónica,
she wrote articles about racism and
support for the Mexican Revolution.
In 1911, the First Mexican Congress
was organized by Idár and her family
to unify Mexicans across the border
to fight injustice where issues such as
education and economic resources were
often discussed. After the Congress, Idár
turned to write about women’s rights
which led to the founding of La Liga
Feminil Mexicaista in 1911, a feminist
organization that provided education
for Mexican-American students. A few
years later, Idár served as a nurse in
Mexico during the revolution, where she
joined La Cruz Blanca, a group similar to
the Red Cross. After returning to Texas
later that year, she began working at
the El Progreso newspaper and wrote
an article opposing President Wilson’s
decision in sending United States troops
9
to the Southern border. When the United
States Army and Texas Rangers arrived
at the offices of El Progreso because
they disliked what she had written, Idár
refused to let them in and stood in front
of the door. Although they returned later
to shut down El Progreso, Idár continued
to write by returning to La Crónica and
ran the newspaper in 1914 when her
father passed away. After marrying
and moving to San Antonio, Texas, she
fought for equal rights for women in the
Democratic Party in Texas and was an
editor of El Heraldo Cristiano. She was
constantly active in her community,
later starting a free kindergarten for
children and volunteering in a hospital
as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking
patients.
Felisa Rincón de Gautier
Called Doña Fela by the public, Fela
was the mayor of San Juan, Puerto
Rico in 1946 and consequently the first
female mayor of a capital city in the
Americas. Devoted to the public welfare
by improving housing, health, and
employment
for the
residents
of the city,
Doña Fela
was reelected
four
times and
was a wellloved
figure
throughout
Puerto Rico.
An active
advocate
Fundación Felisa Rincón de Gautier.